Austrian Coconut "Busserl" cookies - like from granny

These Austrian coconut "busserl" cookies can never be missing from my annual Advent and Christmas tradition, of baking cookies with friends and relatives.

Thus, these delicacies have also become a small tradition.

Just the smell they spread while they are in the oven takes me back to my childhood.

At that time, I made cookies every year with my beloved grandma during Advent. These were not only enjoyed by myself, but also used as small gifts for acquaintances and friends.

It always gave me extreme pleasure to stand in the kitchen with my grandma and bake great cookies together with her.

This tradition, I have then continued in memory of her after her passing. Now that I have a little daughter myself, I continue this tradition with her.

Also, there are always those wonderful coconut "busserl" cookies on the agenda.

So let's get cracking and spread that wonderful coconut cookie smell throughout your home too! Shall we?

🥘 Ingredients

• Egg white
• Desiccated Coconut
• Powdered Sugar
• Fine Breadcrumbs
• Flour

This recipe will have 6 egg yolk leftover. To not have to discard them (that would be a shame), you might wanna read this article about how you can create delicious walnut cookies from leftover egg yolks or you can make delicious egg yolk cookies with jam!

🍽 Equipment

• Handheld electric mixer
• 1 big mixing bowl
• 1 bowl with a lid (for saving the yolk for another cookie recipe)
• Wooden spoon
• Pastry bag
• 1 Tablespoon
• 2-4 Baking papers (depends on the size of the cookies, how many you finally get out)
• 2-4 Baking trays (of course, you can reuse the baking trays)
• Lockable cookie jars for storing afterward
• Sandwich paper to line the cookie jar with

🔪 Instructions

First, get 6 eggs from the fridge and separate them. Put the 6 leftover yolks, which you won't need for the coconut cookies, in a sealable container and keep them in the fridge.

Use them later for another cookie recipe (What to do with leftover egg yolk - Recipes or egg yolk cookies). The 6 egg whites we need for the coconut "busserl" now. Now put the separated egg whites in a large mixing bowl and add powdered sugar.

Next, grab your hand mixer and whisk the egg whites into the powdered sugar until well combined.

Add the desiccated coconuts after the egg whites are well combined with the sugar.

Use a wooden spoon to stir the mixture until a viscous mass is formed. Add one tablespoon of breadcrumbs and flour once all the desiccated coconut is stirred in.

If you don't want to strain your arms too much here 💪, you can also have the kitchen machine mix the coconut flakes, flour, and crumbs into the egg white and sugar mixture.

Placing the coconut cookies on the baking tray

First, preheat the oven to 356 °F (180 °C) top-/ bottom heat. Now prepare a baking tray and cover it with baking paper.

Also, prepare a pastry bag. You can either use a medium-sized round tip for your pastry bag. Or (if you wanna use disposable pastry bags), cut off the cone end in the desired size.

In the particular case of the coconut busserl, I worked with disposable pastry bags. With these, the handling was quite convenient.

You can adjust the pastry bag's nib according to the dough's consistency quickly and easily. Now form small, pyramid-shaped heaps on the baking tray lined with baking paper using the pastry bag.

Wanna use baking wafers? If you fancy that, you first need to place the wafers on the baking tray lined with parchment paper and then use the pastry bag to press the coconut mixture onto the wafers.

Since I am not so enthusiastic about using baking wafers, I decided against them and stuck to the classic version without them. Now here we go, row after row of coconut cookies on the baking tray. *phew*

Once the first baking tray is filled up, bake the coconut "busserl" on the middle rack for 15 minutes.

While the first batch of cookies is in the oven, you can continue with the next tray until you have prepared several trays and no more dough is left. 👍

A wonderful smell spreads now throughout your home, right? This brings the right Christmas mood! 🎄

After 15 minutes, the first batch of coconut cookies is ready. Now put them aside and let them rest and cool.

Once the coconut "busserl" have cooled and firmed up a bit, you can remove them from the tray and store them in a well-sealed cookie tin.

I recommend lining the cookie tin with sandwich paper beforehand. So the coconut "busserl" do not stick accidentally in the cookie jar!

Lovely! The coconut cookies are made, it smells delicious in your home, and you can already start nibbling! 😀

I am a huge fan of recipes that continue to use leftover ingredients. Try this recipe for sourdough discard biscuits!

If you make this recipe, let me know how you liked it by ★★★★★ star rating it and leaving a comment below. This would be awesome! You can also sign up for our Newsletter or follow me on Pinterest or Instagram and share your creation with me. Just tag me @combinegoodflavors and hashtag #combinegoodflavors, so I don't miss it.

📖 Recipe

⛑️ Food Safety

• Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
• Wash hands after touching raw meat
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
• Never leave cooking food unattended
• Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
• Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove

For further information, check Safe Food Handling - FDA.