Sweet and earthy taro root combines with shortbread cookies and toasted coconut for a buttery and colorfully purple cookie dipped in white chocolate.
Taro is a starchy root vegetable that is native to Southeast Asia and India. It has a sweet, nutty, and earthy flavor.You may have had or have heard of taro from a bubble tea shop. Taro bubble milk tea often uses taro powder, which gives the delicious drink a bright purple color. A lot of people don’t know that taro root is actually pale-purple in hue!
Taro is widely used in many Taiwanese desserts, such as taro ice cream and taro tapioca. In fact, boba or tapioca milk tea originated in Taiwan in the 1980s, and became extremely popular over the years. One of my favorite kinds of flavored milk tea is Taro. You can easily create your own taro drink by using packaged taro powder. Add some condensed milk for sweetness, blend it with crushed ice, and you’ll have a perfect glass of refreshing summer drink!
Inspired by taro milk tea, I used taro powder to create these shortbread cookies with toasted coconut, dipped in white chocolate. To my surprise, taro powder actually worked quite well. These cookies ended up tasting a little bit nutty, buttery, earthy, sweet, plus a hint of vanilla.
This is a very simple and flexible recipe. You can omit taro powder if you just want butter shortbread cookies. You can substitute taro powder with matcha powder or cocoa powder, dipped them in dark chocolate, add nuts or dried fruits, etc.
If you want a brighter purple color, feel free to add 1-2 drops of purple food coloring or ube extract.
CHECK OUT MORE SHORTBREAD RECIPES:
Honey Chai Shortbread Tea Bag Cookies
If you make this recipe, please leave a comment below and let me know what you think. Make sure you also tag me @onehappybite on Instagram and hashtag it #onehappybite so I can see your creations!
Print
Taro Coconut Shortbread Cookies
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Chilling Time: 45 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 1 hr
- Yield: 14 cookies 1x
Description
Sweet and earthy taro root combines with shortbread cookies and toasted coconut for a buttery and colorfully purple cookie dipped in white chocolate.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 ½ tbsp taro powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- purple food coloring or ube extract (optional)
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup white chocolate
- 1 tsp coconut oil
Instructions
-
In a large bowl, sift flour, taro powder, and salt together.
-
In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar, until light and creamy. Beat in flour mixture and mix until incorporated. If you want a brighter purple color, add 1-2 drops of purple food coloring or ube extract, and mix until color is even.
-
The dough will look crumbly at first. Use your hand to form the dough into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
-
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread shredded coconut evenly onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 5-7 minutes, until slightly golden. Set aside to cool.
-
Line another baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with cooking spray. On a floured surface, roll the chilled dough to about ¼ in thickness. Use a round cookie cutter to cut into shapes. Transfer the cookies to prepared baking sheet. Chill in the refrigerator for another 15 minutes.
-
Bake for 11-12 minutes, or until the edges are just beginning to turn golden brown. Allow cookies to cool completely before dipping into chocolate.
-
In a microwave safe bowl, melt white chocolate in the microwave in 30-second interval, stirring in between. When it is smooth and melted, stir in 1 tsp of coconut oil.
-
Dipped half of the cookie into melted chocolate, then place it on a clean baking sheet. Sprinkle with toasted coconut. Repeat with the remaining cookies.
-
Allow the cookies to harden completely. You can place them in the refrigerator for 10 min to speed up the cooling process. Enjoy!
Notes
Cookies can be stored in an air tight container for up to 3 days.
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American, Taiwanese
Keywords: coconut, shortbread cookies, taro, white chocolate
Where did you get taro powder and what brand did you use for this recipe?
Hi, I found taro powder on Amazon. Here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/Qbubble-Tea-Taro-Powder-Pound/dp/B00CSPMB9I/ref=asc_df_B00CSPMB9I/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=241961779677&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=777520920894847225&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1013958&hvtargid=pla-584917952775&psc=1#ace-2342880709
Made these for Christmas boxes and they are lovely and crispy and not too sweet. The coconut and white chocolate give them an addicting toasty flavour. My family all loved them. I’d recommend using a good quality white chocolate, I used Whittakers and it was perfect.
★★★★★
What a great idea for Christmas cookie box. So glad to hear that your family loved them!
Could you use fresh taro instead of powder?
I have never tried making it with fresh taro before. Fresh taro might not work because it is too starchy and has too much moisture.