Make my Gram's Walnut Coconut Cookies, a cozy New England cookie that's a family favorite. The soft cookies hold toasted nuts and sweet coconut. They're especially nice for homey, holiday baking.
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I'm grateful to have recipes written out and shared by both of my grandmothers. This recipe is from my grandmother Nancy, for little Walnut Coconut Cookies. The soft cookies are simple and so delicious!
They have a sweetness and texture from shredded coconut, and a light crunch of toasted walnuts. Bake up a batch to keep in your kitchen to treat the kids after school, or to enjoy with afternoon tea. I also like to make these cookies at Christmastime, a season where I miss my grandmothers the most. Walnut Coconut Cookies are a nice choice to share with neighbors or bring to cookie exchanges.
In a nutshell... 🐿️
- What this is: An old-fashioned, cherished cookie recipe from my grandmother Nancy. The cookies have sweet chewiness from coconut with the warm crunch of toasted walnuts. They're cozy, nostalgic treats that evoke memories of New England holidays and having afternoon snacks in family kitchens.
- You'll love this part: It's a fuss-free bake you can make anytime. The cookies have a mix of textures and a hint of rum flavor. They're an ideal treat to share in care packages, to bring to cookie exchanges, and to treat the family.
- How it's made: Toast walnuts on the stove top until they're fragrant. Mix wet and dry ingredients to make a dough, and fold in the nuts. Scoop and bake.
Jump to:
My grandmother Nancy
Years ago, when I was making a family cookbook for my sister, my Gram Frechette gave me her recipe for easy Walnut Coconut Cookies.
Our grandmother cooked every day for her family. Every Thanksgiving, she was a prolific baker of pies: raspberry, apple, blueberry, pumpkin; 20 or more pies all set out after the enormous holiday dinner she made for the family. That Thanksgiving crowd grew in size every year as new husbands, wives, and grandchildren joined the gang.
And all of this she did with little help. (Believe me, we tried to help, but she would shoo us away and do it all herself!) Gram made this feast in the same small but cozy Vermont kitchen for decades.
All this, plus daily shopping, babysitting her grandchildren (during which she instilled a lifelong love in me for Bob Barker's The Price Is Right!), and working full-time as a night nurse at the hospital.
She impressed me endlessly with her strength, perseverance, sense of humor, caring nature, and most of all, her love for her family.
Despite all that she had on her plate, my grandmother would somehow find time to bake homemade cookies. And because she chose this recipe when I asked her for one to contribute to my sister's cookbook, I know it's a cookie she really enjoyed.
Why you'll love Walnut Coconut Cookies
I run hot and cold on walnuts, and on nuts in baked goods in general. Most often, they're folded into cookie doughs, cake batters, and brownies right out of the package in their raw state.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered that, when chopped and toasted, walnuts can actually be very tasty in baked treats. And that's especially true in these soft, coconutty cookies.
The old-fashioned coconut walnut cookies recipe is easy to pull together and bake, making it an ideal choice for cookie exchanges, work parties, or just to treat yourself and your family.
The flavors of toasted walnuts, coconut, and a touch of rum extract are so delicious together. Set coconut and walnut cookies out with a hot coffee, fragrant tea, or a cold glass of milk. YUM!
Ah nuts!
Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Toasted walnuts are also delicious in the streusel topping of this tender cake.
🔪 How to make Walnut Coconut Cookies
Ingredients for the best Walnut Coconut Cookies:
- Chopped walnuts: Toast them up in a skillet; it only takes a few minutes.
- Butter: I always use unsalted butter in baking. Choose a quality brand for the best flavor, like Cabot, Kate's, or Kerrygold.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar adds clean sweetness to the cookies.
- Eggs: I use large eggs in this recipe. Room temperature eggs will blend into the cookie dough more easily for more consistent results.
- Vanilla extract: Use a quality vanilla extract, such as Penzey's or Nielsen-Massey, in all your bakes.
- Rum extract: A hint of rum flavor is such a tasty pairing with the coconut in this recipe, but it doesn't overwhelm the other ingredients.
- Flour: Use all-Purpose flour in these cookies. King Arthur Baking Company is my preferred brand.
- Salt: A little salt in the dough gives the cookies a better overall flavor.
- Baking powder and baking Soda: These leaveners are activated by the baking heat and the acidic ingredients. They lighten the texture of the cookies and contribute to the browning.
- Shredded sweetened coconut: This ingredient brings flavor, sweetness, and texture to the cookies.
- Sour Cream: Not only does it add moisture, sour cream also activates the leaveners.
Toast the walnuts
Stir the walnuts in a pan over medium heat for a few minutes, until the walnuts are nicely toasted.
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Make the cookie batter
Cream the butter and sugar together, and add in the eggs and flavorings. Whisk together the dry ingredients with the cooled walnuts and flaked coconut. Then stir this dry mixture together with the wet mixture and the sour cream.
