Julie Clark
Posted: Updated:
Guava Berry Coconut Thumbprint Cookies
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
Spring meets the tropics with these Guava Berry Coconut Thumbprint Cookies! A cream cheese sugar cookie, folded with tropical coconut and filled with strawberry guava.
Spring… Can you feel it? It’s in the air, folks. Buds of spring are everywhere, and I for one am delighted. It is with color and spring in mind that I baked these Guava Berry Coconut Thumbprint Cookies.
Flow with me… We need to talk about this soft, tender cookie recipe. It’s different than your traditional thumbprint cookie because the base has coconut and the tops have a guava & strawberry combination. It’s unique. It’s delicious. And it is perfect for the cookie lover in your life!
Cream Cheese Cookie Base
Here’s what we love about these soft cookies: they not only have butter in them, but also cream cheese. What does cream cheese do for cookies? It makes them extra soft. Full fat cream cheese works best for soft, chewy cookies.
Tip: You can also use this cookie base as a rolled cookie recipe. Cut the shapes, then refrigerate to set the butter, which will help the cookies hold their shape.
Guava Berry Filling
This guava berry filling is super easy. It’s only 2 ingredients: guava paste and strawberry jelly. Guava paste is much thicker than strawberry jelly, so you’ll have to mix the two together really well in order to have the flavors blend. Use equal amounts of paste and jam.
What exactly is guava paste? Guava paste is a dense mixture of both guava and sugar. It is thick and “slicable” and it is commonly found in both sweet and savory recipes.
Where can you buy guava paste? You can normally find guava paste in the ethnic section of the grocery store. If you can’t find it there, you can buy it on Amazon.
Can I use guava jelly instead? Yes! If you can find guava jelly, use that in place of guava paste.
5 Hints for Making Guava Cookies:
- Mix the dry ingredients first. This simply helps all of the ingredients to get equally distributed.
- Use a power mixer for the butter, cream cheese, sugar and egg. It can be hard to get the butter and cream cheese creamed well by hand. A stand mixer is ideal, but if you have a hand mixer, you can use that.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl. This again ensures you’re getting all of the ingredients well combined.
- Refrigerate the dough. Now officially you can refrigerate the dough any way you’d like. However, the colder the dough is, the harder it is to roll and press. Here’s our tip: Roll the dough into balls and make the thumbprint first, then refrigerate. That way the dough is easy to work with…and it will chill more quickly too!
- Don’t over bake! We bake the cookies just until they are set. Don’t over bake them and try not to even let them get brown. This will keep them soft and chewy!
How to Store Cookies
These cookies are good stored at room temperature for 3-4 days. However, they freeze really well too! You can freeze the cookies for up to 2 months.
Helpful Cookie Resources:
- Our best Cookie Making Tools that every baker should have.
- Tips on how to freeze cookies.
- Do your cookies turn out flat? Find out why here.
Guava Berry Coconut Thumbprint Cookies
Spring meets the tropics with these Guava-Berry Coconut Cookies! A soft cream cheese sugar cookie, folded with tropical coconut and filled with tart strawberry guava!
Servings 48 cookies
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour spooned into measuring cup
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- 8 ounces cream cheese (at room temperature)
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut
For the Guava Berry Filling:
- 1/3 cup strawberry jam
- 1/3 cup guava paste
Instructions
Bake the cookies:
- In a medium bowl, combine all-purpose flour, salt, and baking powder. Whisk quickly to combine and set aside.
- In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, over medium/high speed, beat the butter, cream cheese, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. This should take about 2-3 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the egg, followed by the vanilla and beat until combined. Stop mixer and scrape the bowl. Beat again until well blended.
- Turn the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture all at once. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat until just combined. Add the coconut and mix just until combined.
- Roll dough balls about 1 1/2" thick. Place them on parchment paper lined baking sheets (or a baking sheet with a silicone mat). Indent the center of your cookie with your thumb to create a well for the jam.
- Freeze the dough for 30 minutes or refrigerate for an hour.
- In a small bowl, combine the guava paste and strawberry jam, mixing until the paste is smoothed out and combined well with the jam.
- Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
- Spoon about a teaspoon (or a little less) of jam into the center well of each cookie.
- Place in the oven and bake for 12 minutes until the cookies are set. We do not let the cookies get browned so that they stay soft.
- Remove cookies from oven and allow to cool in the cookie sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wired rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container.
Notes
The calories shown are based on the recipe making 48 cookies, with 1 serving being 1 cookie. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**
Nutrition
Calories: 116kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 46mg | Potassium: 38mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 195IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 1mg
Thumbprint cookies make a great presentation on their own or a pretty addition to a cookie arrangement. The possibilities of flavor combinations are endless! Looking for a new kind to try? Here are our favorites:
Love this cookie ! Have gotten many compliments