This is a recipe I tried shortly after discovering Domino brand demerara sugar. Unfortunately, I haven't seen it in a while and am not sure Domino is producing it. They now have something called Golden Sugar, but what if you want to use demerara? And what is demerara?
What is Demerara Sugar
I always just assumed demerara was a less processed type of sugar similar to turbinado. That is, brown in color with larger crystals and more molasses flavor. That's pretty much what it is. It originated in a British colony called Demerara, which eventually became Guyana. Now it is mostly produced in the island nation of Mauritius, which seems like a lovely place to live. I wonder if there is a Mauritius House Hunters International episode??? I'm going to check.
For now I'm on the hunt for recipes where demerara might enhance the results, and this recipe is a good start. This is a crispy tea cookie that's usually made with granulated sugar, but swapping out half for demerara gives it a bit more flavor without making the cookies chewy. If you don't have it, you can use natural cane sugar or stick with regular white granulated and the cookies will still be very good.
Recipe
Crispy Coconut Tea Cookies
Ingredients
- 11/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 200 grams
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt**
- 1 cup unsalted butter 230 grams
- ¾ cup granulated sugar 145 grams
- ¾ cup Demerara sugar 145 grams
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla or use ½ tsp. vanilla and ½ tsp. coconut
- 1 large egg
- 1 ¼ cups old fashioned oats
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes I used Trader Joe’s
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
- With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in the extract(s), then beat in the egg, scraping sides of bowl often.
- Stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture, then stir in oats and coconut.
- Scoop up rounded teaspoons of dough and shape into small balls. Arrange 2 ½ inches apart on baking sheets. Press the cookies into circles.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges are nicely browned and the centers appear done.
El says
These are very good! They are on the crunchy side.
I made a few changes. Instead of the Demerara sugar, I used 1 cup white sugar and 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Also my coconut flakes had some sugar on them, but this didn't really change anything.
Angie says
Thanks Anna, I'll try it and let you know
Angie
Anna says
Angie, maybe try 1 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated? You could also take about about 2 teaspoons of sugar and replace with a generous teaspoon of corn syrup. Adding a little bit of extra egg yolk could also help.
Angie says
I've been looking for a coconut tea cookie that is chewy. Would I be able to modify this recipe? Could you suggest a recipe for a chewy coconut tea cake? Thanks, you're the best!!!
Angie
Sonya says
Yeah! C&H Dark Brown sugar is $1.28/lb at my Walmart, whereas India Tree is $5.69/lb at my Whole Foods! I still want to try it sometime though - in a taste test in some sort of baking recipe. People RAVE about it on Amazon 🙂
Anna says
Their sugars are good, just expensive!
Sue says
This looks like a cookie I would love!
Sonya says
Sounds delicious! I saw the India tree brand of Demerara sugar at my local Whole Foods, and was really curious to try it because I know that their brown sugars are supposed to be amazing 🙂