Coconut Shortbread Christmas Snowman Cookies

Posted 2013-12-19 by Charlie ⇒ follow

This delicious coconut shortbread can make cute snow people that are perfect for Christmas time.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Makes: 12 servings

Ingredients
1 cup coconut (shredded or desiccated)
1 1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup caster sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 2/3 cups plain flour
Lollies, icing, or chocolate to decorate

Method

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C.

Spread the coconut out evenly over a tray lined with silver foil.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until the coconut becomes toasted and golden brown.

Once toasted, set the coconut aside to cool.

While the coconut is toasting, make the cookie dough.

Beat together the butter and sugar until creamy.

Stir in the salt and vanilla.

Add half of the flour and beat this in, then add the second half and beat to combine.

Stir in the toasted coconut.

Use your hands to press the dough together into a rough ball. Transfer the ball to a lightly floured board.

Lightly knead the dough until it becomes smooth. This doesn't take that long, probably only a few turns.

Take pieces of the dough and roll them into 3 different sized sets of balls, large, medium and small.

Flatten each dough ball with your hand, to about 5mm thick.

Assemble each snowman. Place a large cookie piece onto a lightly grease or lined tray. Join a medium cookie piece to each large cookie piece, and then join small pieces to the medium pieces. Make sure each piece overlaps slightly with the piece above or below it, so that parts of the sections will bake into each other.

Decorate your snow people however you like! Try using nuts or chocolate pieces for hats and eyes, lollies for buttons, and lolly pieces or icing for scarves!