• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Start here
  • Baking 101
  • Recipes
  • Shop

The Bake School

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Start here
  • Baking 101
  • Recipes
  • Shop
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Start here
    • Baking 101
    • Recipes
    • Shop
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Cookies

    Published on: February 24, 2016 by Janice; Updated on: October 8, 2021 15 Comments

    Coconut cookies with grapefruit curd

    880 shares
    • Facebook50
    • Yummly
    • Email
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Golden buttery coconut crinkle cut round cookies with heart cut out for sandwiching with bright grapefruit curd in a bowl with a spoon

    These coconut cookies are filled with grapefruit curd, like for linzer cookies. They are buttery like shortbread cookies and they would work well with lemon curd too or your favourite marmalade.

    Grapefruit coconut cookies - crinkle edged round coconut butter cookies filled with bright grapefruit curd
    Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Making grapefruit curd

    Pink grapefruit is bittersweet. Most times, when I make a curd, regardless of the purée or juice that I'm using, I always add in a squeeze or more of lemon juice . The acidity perks it up, brightens the flavour, and balances out the sweetness from the fruit and the sugar. This time, my purist tendencies took over and I went ahead with freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice, exclusively. I wanted the bittersweet flavour to be prominent, and lemon juice has a tendency of taking over (not that there's anything wrong with that—you all know I am passionate for lemon curd and tangy citrusy treats).

    Pink grapefruit curd has the same, simple ingredients list as any lemon curd. You probably already have all the ingredients you need:

    • fruit juice
    • eggs
    • sugar
    • butter

    Some may add gelatin to stabilize curds, like I did in this blackberry almond cake. Others may add thickeners, like cornstarch or flour, but these will significantly reduce the flavour of the curd. I don't recommend using thickeners. Save them for pastry creams.

    You can use either whole eggs or egg yolks for fruit curds, but for this grapefruit curd, I preferred using only egg yolks, which gives it a better colour.

    Grapefruit curd ingredients - fresh pink grapefruit, egg yolks, sugar, and lots of butter

    Things to note about pink grapefruit curd

    • do your mise-en-place when making pastry creams and fruit curd. It doesn't matter if you have to pause while you are making a batch of cookies. The ingredients and the mixing method lead to a pretty stable product with little room for problems. On the other hand, when you make pastry creams and curds, mise-en-place is crucial for success. Start by reading the recipe and then put out all the ingredients in tiny dishes and all the tools you will need BEFORE you do anything else.
    • pink grapefruit curd is not tart like lemon curd: given that I used only grapefruit juice for this recipe, the grapefruit curd is bittersweet, not tangy or tart. If you want a tart or tangy curd, replace a portion of the grapefruit juice with freshly squeezed lemon juice. It's that easy.
    • pink grapefruit curd is not pink! I actually considered adding some food colouring to give back that pink grapefruit colour to this curd, but then I didn't. Food colouring isn't very "me", now is it? And contrary to what we all would expect, pink grapefruit curd is bright yellow-orange, not pink, probably because of the bright yellow egg yolks.
    Cutting out coconut cookies with crinkle edged round cookie cutter and then cutting out little heart from centre to make window for linzer cookies

    Coconut cookies (rolled and cut out)

    These coconut cookies are rich and buttery, and not too sweet. The recipe is based on a recipe for the French pâte sucrée, but made with ground coconut instead of ground almonds. I have used pâte sucrée, made with ground almonds, as a crust for Earl Grey panna cotta tarts and for these matcha tarts.

    To make a pâte sucrée with coconut instead of ground almonds, I used unsweetened shredded coconut, which I ground finely in the food processor to improve the texture of the cookies and also to make it easy to work with the coconut cookie dough. Shredded coconut would make it hard to make clean cut-out cookies with cookie cutters.

    Sandwiching coconut cookies with grapefruit curd

    The idea of grapefruit and coconut cookies had been dancing around in my head for weeks, and I am so glad I finally made these! Feel free to use this recipe as a jumping off point.

    Use this coconut cookie recipe with other fillings

    • passion fruit curd to make passion fruit coconut cookies
    • three fruit marmalade as a filling for marmalade coconut cookies
    • milk chocolate ganache to make milk chocolate coconut cookies (make sure the ganache is set and thick so you can pipe between two cookies using a piping bag)
    • dark chocolate ganache to make dark chocolate coconut cookies (make sure the ganache is set and thick so you can pipe between two cookies using a piping bag)

    Use this recipe to make mini grapefruit tarts or one big grapefruit tart with a few adjustments

    This recipe yields enough cookie dough to make either one 9-inch tart shell or 6 mini tarts. Use leftover coconut cookie dough to make cookies obviously (don't waste it!) and those cookies can be used to garnish the tart, as I've done with this raspberry chocolate tart.

