Coconut and chocolate biscuits

If there was a prize for heavenly baking smells, I think coconut might just pip vanilla to the gold medal slot. I sit typing this in January’s Stygian gloom and yet the smell wafting down the hallway is of sunshine and tropics – divine!

I’m drawn to biscuits at the moment. I think they have stealth qualities that are admirable at this time of year e.g. you can sneak a biscuit out of the tin and eat it before you’ve even cut a slice of cake; you can walk around doing stuff whilst eating a biscuit – there’s no need for a plate or a fork. Most importantly of all, you can totally lie to yourself about how many you’ve eaten – when you opened the tin there were several in there, when you closed the tin there were several in there...who’s counting?

The recipe may have made two more biscuits than are shown here; I cannot confirm nor deny it.....

Chocolate and coconut is a perfect marriage of flavours and pack these biscuits full of flavour. Coconut always gives baking a nice, short texture; a comforting crumbliness. The texture doesn’t change as the biscuit ages either – they stay crisp and crumbly for several days.

Ingredients

225g unsalted butter, at room temperature
140g caster sugar
1 egg yolk
280g plain flour
100g desiccated coconut
100g milk chocolate chips

Method

Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan oven 170°C/375°F/ Gas mark 5.

Line two baking sheets with baking paper or non-stick foil.

Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until light, whippy and pale in colour.

Beat in the egg yolk.

Stir in the flour.

Stir in the coconut and chocolate chips. The dough will be stiff but not firm enough to roll out.

Take tablespoons of the dough and shape gently into balls – don’t squeeze!

Place the ball on the prepared baking sheet and flatten the top slightly

Place the balls about 2-3cm apart to allow for them spreading whilst baking.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the biscuits are a light golden brown. Don’t panic if yours take a little longer; mine took 20 minutes (possibly because I made them bigger than the recipe said!)

Remove from the oven and place the trays on wire racks to cool. Don’t attempt to remove the biscuits from the trays until they have cooled as they will be crumbly when hot.

The biscuits will store in an airtight tin for several days.

Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.

Eat.