sp
Home: Latin Food Recipes: Coconut Cookie Recipe

Besitos de Coco
Coconut Cookie Recipe
From the Spanish Speaking Islands

Coconut Cookie Recipe

My friend María Espada talks about the wonderful desserts she grew up enjoying in Puerto Rico. When I ask Dominicans about coconut cookies they say "ajá, besitos de coco," and strangely enough when I asked my friend Verito from Santa Marta, Colombia, about galletas de coco she tells me the same..."you mean besitos de coco."

Aren't these coconut cookies supposed to be from the Caribbean Islands only? Well ...we have to look a bit into their origin.

Even though many sources cite indigenous origins I still think these tasty treats came from African slaves. Who knows... probably mixed with indigenous touches.

For sure desserts with coconut were a delicacy amongst plantation owners and slaves who enjoyed them on special occasions, as Andres Ramos Mateii PHD, explains in his paper "Los Habitos Alimenticios de la Poblacion Trabajadora en las Haciendas Azucareras de Puerto Rico, Siglo XIX."

In South American countries, coconut recipes came from African slaves who arrived with Spanish and Portuguese conquerors, that is why I think we not only have besitos de coco in the Caribbean islands but also in countries like Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil that had black influence.

Besitos de coco are so popular that the great Puerto Rican singer Ismael Rivera immortalized a song with the name of this tasty treat amongst the Latin community in the U.S.

So here it is! The famous yet simple "kind of" Spanish coconut cookie recipe. I highly recommend it for Valentines either as a treat for your special loved one or to make it as a family with your children.

Ingredients:

  • 1 big dry coconut
  • 4 Tbsp of butter
  • 8 Tbsp of wheat flower
  • 1/4 Tbsp of vanilla extract
  • A pinch of salt
  • 1 cup of brown sugar
  • 4 egg yolks

    • How to Prepare:

  • Pre-heat the oven at 350F
  • Take the butter out of the fridge early so it is soft
  • Wash and shred the pulp of the coconut. You need 3 cups.
  • Combine the coconut with all the ingredients to form small balls with the mix.
  • Place the balls in a glass baking dish (grease it before hand) or baking sheet.
  • Bake the besitos for about 35 to 40 minutes until golden.

    		•
    Like HCO on Facebook
    125x125 NOVICA Black Friday
    Hispanic Culture

    Hispanic Resources

    Here are the sites and blogs I call worth visiting. They are innovative, fresh and filled with important Hispanic information.
    If you are interested in being included please contact me

    Y tu... Eres Boricua, Dominicano, centroamericano o simplemente mi paisano? We are all Hispanic, from different backgrounds and countries but all Hispanos.
    Did you feel at home? Interested in contributing to Hispanic Culture Online?

    Contact me. We are always interested in conveying what Hispanics have to say through small articles while giving you exposure and credit.



    Hispanic Facts
    in the U.S.

    One in seven people in the United States is of Hispanic origin.

    Hispanics are a mix of European, African and Native American people.

    In 204 B.C. Romans created the term Hispanic to identify inhabitants from the Iberian Peninsula which encompass Spain and Portugal today.

    The term Hispanic was adopted in the U.S. in the 1970s by the federal government in its census questionnaires.

    The U.S. is the fifth largest Hispanic country in the world.


    St. Augustine and Santa Fe were Hispanic cities founded before Plymouth.


    Spanish is the fourth most frequently spoken language in the world.


    Twenty countries speak Spanish as their first language.


    70% of the Hispanic population lives in five states: California, Texas, New York, Florida and Illinois.


    Hispanics are the largest minority in the U.S.


    Top of Coconut Cookie Recipe Page
    Home | Site Map | About Me | Contact
    Disclaimer | Build Your Own Website | What's New