Coconut Cream Pie Cookies

Cookies:

3/4 cup salted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
1-1/2 tsp baking powder

Coconut Buttercream:

1/2 cup salted butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp coconut bakery emulsion or coconut extract
up to 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Toppings:

4 oz frozen whipped topping thawed (or make your own whipped cream)
1/3 cup toasted coconut


Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.

2. Cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar for 1 minute, until light in color and fluffy in texture.

3. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add in the eggs and vanilla. Mix until combined.

4. Add the flour, graham cracker crumbs and baking powder. Mix until a soft dough forms.

5. Portion the dough out into generous 3 tbsp portions.(I made smaller)

6. Roll into a ball and then smash slightly, so it looks like a hockey puck. The cookies will spread some while baking, so keep it pretty thick.

7. Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until the cookies have spread and are no longer wet and glossy in the center.
Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the pan. Once cooled completely, place the cookies in the fridge to chill while making the topping.

8. To make the coconut buttercream: slowly cream the salted butter until smooth.

9. Add in 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time, alternating with a little bit of heavy whipping cream to bring the mixture together.

10. Once all of the powdered sugar is incorporated into the butter, add another cup of powdered sugar. Repeat this until all of the powdered sugar is added and mixed in.

11. Add the coconut flavoring. Mix thoroughly. You can add a little extra heavy cream here to adjust the consistency, if desired. I like to keep mine pretty thick.

12. To assemble the cookies, spread a generous amount of the coconut buttercream onto the chilled cookie.

13. Top with a dollop of whipped topping, spread to cover the top of the cookie.

14. Then finish the cookie with a sprinkle of toasted coconut.

15. Serve chilled.  Store in the fridge for up to 5 days or they can be frozen for up to 3 months.

 from Cooking with Karli