These coconut biscuits with cocoa are one of the easy recipes that taste absolutely delicious. The original recipe comes from the Czech Republic, where they are called "koka sušenky".
I often get asked if Czechs bake cookies and if I could provide a typical Czech recipe. Here in the Czech Republic, we tend to bake sheet cakes, like this kefir cake or apple coffee cake.
However, today I would like to show you a recipe for coconut biscuits, which are very popular in the Czech Republic. We call them "koka" and perhaps every Czech knows how these sweet biscuits look and taste.
Just for the record: the Czech word "sušenka" means biscuit or cookie.
MY TIP: Try these kolacky cookies, too (they are awesome!)
➜ Pronunciation
To give you an idea of how the Czech words "koka sušenky" is pronounced, I have recorded a short audio clip for you.
➜ Ingredients
To make coconut biscuits recipe, you will need:
- All-purpose flour; in UK plain flour. Use wheat flour, not coconut one.
- Desiccated coconut (dried finely shredded); not fresh coconut
- Unsalted butter; softened at room temperature
- Egg yolk (without egg white)
- Granulated sugar
- Cocoa powder
- Baking soda (bicarbonate soda)
- Vanilla paste; or vanilla essence
✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.
➜ Instructions with photos
STEP 1: In a large bowl, cream the softened butter with the granulated sugar and egg yolk. Use an electric mixer (photo 1).
STEP 2: Add the dry ingredients: flour mixed with baking soda, cocoa powder, then vanilla paste, and coconut (photo 2).
First, mix all the ingredients in a bowl using a spatula. Then dump everything out onto work surface and make a soft dough by hand.
STEP 3: Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
STEP 4: Scoop out equal-sized pieces of dough (about a small tablespoon of dough) and roll them into a one-inch ball between your palms. Flatten small balls slightly and place them on a baking sheet.
Continue like this until you have used up all the dough. Leave some space between the dough balls when you place them on the baking sheet. Flatten each biscuit further with a fork. This will also create a simple pattern on the biscuits' surface.
STEP 5: Preheat oven to 340°F (170°C). Place the baking sheet with biscuits in the center of the oven on a wire rack. Let bake for 10 minutes.
➜ Serving
Once the coconut biscuits have cooled a little, remove them from the tray. Arrange the biscuits in a bowl and set them on the table. Enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee.
➜ Storage
On the first day the coconut biscuits are tender, the next days they start to soften.
If you have any leftovers, put them in an airtight container and store them in a cool, dry place. Biscuits stored in this way will keep for 3-4 weeks.
➜ Useful tips
- The butter must necessarily be softened at room temperature. If you forget to take it out of the fridge in time, put it in a small saucepan and carefully leave it to soften on the stove, turned on low.
- Koka biscuits, when flattened with a fork, will have an irregular shape around the perimeter. So it's okay, perfectionism is out of place.
- The best part of this coconut biscuit recipe is that you only need the basic ingredients. No special cookie cutter, just a common fork to create the desired pattern on the biscuits.
More Czech sweets:
- Easter biscuits – egg-shaped, filled with jam
- Kolaches – an authentic recipe!
- Koblihy – Czech donuts
- Piskoty – crispy biscuits
Tried this recipe?
Leave a review down in the comments! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Coconut Biscuits (Czech Koka sušenky)
Ingredients
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour (100 g)
- ½ cup desiccated coconut (50 g)
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (85 g) softened at room temperature
- 1 egg yolk
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (65 g)
- 1 and ½ tablespoons dark cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon vanilla paste or vanilla essence
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream the softened butter with the granulated sugar and egg yolk. Use an electric mixer.
- Add the dry ingredients: flour mixed with baking soda, cocoa powder, then vanilla paste, and coconut.
- First, mix all the ingredients in a bowl using a spatula. Then dump everything out onto work surface and make a soft dough by hand.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Scoop out equal-sized pieces of dough (about a small tablespoon of dough) and roll them into a one-inch ball between your palms. Flatten small balls slightly and place them on a baking sheet.
- Continue like this until you have used up all the dough. Leave some space between the dough balls when you place them on the baking sheet. Flatten each biscuit further with a fork. This will also create a simple pattern on the biscuits' surface.
- Preheat oven to 340°F (170°C). Place the baking sheet with biscuits in the center of the oven on a wire rack. Let bake for 10 minutes.
Notes
- Makes about 30 coconut biscuits.
- STORAGE: On the first day the coconut biscuits are tender, the next days they start to soften. If you have any leftovers, put them in an airtight container and store them in a cool, dry place. Biscuits stored in this way will keep for 3-4 weeks.
- The butter must necessarily be softened at room temperature. If you forget to take it out of the fridge in time, put it in a small saucepan and carefully leave it to soften on the stove, turned on low.
DISCLAIMER: Because I come from Central Europe, my recipes are based on metric units such as grams or milliliters. Check out how I convert metric units to the U.S. system:
Conversion chart
Anne
I love all your recipes, I really appreciate when you add the audio file for the proper pronunciation. I have made a coup!e of your recipes and will definitely make these coconut biscuits for my son's girlfriend who is originally from Czech. Recipes like these make her nostalgic. A few weeks ago she cooked goulash and bread dumplings, which was very delicious. Thank you for sharing your Recipes.
Petra Kupská
Ahoj Anne, thank you very much for your lovely comment! I am so glad that you and your family like the dishes made according to these Czech recipes. These coconut biscuits in particular are very tasty for those with a sweet tooth, plus they are simple to prepare. If you bake them, be sure to give me feedback on how they turned out! Best wishes from Bohemia, Petra
Jana Gassman
Vynikajici! Akorat jsem dopekla. Syn ma rad Esicka, kdyz jedeme babicce do Cech. Tyhle susenky mi to moc pripomina.Diky moc za dobry a jednoduchy recept!!!
Petra Kupská
Ooo díky moc! 🙂 Mám radost, u nás tedy mají domácí koka úspěch. Úplně jsi mi připomněla esíčka, to je pravda, oboje tyhle sušenky, koka i esíčka, jsou jedny z českých TOP! 🙂
Olga
They are very good! I only had on hand sweetened, coarsely shredded coconut so I used less sugar.
I have few Czech cookbooks and they are many sites on internet, but I always go to your's first! Consistently excellent recipes, easy to remember name, very well organized. Great job.
Thank you!
Petra Kupská
Thank you, Olga, very much for your lovely feedback (it's making me blush :). I'm glad the cookies turned out well with the sweetened coconut and that you handled the situation so perfectly! You can actually buy only one kind of shredded coconut (dried, finely shredded, unsweetened) in the Czech Republic unless you go to a specialty store.
Brian
Thank you, Petra. Your biscuits are lovely and a big hit with my partner who is quite unused to me making biscuits. I was looking for a recipe to use some dessicated coconut and cacao powder and was lucky to find your website. Twice in the last fortnight, I have successfully followed your very clear recipe (with great translating by your son). Encouraged by this, I am now looking for other recipes to try.
Petra Kupská
Thank you, Brian, for such a nice comment! I'm glad you liked the cookies. They are one of the most popular here in the Czech Republic 🙂