Pina Colada Cookies
My pina colada cookies taste just like the drink (minus the alcohol)! These pina colada cookies will take you to a tropical paradise! National Pina Colada Day is July 10, so these are a fun way to celebrate it!
As with all my recipes, I use the scientific method to carefully craft them to ensure you get deliciously perfect results every time.
These cookies start with a traditional thumbprint cookie dough base, but I add rum extract to it, which really brings out the pina colada flavor. Then, I roll them in shredded coconut to put the “colada” in “pina colada”. Plus, the bits of coconut that get toasted during the baking add a nice visual appeal.
I fill them with homemade pineapple curd, which has a bright and joyfully tropical flavor. Check out my recipe for Easy Pineapple Curd. Finally, I top them with a maraschino cherry - the usual garnish for the drink. You’ll impress your guests with these cookies because they are as beautiful as they are delicious! You’ll also see below my secret to getting the perfect “thumbprint” in the cookie.
It’s five o’clock somewhere, so let’s get baking!
Ingredients
Cookies
2 sticks (226 grams or 1 cup) of unsalted butter
1 large egg
133 grams (2/3 cup) of white granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of rum extract
1/2 teaspoon of salt
307 grams (2 1/4 cups and 1 level tablespoon) of all-purpose flour
80 grams (2/3 cup) of sweetened shredded coconut for rolling
Maraschino Cherries (optional garnish)
Pineapple Curd (Yields about 1 cup. You’ll need about a 1/2 cup for this recipe.)
4 large egg yolks
67 grams (1/3 cup) of white granulated sugar
2 teaspoons of cornstarch
1/2 cup of canned pineapple juice
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
21 grams (1 1/2 tablespoons) of unsalted butter
Yields 24 cookies
Pineapple Curd Instructions
We’ll start with the pineapple curd because it needs to chill for 5 to 6 hours before using. It’s even better to let it chill overnight, so you can make the pineapple curd the day before baking the cookies.
First, it’s absolutely essential to use canned pineapple juice. Why? Here’s some geeky science knowledge for you!
Pineapples contain bromelain, a protein-digesting enzyme. This enzyme is the cause of that stinging sensation you feel after eating pineapple. The pineapple, or more specifically the enzyme, is eating you back!
Deep-sea sponges are immune to the effects of bromelain, which is why they can live inside pineapples ;)
That enzyme also prevents thickening when trying to make pineapple curd. However, the canning process pasteurizes the pineapple juice by heating it to a temperature that kills or denatures the bromelain. Thus, we can make curd with canned pineapple juice!
Let all ingredients come to room temperature.
Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Set the yolks aside.
In a saucepan, add the sugar, cornstarch, pineapple juice, and lemon juice.
Why lemon juice? The lemon juice enhances and brings out the pineapple flavor, but you don’t actually taste the lemon. The cornstarch is essential because it thickens the curd.
Geeky Tip: A saucepan with a heavy or thick bottom works best because it promotes even heating and reduces the chance of burning.
Whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, pineapple juice, and lemon juice. Make sure there are no lumps or visible bits of cornstarch.
Then, whisk in the yolks until fully incorporated.
Put the saucepan over low-medium heat. Using a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, occasionally stir it to ensure it doesn’t burn.
Heat it for about 10-12 minutes.
After about 10-12 minutes or when the curd reaches a consistency that coats the spatula or back of the spoon, remove it from heat. It should have a consistency similar to pudding or custard.
Geeky Tip: If you drag a finger through the coating, and the two sides don’t fill the gap after a few seconds, then the curd is done.
Stir in the butter until fully incorporated.
The curd is already smooth, but if you want it even smoother, you can strain it through a sieve or fine mesh strainer.
Pour the curd into a glass container. Don’t use metal or plastic.
Cover it with plastic wrap, and make sure the plastic wrap touches the entire surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming on it.
Refrigerate the curd for at least 5 to 6 hours before serving. It’s even better to chill it overnight.
The curd can be stored in an airtight glass container and refrigerated for up to 7 days.
Cookies Instructions
Let all ingredients come to room temperature. Cut the butter into small pieces to help it come to room temperature.
Geeky Tip: Ingredients that are all the same temperature incorporate more easily and fully.
Have about 1/2 cup of the pineapple curd at room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Geeky Tip: Oven temperatures vary wildly, so get an oven thermometer. When my oven “beeps” to indicate pre-heating is done, it is usually 50-75 degrees below the target temperature. An oven thermometer is the best $5 baking investment you can make!
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
Geeky Tip: I highly recommend using a light-colored aluminum baking sheet. Baking sheets that are dark will conduct more heat and may burn whatever is on them. Just think of wearing a black shirt versus a white shirt on a hot sunny day. Old baking sheets that have dark spots may heat unevenly.
