These icebox cookies are like light, lemony-coconutty shortbread. They aren't sugary -- the natural sweetness comes from the coconut.
Fine coconut makes an interesting and flavourful addition to flour mixes for cookies.
1/2 cup unsweetened flaked or medium coconut
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup amaranth flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup fine coconut (like coconut "flour")
First, toast the flaked or medium coconut on a cookie sheet in a preheated, 300F oven (3 to 4 minutes, until fragrant and lightly browned -- keep a close eye). Allow to cool.
In a medium bowl, lightly cream butter, sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest. In a small bowl, whisk rice flour, amaranth flour, potato starch, and fine coconut. Blend flour and starch mixture into butter mixture. Blend in toasted coconut.
Form dough into a 7" log, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for one hour. Log will have gotten flat on one side. Either roll the log on the table to make round cookies or flatten all four sides against a hard surface to make the log rectangular. Return to refrigerator until dough is full chilled, approximately 4 hours.
Preheat oven to 350F. Cut logs into 1/4" slices and place cookie slices on a cookie pan lined with parchment or with a silpat sheet. Place cookies in preheated oven, reduce heat to 325F, and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool five minutes on pans before transferring to racks to cool completely.
Makes about 28 cookies.
