Day 8 … Coconut Bullseyes

Moving right along, today for Day 8 of the 12 Days of Chocolate Cookies we’re taking that basic chocolate cookie dough and wrapping it around a coconut filling to make bullseyes. Fancy that! I love doing slice and bake cookies like bullseyes, pinwheels and marble cookies because they’re easy. And they look impressive. A slice and bake will become your best cookie baking friend in no time.

For bullseyes, make the filling, roll into a log and freeze until firm. Roll the dough (with a few simple additions) into a rectangle large enough to completely wrap around the filling. Chill. Slice. Bake. Easy peasy and the black and white contrast is very pretty. I used a black cocoa here which turned out quite nice and looks especially lovely against the white filling. The cookie is a little crisp, the coconut center is a little softer and the contrast of textures and flavors between the two is great. Now … if you want to get even fancier and take this Mounds kind of cookie into Almond Joy territory here’s what you do. After you make the cookie log as directed, brush it with egg while and roll it in chopped smoked almonds. Outstanding.

36 One Dough/Many Cookies from years past:

Fruity: Jam Thumbprints, Jam Streusel Tarts, Raspberry Linzer Squares, Lemon Poppyseed Buttons, Orange Sesame Crisps, Cranberry Pistachio Coins, Almond Raspberry Strips, Orange Sandwich Cookies, Apricot Rosemary Shortbread, Coconut Lime Sticks, Bourbon Glazed Fruitcake Buttons, Lemon Cornmeal Biscotti, Blueberry Lime Buttons, Date Swirls

Nutty: Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, Pecan Tassies, Maple Black Walnut Cookies, PB&J Sandwich Cookies, Pecan Triangles

Spiced: Cinnamon Sugar Pinwheels, Candied Ginger Spice Buttons, Cardamom Rose Coins, Brown Sugar Wafers with Lemon Lavender Glaze

Chocolate: Mexican Chocolate Crinkles, Chocolate Cocoa Nib Wafers, Raspberry Chocolate Drops, Chocolate Hazelnut Buttons, Dark Mocha Sandwich Cookies, Espresso Crinkles

Bars: Rum Butter Bars, Peppermint Brownie Bars, Banana Walnut Bars

Holiday Classics: Cream Cheese Wreaths, Classic Molasses Cookies, Peppermint Candy Canes

2020 One Dough/12 Days of Cookies line up to date:

Basic Chocolate Butter Cookie Dough

Day 1: Cranberry Cocoa Nib Wafers

Day 2: Chocolate Banana Petit Four

Day 3: Dulce de Leche Sandwich Cookies

Day 4: Andes Mint Chip Cookies

Day 5: Chocolate Lebkuchen

Day 6: Fudge Tarts

Day 7: Chocolate Marzipan Cookies

DAY 8: COCONUT BULLSEYES

Start with the base chocolate dough – recipe here. I used a black cocoa for this one mixed 60/40 with a dutch cocoa for the best flavor.

1. For the coconut filling: In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth. 
2. Add the coconut and mix on medium until blended. 
3. Divide the mixture corresponding with the batch size – 4, 2 or 1 pieces. (if you have one, use a scale)
4. On a piece of plastic wrap, shape one piece of coconut filling into a 11” long roll, wrap in plastic wrap and roll back and forth to form a nice, round log. Place on a sheet pan and freeze 30 minutes to firm. Do the same with the remaining pieces if needed.
5. For the cookie dough: In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the room temperature base cookie dough, baking soda, sugar and salt until blended.
6. Add the water and mix until a soft, smooth dough is formed.
7. Divide the dough corresponding with the batch size – 4, 2 or 1 piece(s). (if you have one, use a scale)
8. Roll a piece of cookie dough between two sheets of parchment paper into a 11”x 4 ½” rectangle, about 1/8” thick. 
9. Position the dough with the long edge closest to you. Remove top piece of parchment and brush the lightly beaten egg white along the long edge farthest from you.
10. Remove the coconut log from the freezer, unwrap and place along the dough edge
11. Roll dough around filling and seal edges by pinching and rolling gently to seal. Give it a few rolls to seal and even out.
12. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate 2-3 hours or overnight (log can be frozen up to 2 months at this point, tightly wrapped.)
13. To bake: Preheat oven to 350°F and line sheet pans with parchment paper.
14. Unwrap dough and cut into ¼” slices with a sharp knife. If the dough crumbles, let warm on the counter a few minutes. After every cut, rotate the dough to avoid any flat sides. 
15. Place 2” apart on prepared pans, reshaping into a nice round if the cookies smooshes a bit during cutting. 
16. Bake until set, about 8 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through (top to bottom, back to front). 
17. Cool 1 minute before transferring to wire racks to cool fully (just slide the parchment from the sheet pan to the rack).

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