    In order to fill a large tart shell and make a full-size grapefruit tart, you will have to double the grapefruit curd recipe below because you'll need. But to make mini grapefruit tarts, you should have just enough.

    Golden buttery coconut crinkle cut round cookies with heart cut out for sandwiching with bright grapefruit curd in a bowl with a spoon

    Grapefruit coconut cookies
    Save Recipe Saved! Print Pin
    5 from 4 votes

    Coconut cookies with grapefruit curd

    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Buttery coconut cookies sandwiched together with homemade grapefruit curd. Sinfully delicious.
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine French
    Keyword grapefruit coconut cookies, grapefruit curd
    Prep Time 20 minutes
    Cook Time 13 minutes
    Total Time 33 minutes
    Servings 24 sandwich cookies
    Calories 164kcal
    Author Janice

    Equipment

    • OXO balloon whisk
    • Heart cutters
    • Rolling pin
    • Sheet pan

    Ingredients

    Grapefruit curd

    • 84   mL freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice, ⅓ cup
    • 100 grams granulated sugar , ½ cup
    • 4  large egg yolk(s)
    • 76   grams unsalted butter, ⅓ cup, cut into pieces

    Coconut cookies

    • 173 grams unsalted butter, ¾ cup, room temperature
    • 100 grams granulated sugar, ½ cup
    • ¼ teaspoon Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
    • 1 large egg yolk(s)
    • 55 grams ground coconut, ½ cup, made in a spice grinder from shredded unsweetened coconut
    • 188 grams bleached all-purpose flour, 1 ½ cups
    • Grapefruit curd, about half a batch, recipe above

    Instructions

    Grapefruit curd

    • In a small-to-medium saucepan, combine the grapefruit juice with half the granulated sugar. Set on a burner on medium–high heat.
    • Meanwhile in a medium heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks with the rest of the sugar. Whisk vigorously until the mixture turns a very pale, light yellow. Set aside.
    • Place another bowl with a strainer over top next to the stove, and have the chopped butter ready on a plate close by as well. Have a heatproof spatula ready too. Do all this before going any further.
    • When the grapefruit juice just comes to a boil, take the pot off the burner and pour it over the sugary egg mixture. Whisk to temper the eggs and combine all the ingredients together. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and return the pot back onto the burner. Whisk the mixture over medium–high heat until it comes to a boil. Then boil the mixture for 1 minute, whisking like mad.
    • After the minute has elapsed, immediately take the pot off the burner and turn it off. Drop the butter into the saucepan, a few pieces at a time, whisking constantly and when all the butter has disappeared into the curd, transfer it all to the strainer set over a bowl. Collect the curd in the bowl, then cover with cling film pressed directly on the surface to protect it from the air. Chill overnight.

    Coconut cookies

    • In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle, cream together the butter and sugar until it is creamy and soft.
    • Add the salt and the egg yolk, and beat it until it is very well mixed, scraping down the sides as needed with a spatula.
    • Beat in the ground coconut, mix well, then add the flour. Mix on low until the dough forms. Divide the dough in two, pat into disks, wrap in plastic, and chill for about 1 hour.
    • Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a couple baking sheets with parchment.
    • Roll out one disk of dough to a thickness of about ¼"-⅛" (not too thick, but not too thin). Cut out 2 ¼" circles with the dough, re-rolling the scraps to cut out more circles. You will end up with about 24 cutouts. Chill them on parchment-lined sheets for at least 15 minutes (30 minutes is better), then bake for 12–13 minutes, until the edges begin to brown a little. Let cool 1 minute before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
    • Repeat the rolling and cutting with the 2nd disk of dough to make 24 more circles, but this time, cut out a window with a small heart cutter or another small circle cookie cutter. Chill and bake as before. You should now how 24 top cookies with windows and 24 bottom cookies to make sandwiches.
    • When the cookies are cool, dollop a scant teaspoon of curd on the centre of each bottom cookie and top with a window cookie, twisting gently to glue them together.
    Give backIf you enjoy the free content on this website, say thank you!
    Tried this recipe?Mention @bakesomethingawesome or tag #bakesomethingawesome!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 164kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 28mg | Potassium: 31mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 313IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 1mg

    ** I absolutely FORBID YOU from buying lemon curd at the grocery store. I've tried a few brands, including some that make decent marmalades and jams, and every store-bought curd I tried was disgusting. Disgusting is a strong word on a food blog. I don't use it lightly. I'd rather you buy raspberry jam and sandwich it between these coconut cookies, if you don't want to make the curd.

