Some Christmas cookies are remembered because they’re pretty. Others stay with you because of the people who made them and the memories attached to every bite.

These Chocolate Coconut Cookies are both.

In my family, they’ve always been called Coconut Islands. They’re soft chocolate cookies filled with finely chopped coconut, covered with rich chocolate sour cream frosting, and sprinkled with more coconut on top.

They do require a few more steps than an ordinary drop cookie, but they’re absolutely worth it. If you love chocolate and coconut together, this is the cookie for you.

Grandma Bowers’ Chocolate Coconut Cookies

This recipe has been in my family for generations. It belonged to my Grandma Bowers, although it may have been passed down to her by her mother. We don’t know for certain, so I don’t want to claim a history I can’t confirm.

What I do know is that good cooking and baking ran through that side of the family.

My mom has told me that Grandma Bowers was an amazing baker when she was growing up. I honestly don’t remember much of her baking because she had mostly stopped by the time my siblings and I came along.

Her mother, my great-grandmother, also had quite a reputation as a cook and baker.

She ran a boarding house and welcomed people who were on their way from one place to another. Ranch hands, travelers, and just about anyone who needed a place could find food and hospitality there.

I’ve heard stories about the incredible spreads she prepared for her guests. I can picture tables covered with homemade food and baked treats, all made for people who may have arrived tired and hungry.

I don’t know whether Coconut Islands were part of those spreads, but I like to imagine that they might have been.

Eventually, these Chocolate Coconut Cookies became part of my own childhood Christmases. We made them every year, and they were always one of my favorites.

That alone makes them worth preserving.

The original recipe was written for a different kind of kitchen. It uses old-fashioned instructions such as creaming the butter by hand, melting chocolate with hot water over low heat, and baking in a “moderate oven.”

I’ve adjusted and clarified some of those steps for the mixers, ovens, and chocolate packaging we use today. The heart of the recipe, however, is still Grandma Bowers’ Coconut Islands.

How to Make Chocolate Coconut Cookies

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Cookie Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup hot water
3 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
¼ cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
⅔ cup sour cream
⅓ cup finely chopped coconut

Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

2 to 3 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, depending on how chocolatey you want the frosting
¼ cup sour cream
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1½ to 2 cups powdered sugar
Additional coconut for sprinkling

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Sift the flour before measuring it. Measure 2 cups of the sifted flour, then whisk it together with the salt and baking soda.
Place the hot water and 3 ounces of unsweetened chocolate in a small saucepan. Heat over low heat, stirring frequently, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove it from the heat and let it cool slightly.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter with an electric mixer until creamy.
Gradually add the packed brown sugar and continue beating until the mixture is light and well combined.
Add the egg and beat well.
Pour in the slightly cooled chocolate mixture and beat until everything is evenly combined.
Add the flour mixture and sour cream alternately, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix on low just until blended after each addition. Avoid overmixing once the flour has been added.
Stir in the finely chopped coconut.
Drop the dough by heaping teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving a little space between each cookie.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. The cookies should look set but still feel soft. Because ovens can vary, I recommend baking one Chocolate Coconut Cookie first. It will tell you whether your oven needs a little more or less time.
Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.
To make the frosting, melt 2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate with the butter. If you prefer a deeper chocolate flavor like I do, use 3 ounces.
Stir in the sour cream until smooth.
Gradually add 1½ cups powdered sugar. Continue adding powdered sugar as needed until the frosting is thick enough to spread but still soft and creamy.
Spread the frosting over the completely cooled cookies and immediately sprinkle additional coconut over the top.
Allow the frosting to set before stacking or storing the cookies.

A Note About Measuring the Chocolate

Older recipes often call for chocolate by the number of squares. That can be confusing now because baking chocolate is packaged and divided differently than it was years ago.

For that reason, I’ve listed the chocolate by weight.

Use 3 ounces of unsweetened chocolate in the cookie dough. For the frosting, I use several pieces because I like a rich, chocolatey frosting. Start with 2 ounces, then use 3 ounces if you love chocolate as much as I do.

Sift the Flour Before Measuring

The wording in the original recipe says “2 cups sifted flour.” That means the flour should be sifted first and then gently measured.

Sifting helps break apart lumps and keeps too much flour from being packed into the measuring cup. If you scoop flour directly out of the container, you may accidentally add more than the recipe needs and end up with dry cookies.

After sifting, spoon the flour gently into the measuring cup and level the top without packing it down. Measuring carefully helps prevent adding too much flour, which can make cookies dry or crumbly.

Alternate the Sour Cream and Dry Ingredients

One of the important steps in these Chocolate Coconut Cookies is adding the sour cream and flour mixture alternately.

Add about one-third of the flour mixture, followed by half of the sour cream. Continue alternating, ending with the remaining flour.

This makes it easier to blend the dough evenly without overmixing it.

The sour cream is part of what gives Coconut Islands their soft texture. It also appears in the frosting, where its slight tang balances the chocolate and powdered sugar.

Adding the Coconut

The original recipe calls for “finely cut coconut.” I use packaged shredded coconut and add it directly to the cookie dough without chopping it first.

Stir the coconut into the chocolate dough until it’s evenly distributed. Once the cooled cookies are frosted, sprinkle additional shredded coconut over the tops.

There’s no need to chop the coconut unless you personally prefer smaller pieces.

Storing and Freezing Chocolate Coconut Cookies

Once the frosting has set, store the Chocolate Coconut Cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.

Place parchment paper between the layers so the frosting and coconut topping aren’t damaged. I don’t refrigerate cookies because I find that refrigeration dries them out too quickly.

These cookies can also be frozen. Arrange the completely cooled and frosted cookies in a freezer-safe container, separating the layers with parchment paper.

Because the cookies are frosted, I would let them thaw at room temperature rather than warm them in the oven. The chocolate sour cream frosting is part of what makes Coconut Islands special, and heating it would cause it to melt.

If you want to freeze some of the cookies specifically for reheating, leave those unfrosted. Place a frozen, unfrosted cookie directly into a cool oven, turn the oven to 350°F, and warm it for about eight minutes. Let it cool before adding the frosting and coconut.

A Christmas Cookie Worth the Extra Steps

Grandma Bowers’ Chocolate Coconut Cookies aren’t the kind of cookies you throw together in five minutes.

You sift the flour. You melt the chocolate. You alternate the sour cream with the dry ingredients. Then you let the cookies cool, make the frosting, frost every cookie, and sprinkle coconut over the top.

There are several steps, but that’s part of what makes them special.

Every Christmas when we made Coconut Islands, we weren’t simply making another chocolate cookie. We were continuing something that had already been part of our family for generations.

I think about Grandma Bowers and the wonderful baker my mom remembers. I also think about my great-grandmother preparing generous meals and beautiful spreads for the travelers and ranch hands who stayed at her boarding house.

Food was one of the ways the women in my family cared for people.

Now I get to make these Chocolate Coconut Cookies in my own kitchen and share the recipe with another generation. That feels like a family tradition worth keeping.

Do you have an old Christmas cookie recipe that has been handed down through your family?

Making every house feel a little more like home.

Tips For The Perfect Cookie