Do you ever find yourself on culinary kicks? For me lately it’s passion fruit and lemons–two fruits I always turn to when berries are out of season. Passion fruit is really a versatile ingredient…you can make a showstopper multi-step dessert like this, or you can give it a casual spin and make something simple like these coconut cookie sandwiches with passion fruit curd. They are really good and because they are a little unique, people seem to really dig ‘em. Recipes below…
Feel free to make this all at once or in two steps like I did (I made the curd in the evening and the cookies the next day). The curd will take you about 15 minutes to make and the coconut cookies take the same amount of time as a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe. Basically, not much time at all! I loved the first passion fruit curd recipe I tried, but had a hard time finding a good coconut cookie. Finally, I decided to make up my own recipe. Here they are:
Passion Fruit Curd (recipe from here)
1/2 cup passion-fruit puree (I use this brand and love it!)
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
4 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Bring passion-fruit puree, lemon juice, sugar, salt and cornstarch to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Slowly whisk in egg yolks. Cook, whisking constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat. Add butter; whisk until melted. Pour through a fine sieve into a bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on surface of curd. Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours or overnight.
Coconut Cookies
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups unsweetened coconut (you can find this at Whole Foods and the like; I use Bob’s Red Mill)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl using a whisk. Set aside. In your mixer cream the butter, brown sugar and the white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla until light and fluffy (no need to overmix). With your mixer on low, gradually blend in the flour mixture. Once completed mix in the coconut with a spatula or wooden spoon. Drop the dough by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Space the cookies 2-3 inches apart. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
Assembly
Once the cookies are cool and the curd is chilled you are ready to go! Take one cookie, on its underside place about a heaping teaspoon of curd and place another cookie, underside down, on top. Lightly squeeze to even out the curd and quickly enjoy! This is one of those desserts you’ll want to consume promptly after assembly. If you have leftover curd, keep it for something else! It’s good in the fridge for about a week.
These look delicious Stephanie! I’m thinkin’ I am going to make these one day soon!
Oh man, these look and sound divine, but I can’t get passion fruit puree here. Would lemon curd work as well? If no, I will order from Amazon!