    More Cookies

    • Mini Eggs cookies cooling on a wire rack.
      Easy Mini Eggs cookies
    • A plate of chocolate shortbread cookies that are dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with crushed freeze-dried raspberries.
      Chocolate shortbread cookies
    • Homemade alfajores cookies on plates served with coffee.
      Alfajores
    • Chocolate chip cookies with pecans cooled on a rack being served on black plates with glasses of milk.
      Chocolate chip cookies with pecans
    880 shares
    • Facebook50
    • Yummly
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

    Baking resources

  • Baking conversion charts
  • Baking ingredients and pantry staples
  • Baking substitutions
  • Common baking conversions
  • Choosing baking pans
  • How to measure ingredients for baking
  • Mixing methods
  • Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Meaghan says

      February 26, 2016 at 11:45 am

      These cookies look heavenly!! The tart curd sounds like such a great balance to the coconut cookie. I'm with you on the use of 'disgusting' when it comes to store bought curd. As a non baker I have to say making a curd is not difficult, it sounds/looks/tastes like it would be but it really isn't. If I can do it anyone can!!

      Reply
      • Janice says

        February 27, 2016 at 11:35 am

        I'm glad I'm not alone in thinking that store-bought curd is awful. And plus, Martha Stewart even has recipes where all the ingredients of the curd are combined in the saucepan at the beginning, so no tempering, just careful whisking. It's THAT easy!

        Reply
    2. Carrie says

      February 26, 2016 at 12:50 pm

      What a great flavour combination. Pinned too!

      Reply
      • Janice says

        February 27, 2016 at 11:38 am

        Thanks and I really appreciate the pin too!

        Reply
    3. Vicky Chin says

      February 26, 2016 at 12:51 pm

      These cookies look so good! I am drooling!
      Will definitely try your recipe! ?

      Reply
      • Janice says

        February 27, 2016 at 11:38 am

        Yay! I'm so excited for you to try the recipe! And even if you only make the cookie part, it is totally worth it. They are buttery-coconut-delicious 😉

        Reply
    4. Justine @ JustineCelina.com says

      February 26, 2016 at 1:24 pm

      I love the sound of these cookies, Janice! So fresh and springy -- what a unique combination of flavours. They're absolutely adorable, too. Have a fantastic weekend!

      Reply
      • Janice says

        February 27, 2016 at 11:36 am

        Thanks! It IS very spring! Has me excited for Easter, actually too 🙂

        Reply
    5. christelle is flabbergasting says

      February 26, 2016 at 1:45 pm

      Your warning on bad lemon curd from grocery stores reminds me something! 😉

      Reply
      • Janice says

        February 27, 2016 at 11:35 am

        Absolutely! Hehe! If it weren't for that project, I would have never known how bad store-bought lemon curd is!

        Reply
    6. Sean says

      February 26, 2016 at 10:00 pm

      These are beautiful. I made lemon curd for the first time a year or so ago, and now I can't get enough. It's just the sunniest, most spectacular little splash of sweetness. These look amazing. Seriously, how do you control your portions with all this incredible baking?

      Reply
      • Janice says

        February 27, 2016 at 11:37 am

        Thanks, Sean! I exercise about 6 hours a week (ugh), and I also try to give away as much as possible because I've noticed over the years, I tend to hit the cookies a little harder 😉

        Reply
    7. Sarah | (Cooking for) Kiwi and Bean says

      February 28, 2016 at 8:31 pm

      Do you ship to Toronto???!!! Seriously these look so amazing!

      Reply
    8. Faye Rodriguez says

      November 20, 2016 at 10:55 am

      Hi! Sorry for all the questions - How long will these cookies keep with the curd in them? Do they get soggy is made ahead of time? Do they need to be stored in the refrigerator?