Bake!
Scoop the batter onto a lined cookie sheet, and bake them for about 15 minutes. Let them cool, then enjoy!
Walnut Coconut Cookies FAQs
If you don't care for walnuts, try chopped almonds, pecans, or hazelnuts in these cookies instead. I still recommend the toasting step, no matter which type of nut you use. This quick step brings so much more flavor to the nuts.
Tip:
- Don't skip the step of toasting the walnuts! It only takes a few minutes and adds so much more flavor to the finished cookies.
I just know you'll enjoy my grandmother's cookies as much as I do! Find the Walnut Coconut Cookies recipe below. Here are a few more cookies I love, too!
💬 Did you make and devour this recipe? Leave a comment below.
📖 Recipe
Walnut Coconut Cookies
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Ingredients
- ⅔ cup chopped walnuts
- ⅔ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon rum extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
- ½ cup sour cream
Instructions
Toast the walnuts
- Pour the chopped walnuts into a nonstick skillet. Toast the nuts over medium heat, stirring them often, for several minutes until the walnuts are fragrant and toasted. Remove the nuts from the heat and let them cool.
Make the batter
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cream together the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, for 5 minutes. The mixture should be light and fluffy.
- Blend in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla and the rum extracts.
- Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a separate bowl. Stir the walnuts and the coconut into the flour mixture.
- Add the dry mixture to the butter-sugar mixture in two or three additions, alternating with the sour cream. Do not overmix: pulse the mixer as you add in the ingredients, and finish the mixing with a wooden spoon.
Get ready to bake
- Scoop the batter in 2-teaspoon sized scoops and place them on the prepared baking sheet, about two inches apart.
- Bake the cookies for 15-17 minutes, until they're puffed and lightly browned around the edges. Move the cookies to a cooling rack.
- Store the cookies in a sealed container for up to one week. Makes about 36 cookies.
Notes
- Don't skip the step of toasting the walnuts! It only takes a few minutes and adds so much more flavor to the finished cookies.
Nutrition
Peggy says
Love at first bite. Thank you to you and your grandmother for sharing this recipe. Tried your tip about how to sweeten unsweetened coconut. Worked out well.
Thank you again.
Nancy Mock says
You're very welcome, Peggy! I'm so happy you enjoyed these little cookies, and that the unsweetened coconut option worked, too.
Stephen j says
I looked in the cupboard and googled what I had there and this recipe popped up. I toasted half the coconut and they were nice cookies
Nancy Mock says
I love that fate rewarded you with the exact ingredients you needed to make these cookies! Thank you for making my recipe, I'm so happy you enjoyed them. 😛
April says
I was wondering if I could use unsweetened coconut and how would it taste? I have some in my pantry that I would like to finish up. Any thoughts?
Nancy Mock says
Hi April, This is a great question! Using unsweetened coconut in these cookies will of course result in a less-sweet cookie. However, my concern is that the cookies may be a tad bit drier, too—because the sugar in sweetened coconut holds a lot of moisture. I did find one article that explains how to turn unsweetened coconut into sweetened coconut: Heat a quarter-cup of water on the stove top, then add in 4 teaspoons of granulated sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in one cup of unsweetened shredded coconut. Let the coconut sit for about 10 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed. (This recipe calls for two cups of coconut, so you would have to double the amounts here.) The coconut should then be ready to use in the recipe.
Full disclosure: I have not tried this technique myself, but it seems like a promising solution. Please let me know how things go!
April says
Thanks Nancy. I will look into your suggestion.
Janet Goodman says
I was wondering if this batter can be made ahead and placed in the refrigerator to use over a 2 week period?
Nancy Mock says
Hi Janet! You can definitely make this cookie dough in advance and keep it in the fridge - however, 4 days is the maximum number to refrigerate it. For longer storage, it would be best to freeze the dough. Happy baking!
Kat says
Had to leave a comment to let you know that I have made these cookies three times in the past week, they are that good. I used gluten-free flour and erythritol because that's how I am, and the recipe adapted wonderfully. So good that I crave them and am literally making another batch right now. Just wanted to thank you.
Nancy Mock says
Kat, thank you for this - you really made my day! I'm thrilled that you love this recipe, and that you were able to adapt it with alternative ingredients. This is my grandmother's recipe, and she will be so happy when I share this with her. 🙂 Thanks, and have a wonderful day!
Heidi says
This sounds like a tasty recipe, Nancy! Love the photos you shared in this post, and the snowflakes falling, too! I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas!
Nancy Mock says
I love these photos too, especially of the 1950s kitchen. I will always be astounded at how much food my grandmother created in that kitchen, which is about the size of an RV kitchenette! Thanks Heidi, and Merry Christmas to you and your family!