Authentic Moroccan Coconut Snowball Cookies – Halwat Al Coco

These are probably one of the most recognizable in Morocco. We call them coconut snowball cookies and they are absolutely divine!

In a nutshell, or a coconut shell if you wish, Snowball Cookies are the ultimate moroccan cookie sandwich.

How to make Moroccan Coconut Snowball Cookies

Although they do look divine, there is nothing complicated about these cookies. They are relatively simple to make and require the following ingredients:

Ingredient list:

1. Butter: a lot of recipes call for vegetable oil only, however, I find that butter gives a softer and melt in your mouth texture that oil just does not give. Because butter has a melting temperature that is just around body temperature, biting into these gives you that “melt in your mouth” feeling.
2. Egg: use 2 large eggs for both colour and structure.
3. Vegetable oil: make sure that the oil you’re using is neutral in flavour to ensure that it does not disturb the delicate flavours of these cookies.
4. Granulated Sugar: for texture and sweetness.
5. Lemon zest: Do not skip this ingredient. The citrusy flavour of lemon zest plays wonderfully with the flavours of coconut and apricot jam. This is a must.
6. Pure Vanilla extract: another great flavour booster.
7. Baking powder. 
8. All-purpose flour. 
9. Pinch of salt: It may look odd to include salt in a baking recipe, however salt in baking recipes does enhance the flavour of the other ingredients. Salt also provides a balance to the sweetness of these cookies. However, the key is to only use a little to avoid tasting the flavour of salt in desserts.

For the Apricot + Coconut Coating

1. Apricot jam: to dip your cookies in and before rolling them in shredded coconut. Apricot jam is the traditional choice as it works so well with coconut. I highly recommend it.
2. Honey: helps your jam mixture liquify better and makes it stickier which is ideal in this recipe.
3. Shredded sweetened coconut: make sure that you blend your coconut shreds for a few seconds before using as they are often quite big and will have a hard time sticking to the cookies.

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 385°F

2. Place butter, oil, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and eggs in a large bowl. Mix with a whisk until everything is well mixed together and the sugar is dissolved. The mixture should be completely homogenous.

3. Add the flour, baking powder, and pinch of salt to the wet ingredients, and mix using a spatula. Mix gently and slowly at first to avoid losing some flour on your work surface. Once the mixture has mostly come together, mix with your hands to bring the dough together to form a ball with the dough. The dough should feel soft but not sticky.

   

4. Take a cookie sheet and line with parchment paper. Start forming your balls. Try not to make your cookies too big. Measure 1/2 – 1 tsp for each cookie as they will puff up in the oven. Try not to just eyeball the size, rather, stick to a form of measurement and roll swiftly in your hands to form evenly sized dough balls. Place your cookie balls on your baking sheet.

   

5. Bake in the oven at 385°F for 16 minutes. The timing depends on the size of your balls. Our balls were roughly 1 tsp, levelled, each.

6. Heat the apricot jam and honey on medium-low heat in a small saucepan until it liquifies, then lower the heat to low in order to keep it warm. Meanwhile, pour your coconut into a large bowl and set aside. Note that if your coconut shavings are rather large, you can pulse them lightly in a food processor to make the mixture a bit more fine. You still want some larger coconut shreds, but it helps to coat them more evenly if some of the coconut is fine

7. Once the cookies come out of the oven, make sure to let them cool 5-10 minutes before assembling.

8. Place 6-8 cookies at a time (depending on the size of your saucepan) in the jam mixture, off the heat, and submerge with the help of two teaspoons, mixing carefully and gently to completely cover them with jam. Let them absorb the jam for about 2-3 minutes. Scoop two out at a time, stick them together on their flat side, and then submerge in coconut shavings. Repeat for all the cookies.

5 from 1 vote

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Authentic Moroccan Coconut Snowball Cookies

Simple, delectable and easy to make, these Moroccan Eid Cookies are an absolute joy to eat and share.

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 16 minutes

Author Idriss

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp (125g) butter room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup (125g) oil
• 1/2 cup (125g) granulated sugar
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp (8g) baking powder
• 4 1/2 cups (560g) all purpose flour
• 1 pinch salt
• (300g) apricot jam
• 2 tbsp honey
• (250g) shredded sweetened coconut

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 385°F

2. Place butter, oil, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and eggs in a large bowl. Mix with a whisk until everything is well mixed together and the sugar is dissolved. The mixture should be completely homogenous.

3. Add the flour, baking powder, and pinch of salt to the wet ingredients, and mix using a spatula. Mix gently and slowly at first to avoid losing some flour on your work surface. Once the mixture has mostly come together, mix with your hands to bring the dough together to form a ball with the dough. The dough should feel soft but not sticky.

4. Take a cookie sheet and line with parchment paper. Start forming your balls. Try not to make your cookies too big. Measure 1/2 - 1 tsp for each cookie as they will puff up in the oven. Try not to just eyeball the size, rather, stick to a form of measurement and roll swiftly in your hands to form evenly sized dough balls. Place your cookie balls on your baking sheet.

5. Bake in the oven at 385°F for 16 minutes. The timing depends on the size of your balls. Our balls were roughly 1 tsp, levelled, each.

6. Heat the apricot jam and honey on medium heat in a small saucepan until it liquifies, then lower the heat to low in order to keep it warm. Meanwhile, pour your coconut into a large bowl and set aside. Note that if your coconut shavings are rather large, you can pulse them lightly in a food processor to make the mixture a bit more fine. You still want some larger coconut shreds, but it helps to coat them more evenly if some of the coconut is fine

7. Once the cookies come out of the oven, make sure to let them cool 5-10 minutes before assembling.

8. Place 6-8 cookies at a time (depending on the size of your saucepan) in the jam mixture, off the heat, and submerge with the help of two teaspoons, mixing carefully and gently to completely cover them with jam. Let them absorb the jam for about 2-3 minutes. Scoop two out at a time, stick them together on their flat side, and then submerge in coconut shavings. Repeat for all the cookies.

9. Store in an airtight container after you let them cool down for at least 20 minutes. They will get more soft and melt-in-your-mouth over time.