Coconut Orange Macadamia Shortbread Cookies

Baking some short bread cookies for the holidays was always on my list but I never got around to doing it. This time around I made sure that it somehow got into my holiday baking. I started out with a basic shortbread cookie recipe but decided to double up the recipe and add two variations to it to make two different kinds of shortbread cookies.

That turned out to be a great thing, as each recipe game me about 40 cookies and I would not know what to do with 80 cookies of the same kind. I made these coconut orange macadamia shortbread cookies and some chai masala and cashew nut shortbread cookies. I really cant put my finger on one and say that it is my favorite, but one thing I would definitely say is that, crunch from the coconut is just something in itself in these cookies!

Coconut Orange Macadamia Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients

1. 2 cups flour
2. ¼ teaspoon baking powder
3. 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
4. 1 teaspoon water
5. ½ teaspoon salt
6. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
7. ⅔ cup powdered sugar
8. 1 cup dessicated coconut
9. 1 tablespoon orange blossom water
10. zest of one orange
11. ¼ cup macadamia nuts, chopped

Instructions

1. Beat the butter well in a stand mixer till it becomes creamy.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients together other than coconut and nuts and mix well.
3. Toast the coconut till light golden brown.
4. Mix it in with the nuts to the mixture in the stand mixer.
5. Spread out a sheet of cling wrap.
6. Scoop out the dough onto it and roll it out to a log shaped roll about 1 ½ to 2 inches in diameter.
7. Roll tightly with the cling wrap and twist at both ends in opposite direction.
8. Chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
9. Preheat the oven to 350F.
10. Take out the roll and unwrap it. Cut the log into circles ¼ inch thick or so.
11. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
12. Bake for 20-30 mins until lightly golden in color.
13. Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight jar.