Little Tweaks Have Big Impacts: Toasted Coconut Shortbread

A couple of years ago I made Alison Roman's famous Salted Chocolate Chunk Shortbread and thought they were just fabulous. She also has a recipe for Toasted Coconut Shortbread that is quite similar, and I finally got around to giving it a try.
 
Like her chocolate chunk shortbread, Roman's coconut shortbread calls for cold salted butter. I used Trader Joe's cultured butter. You cut the butter into small pieces and mix it with granulated sugar, light brown sugar, and vanilla until "super" light and fluffy; add flour and unsweetened shredded coconut; and mix until blended. These cookies have a little cinnamon swirl in the middle that you make by taking the dough out of the bowl; sprinkling on cinnamon; folding the dough over the cinnamon to encase it inside; and forming the dough into a log. I chilled the dough for a full day before baking.
The following day, I brushed the logs of dough with egg wash; rolled them in more desiccated coconut; cut them into slices; and dipped the top of each cookie in sanding sugar before baking. My cookies ended up with all sorts of differently shaped cinnamon swirls, and the coconut around the edges was nicely browned and toasted.
 
These cookies were fine, but honestly, I was a little disappointed. The chocolate chunk shortbreads are so amazing -- with a sturdy, buttery texture -- but these coconut cookies had an airier and less satisfying texture. I also found the flavor lacking. The cookies didn't have nearly as much coconut flavor as I would have hoped. The cinnamon swirl seemed like just a throwaway that didn't add much aside from some visual interest. The two base recipes are nearly identical except that the coconut version includes less flour and includes dried coconut in the batter, and those small changes make a huge difference. In my mind, the coconut version is far inferior.
 
Recipe: "Toasted Coconut Shortbread" by Alison Roman, from The New York Times. 

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