Lemon Coconut Shortbread Cookies

Spoiler alert- these are dairy free! Yes, I said dairy free, and completely delicious. I wanted to play around with a vegan cookie option because I know several vegans, and my belly prefers vegan options as well (although I was told they're not completely vegan because my sugar isn't vegan.. so if that's something that is a deal breaker for you, buy your vegan sugar and still enjoy this recipe). These are still sandy shortbread that melt in your mouth with a punch of tropical flavor. They are also pretty easy. This recipe made 12 BIG cookies or 24 normal sized cookies. You could do smaller and thinner cookies, but I was lazy and no one is mad at a bigger cookie. I am going to give you the weights here because I was doing a shortbread ratio of 1-2-3 by weight. I will also try to give you the approximate cups, but it is really just easier to pour into a bowl and weigh it in my opinion.

For the cookies:
100 grams granulated sugar (1/2 c)
200 grams coconut oil (about 1 c), solid (so room temp)
300 grams all-purpose flour (2 1/2 c)- *I used less the second time and they were better- about 2 1/4 c flour; it was easier to roll out and work with. 
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c toasted coconut *I used sweetened coconut flakes and toasted on the stove in a dry skillet for about 2 mins- watch this because it'll burn real fast.*

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Put sugar and coconut oil into a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment and mix to incorporate.
3. Add vanilla extract, lemon zest, and juice to bowl and mix.

4. Combine dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) into a small bowl and mix to combine. Slowly incorporate into the wet batter until course crumbles form.
5. Add coconut flakes.
6. Dust a clean surface with flour and turn the dough out onto the surface. Work until it forms a ball-  this is the hard part. *I have also tried to let it sit in the fridge after forming into a ball like a regular sugar cookie, and this was not the way to go. Keep it at room temp so that the coconut oil helps to keep these babies together.* See the cracking? Yeah- irritating, but the more you work it, the more it comes together. I promise. *And like I said, if you use a little less flour, it holds together MUCH better.

7. Flour a rolling pin and gently roll out to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness- mine were more like 1/2 inch. I wasn't mad at that though.
8. Take a spatula to transport onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
9. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes if they're thinner and 16 - 18 minutes if they're thicker. They are still going to be light in color when they come out of the oven. *mine took 18 minutes*
10. Allow to cool on a wire rack before topping with glaze. *Look at those flecks of lemon zest and coconut!

For the glaze:
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 2 lemons
1 c (ish) powdered sugar, sifted *If you are doing the drizzle, this is fine; if you want the full glaze, I put even more powdered sugar in to thicken it a bit. 

1. Put lemon zest and juice in a bowl.
2. Whisk in the sifted powdered sugar until you get the consistency you want. *Yes, you do really want to sift it* **This is not an exact science- I added sugar until it was thick but still pourable. ***You can't mess it up! If it isn't thick enough, add more sugar. If it's too thick, add more lemon juice. If you run out of lemons, add a bit of water.
3. Drizzle glaze on top of cooled cookies. You could also dunk them- they are super delicate though, so be careful!