Put the shredded coconut for rolling into a bowl. Set it aside.
Beat the butter until it has a smooth appearance. About 1 minute on medium-high speed.
Geeky Tip: This helps to work some air into the butter that will aid the rise later, and it makes it easier for the sugar to cut into the butter.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the sugar into the butter, and cream together until lighter in color and fluffy. About 2-3 minutes on medium-high speed.
Occasionally, scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Beat in the egg until it is incorporated.
Mix in the rum extract and salt.
Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients by halves, and mix until just incorporated. Don’t overmix.
Geeky Tip: Overmixing will build up the gluten and protein structure in the dough and lead to a tougher and denser cookie.
Using a #40 cookie scoop (medium or 1 1/2 tablespoons), make scoops of dough, and form them into balls with your hands.
Geeky Tip: Rolling them into balls helps them have a more uniformly circular shape during baking.
Roll the balls in the shredded coconut, and evenly place them 1 to 2 inches apart on the sheet.
Now, for the secret to getting the perfect “thumbprint”…
Press into the center of the balls with the bottom of a round 1 tablespoon measuring spoon.
Spoon the curd into the cookies, so the curd is just below the top of the indentation. Don’t overfill the cookies, or the curd will spill over during baking.
Bake on the oven’s center rack for 16-19 minutes.
After baking, place the sheet on a wire rack to cool.
Garnish each cookie with a maraschino cherry.
Enjoy!
Storage
To store the cookies, put them in an airtight container and refrigerate. They can be refrigerated for 3 to 5 days.
Pina Colada Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (226 grams or 1 cup) of unsalted butter
- 1 large egg
- 133 grams (⅔ cup) of white granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons of rum extract
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 307 grams (2 ¼ cups and 1 level tablespoon) of all-purpose flour
- 80 grams (⅔ cup) of sweetened shredded coconut flakes for rolling
- Maraschino cherries (optional garnish)
- 4 large egg yolks
- 67 grams (1/3 cup) of white granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup of canned pineapple juice
- 2 teaspoons of lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons of cornstarch
- 21 grams (1 1/2 tablespoons) of unsalted butter
Instructions
- Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Set the yolks aside.
- In a saucepan, add the sugar, pineapple juice, lemon juice, and cornstarch.
- Whisk together the sugar, pineapple juice, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Make sure there are no lumps or visible bits of cornstarch.
- Then, whisk in the yolks until fully incorporated.
- Put the saucepan over low-medium heat. Using a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, occasionally stir it to ensure it doesn’t burn.
- Heat it for about 10-12 minutes.
- After about 10-12 minutes or when the curd reaches a consistency that coats the spatula or back of the spoon, remove it from heat. If you drag a finger through the coating, and the two sides don’t fill the gap after a few seconds, then the curd is done. It should have a consistency similar to pudding or custard.
- Mix in the butter until fully incorporated.
- The curd is already smooth, but if you want it even smoother, you can strain it through a sieve or fine mesh strainer.
- Pour the curd into a glass container. Don’t use metal or plastic.
- Cover it with plastic wrap, and make sure the plastic wrap touches the entire surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming on it.
- Refrigerate the curd for at least 5 to 6 hours before serving. It’s even better to chill it overnight.
- The curd can be stored in an airtight glass container and refrigerated for up to 7 days.
- Let all ingredients come to room temperature. Cut the butter into small pieces to help it come to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 50 degrees F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Have about 1/2 cup of the pineapple curd at room temperature.
- Put the shredded coconut for rolling into a bowl. Set it aside.
- Beat the butter until it has a smooth appearance. About 1 minute on medium-high speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the sugar into the butter, and cream together until lighter in color and fluffy. About 2-3 minutes on medium-high speed. Occasionally, scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Beat in the egg until it is incorporated.
- Mix in the rum extract and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients by halves, and mix until just incorporated. Don’t overmix.
- Using a #40 cookie scoop (medium or 1 1/2 tablespoons), make scoops of dough, and form them into balls with your hands.
- Roll the balls in the shredded coconut, and evenly place them 1 to 2 inches apart on the sheet.
- Press into the center of the balls with the bottom of a round 1 tablespoon measuring spoon.
- Spoon the curd into the cookies, so the curd is just below the top of the indentation. Don’t overfill the cookies, or the curd will spill over during baking.
- Bake on the oven’s center rack for 16-19 minutes. After baking, place the sheet on a wire rack to cool.
- Garnish each cookie with a maraschino cherry.
Notes
To store the cookies, put them in an airtight container and refrigerate. They can be refrigerated for 3 to 5 days.