Sugar Bowl Mix: Chocolate Coconut Island Cookies|Fun Holiday Cookies

I have made these comforting, soft, and scrumptious cookies every year for the holidays for as long as I can remember.

When I was little my sisters and I would bake lots of batches and give the cookies as gifts. My mother found the recipe in Recipes from Pennsylvania, a small cookbook given to her by my grandmother many years ago. I adapted the recipe by adding more chocolate, decreasing the flour, and frosting the cookies with my own vanilla fudge frosting.

Katherine loves to help me bake, especially when it involves decorating with festive sprinkles, snowflakes and tiny gingerbread men!

The coffee flavoring gives these feel-good cookies a touch of sophistication and the subtle coconut adds an unexpected surprise in every bite.

Ingredients

4 squares unsweetened chocolate

¼ cup strong coffee

½ cup butter

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon soda

½ salt

½ cup sour cream

½ cup shredded sweetened coconut

Directions

Melt the chocolate in the microwave at 50% power for 3 minutes or in the double boiler. Set aside to cool.

Cream the sugar with the butter. Add the egg and mix in well.

Add the cooled chocolate and the coffee to the sugar mixture and beat well.

Sift the flour, salt and baking soda and add to the batter alternately with the sour cream.

Stir in the coconut.

Drop by teaspoonful onto parchment paper on a baking sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Do not overbake!

Frosting

1 ½ cups confectioner sugar

2 tablespoons sour cream

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons milk

½ teaspoon vanilla

Mix all the ingredients together in a saucepan. Heat over low heat until frosting is ready to spread. Spread on the cooled cookies while the frosting is warm. Decorate immediately.