Coconut Drops – Gluten Free Recipe

Coconut Drops are a common baked treat found in bakeries in Trinidad and Tobago. I miss them a lot so I decided to make some. I used the Long Time Coconut Drops recipe from The Multi-Cultural Cuisine of Trinidad & Tobago & The Caribbean cookbook from Naparima Girls’ High School. I substituted the flour with the Perfect Flour Blend from Namaste Foods. I bought this flour from Be Free Foods. The flour could also be ordered Amazon. The Coconut Drops came out great, the texture and taste was good. I kept the recipe simple. Next time, I will add raisins or sultanas with less sugar so it would not be too sweet.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients
1 cup Gluten Free All-purpose flour
1 tsp Gluten Free baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
2 oz./ ¼ cup dairy-free margarine (softened)
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 cups grated coconut
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp grated lemon rind

Method

1. Sift together flour, baking powder and cinnamon.
2. Cream margarine and sugar; blend in egg in a separate bowl.
3. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture.
4. Stir in coconut, vanilla and rind; batter should be stiff.
5. Drop on greased sheet in rough heaps the size of an egg. Makes 16-18.
6. Bake in a hot oven at 400°F / 200°C until lightly browned (about 20 minutes).
7. Glaze with sugar syrup (1 tbsp water and 1 tbsp sugar) and sprinkle lightly with brown sugar.