A dash of this, a pinch of that…it’s how many of the best recipes got made. The trick is to write it down after you make it! These washboard cookies have a coconut base, but have a few “dashes” of other flavors to enhance the coconut taste.
To me these old fashioned treats actually taste a lot like the lightly coconut cookies that always came in the blue tins of Danish butter cookies at Christmas. Of course you can make these delectable cookies any time of year. But, I love that they particularly remind me of December and all those holiday parties I went to growing up where coconut cookies were always on the table of goodies.
The dough for these cookies will be stiff when you first mix it up and it will get even stiffer after refrigerating it for an hour. But, this is exactly how you want it to be.
First you roll the dough into balls, then you flatten them out with the back of a fork dipped in sugar. Unlike peanut butter cookies you don’t make a cross hatch with the fork. The end result is that many of your cookies will be oval instead of round and that’s perfectly fine.
You can alternately choose to flatten the dough balls and then make your fork marks going the other direction. I’ve seen these made all different kinds of ways! More oblong cookies will look more like a laundry washboard, which they are named for.
They will spread in the oven so keep that in mind when shaping them.
The ingredients that support the dried coconut in these cookies are vanilla and almond extracts. They give these treats a more complex flavor. Even so these aren’t extremely coconutty, just coconutty enough! To make these nut-free use imitation almond extract.
For a simple cookie that’s easy to make but hard to resist these are the ones to bake. And, the process of making the design on top is a fun activity to do with kids, too.
Washboard Cookies
Yield(s): Makes 3 dozen
2h 5m prep time
10m cook time
63 calories
Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1/2 stick butter, softened
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for topping
- 1 egg
- 1/8 cup water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt
- 3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
Preparation
- Cream together butter and sugars in large bowl. Slowly mix in eggs, water, and flavor extracts.
- In another bowl combine remaining ingredients. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing between additions.
- Place dough in refrigerator for 60-90 minutes.
- When ready to bake preheat oven to 400˚F. Roll out dough into balls about 1 inch across. Place on lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Flatten with back of fork and sprinkle lightly with granulated sugar.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until under sides become golden. Do not overbake.
- Allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home.