      Reply
    9. Maria says

      September 21, 2019 at 11:50 am

      Janice,
      Thank you for your blog!
      I made the cookies and they were amazing! I don't normally care much for coconut but they were very buttery, melted in your mouth, with subtle coconut flavor.
      The dough was too sticky to roll even after chilling. So, I made 1 tsp balls with a cookie scoop, flattened them and froze for 30 min, then baked.
      The curd was too thin: it could have been small egg yolks (I used 5 however). Maybe putting egg yolks weight would be helpful. But I turned the curd into grapefruit butter cream by adding 1 stick of whipped butter.
      Thanks again! This recipe is a keeper!

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    This is a picture of Janice Lawandi

    Hi, I'm Janice! I am a baking-obsessed recipe developer with a PhD in Chemistry who writes about baking and the science of baking.

    More about me →

    Give back

    If you enjoy the free content on this website, consider saying thank you!

    Eggless chocolate cake

    Chocolate layer cake with cream cheese frosting and chocolate sprinkles on a cake stand.
    Learn to make an eggless chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting!

    Bake for Easter

    • Mini Egg bars cut into squares and served on small plates with a glass of milk on the side and a bowl of Mini Eggs.
      Mini Eggs blondies
    • Brownies decorated with Easter eggs cut into squares to serve.
      Easter brownies with Mini Eggs
    • Freshly baked carrot muffins being served on plates with butter.
      Moist carrot muffins
    • A slice of carrot cake layer cake with cream cheese frosting on a pale blue plate with a fork and striped linen napkin.
      Eggless carrot cake
    • Hot cross bun on a pink plate split open and served with butter.
      How to make hot cross buns for Easter weekend
    • Slices of chocolate babka bread
      Dark chocolate babka for Easter

    Bake with citrus

    • Lemon loaf cake topped with lemon icing and fresh raspberries being sliced to serve it
      Lemon loaf cake
    • Jars of homemade lime marmalade on a cooling rack.
      Lime marmalade
    • Pavlova cake filled with whipped cream, lemon curd, and raspberries being served.
      Pavlova
    • Orange pie with saltine crust and topped with orange marmalade glaze.
      Orange pie
    • A pot of homemade marmalade ready to be canned in jars.
      Orange marmalade
    • A pink glass plate with lemon bars.
      Easy lemon bars

    Baking conversions

    Buy the baking conversion charts NOW!

    How to poach pears

    Poached pears on an enamelware plate.
    This easy poached pears recipe is simple and you can use the poached fruit for salads, appetizers, and desserts!
    This is a picture of Janice Lawandi

    Hi, I'm Janice! I am a baking-obsessed recipe developer with a PhD in Chemistry who writes about baking and the science of baking.

    More about me →

    Give back

    If you enjoy the free content on this website, consider saying thank you!

    Eggless chocolate cake

    Chocolate layer cake with cream cheese frosting and chocolate sprinkles on a cake stand.
    Learn to make an eggless chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting!

    Bake for Easter

    • carrot focaccia with feta and almonds
      Carrot focaccia
    • Let's bake with carrots-
      What to bake with carrots
    • Button-shaped cookies - Honey flavoured cookies
      Honey sugar cookies (cut-out cookies)
    • carrot cake
      Glazed carrot cake

    Bake with citrus

    • A pink plate filled with lemon shortbread cookies and with a yellow napkin.
      Lemon shortbread cookies
    • Pink grapefruit marmalade on toast on a plate with a striped linen.
      Grapefruit marmalade
    • Slices of orange cranberry cake served on pink glass plates with forks.
      Orange cranberry bundt cake
    • Rubbing lemon zest into granulated sugar in a bowl to make lemon sugar.
      How to make lemon sugar
    • Drizzling lemon cranberry muffins on a wire rack with lemon icing.
      Cranberry lemon muffins
    • A scoop of lemon ice cream served on a speckled plate with a cone and a black spoon
      Lemon custard ice cream

    Baking conversions

    Buy the baking conversion charts NOW!

    How to poach pears

    Poached pears on an enamelware plate.
    This easy poached pears recipe is simple and you can use the poached fruit for salads, appetizers, and desserts!

    Footer

    If you enjoy the free content on this website, consider saying thank you!

    Buy Me a Pound of Butter

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Meet Janice
    • FAQ
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and conditions
    • Accessibility
    • Press

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Services
    • Portfolio

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    COPYRIGHT © 2023 · THE BAKE SCHOOL