Coconut Cream Cheese Cookies

These no bake Coconut Cream Cheese Cookies require only four ingredients and about twenty minutes of your time! They are soft and chewy with just the right amount of sweetness that is well balanced with the addition of the cream cheese. Make these cookies ahead of time and store them in your freezer!

Everyone loves a no-bake cookie and these Coconut Cream Cheese Cookies are the most ideal and delicious no-bake cookie for the holidays! I prepare confections quite often with cream cheese. In addition to adding complexity to the flavour of these cookies, there are two key things that cream cheese will do in a cookie recipe – it will help to elevate the flavour and it helps keep them moist, soft, and chewy for a longer period of time.

Just remember that when you are preparing sweets with cream cheese, it is always best to use brick style rather than whipped or cream cheese in a tub. The brick style is firmer and more condensed. Cream cheese adds texture and flavour to sweets, and even though these cookies are no-bake, the brick-style cream cheese still works best.

I have to thank my friend Eileen for this cookie recipe. Last year, she was visiting with her sister and together they packaged up a cookie platter for us. Eileen lives just around the corner from us, so on her way back home, she dropped it off. After tasting the cookies, I asked her for the recipes so she got them from her sister. Coconut Cream Cheese Cookies is one of those recipes. Thanks, Eileen!

I’m going to tell you all about this cookie recipe and how you can make it in your home this holiday season, but first, I want to tell you about what you can expect from Lord Byron’s Kitchen this Christmas. I know we’re getting closer to the big day, so it’s time to get to the cookie recipes! Before I get into today’s recipe, let me make mention of the three previous holiday confection countdowns that I just finished up this year.

Back in October, I kicked off the holiday season with a holiday recipe series called Lord Byron’s 12 Holiday Trifle Series and followed that up with a second series called Lord Byron’s 12 Holiday Breads and Loaves. Next was my 12 Squares and Bars Series, which was Volume 2 of that particular series.  

And now, I’m starting on this new series, which is the seventh annual instalment! I cannot believe that this is the seventh year in a row that I’ve shared Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas! But, before we get to a list of ingredients and instructions for today’s recipe, let me tell you about this series and more!

LORD BYRON’S 24 COOKIES OF CHRISTMAS SERIES

Another holiday series, Lord Byron? Yes – why not!? Welcome, Dear Reader, to the fourth of my annual holiday recipe series for this season! This one is called Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas – Volume 7! I will try to keep the recipes in this series quick and easy, just like in previous years. Even if a recipe looks complex, I promise you that it is not! My goal, as always, is to share recipes with you that are not too complex to whip up as a holiday treat for your family.

Like every other holiday series I’ve shared over the years, this series will share a new recipe every day for the next 24 days – even on Saturday and Sunday! You might be asking yourself, how many Christmas recipes could one possibly have or need? Well, I say you can never have too much of a good thing. And, I love having lots of choices. Who wants to prepare the same holiday recipes year after year?

SUBSCRIBE NOW SO THAT YOU NEVER MISS OUT ON NEW RECIPES!

So, welcome, Dear Reader, to Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas series! Even though this is the fourth series for this holiday season, you can always look back at previous years if you just cannot wait until the next recipe is published. Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! Like in previous holiday recipe countdowns, I like to mix up the recipes in the series so that there is something for everyone. Are you ready!!??

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Cream Cheese – When baking with cream cheese it is always best to use brick style rather than whipped or cream cheese in a tub.  The brick style is firmer and more condensed.  Cream cheese adds texture and flavour to baked items. Even though these cookies are no-bake, the brick-style cream cheese still works best.
• Vanilla Extract
• Toasted Coconut
• Milk Chocolate Chips

HOW TO MAKE COCONUT CREAM CHEESE COOKIES

In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and vanilla extract until well combined. Add the coconut and mix well. Roll the coconut mixture into balls and then press the balls in your palms to form a flattened, round shape. Set them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (After rolling a few of the balls, your hands will become sticky, which will make rolling the balls harder. Wash and dry your hands well and the rolling will be much easier.) Refrigerate the cookies.

While the cookies chill, transfer the milk chocolate chips to a microwave-safe bowl. In increments of 30 seconds at half power, melt the chocolate, stirring well between each increment. Once the chocolate is fully melted and silky smooth, remove the cookies from the fridge and dip them halfway down into the melted chocolate, allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl. Set the dipped cookies back onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Once all cookies are dipped, refrigerate for one hour. Once the chocolate has hardened, transfer the cookies to a food-safe container with a tight-fitting lid. Keep refrigerated.

THE TYPE OF COCONUT IS IMPORTANT

When it comes to coconut to bake with, there are two kinds – sweetened and unsweetened. Those two types can be found in different levels of fineness and coarseness. It’s important to use sweetened coconut for this recipe because there is no additional sugar added in terms of other ingredients used.

You’ll want to use sweetened coconut. The size of the shredded coconut won’t make a difference to the taste, but it certainly will make a difference to the look. The longer shreds of coconut might make for a messier cookie and you want your delicious cookies to look just as amazing as they taste!

Depending on the brand, some coconut is shredded, grated, or desiccated. Shredded usually refers to larger pieces, while grated tends to be smaller. Desiccated has nothing to do with the size of the pieces but means the coconut is dried or the moisture has been removed. In most cases, you will find a fine or medium grade. Medium is my personal coconut of choice in most cases and it is what I used here.

STORING, PACKAGING, & FREEZING

When it comes to most cookies, they taste best at room temperature, but they don’t hold up well to being left out on your countertop for a long time. Cookies will stay fresh in a cookie jar or food-safe container with a lid for 3-5 days if left to sit on your kitchen countertop. You can store them in a food-safe container in your fridge. When you want one, two, or half a dozen, take them out of the container and place them in a single layer on a plate. Let them sit at room temperature for 5 minutes and they’re ready!

If you plan to freeze your Coconut Cream Cheese Cookies, you certainly can! Pile them into a clean, food-safe container. The container must be freezer-friendly! You’ll want to ensure a very tight-fitting lid too. I use these quite often when freezing baked goods. I like to place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the container before pushing the lid on. This helps to create a better seal. The goal is to keep all of that freshness locked in!

You can freeze these cookies for up to three months. If you plan to give previously frozen cookies as a gift, I would lay them out on a wire cooling rack to thaw completely. Once thawed, pile into cellophane bags and tie with a ribbon, or stack in a cookie tin/box.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!

Finally, as I stated previously, every day I will be posting a new recipe. If you miss one, don’t fret. You can find my entire collection of Christmas Recipes right here! There are over 200 Christmas recipes and counting. There’s something for everyone! Cheers!