Maybe this one?

Caribbean DessertTrinidad coconut drops

Trinidad Coconut Drops
(Serves 16-20)

A favorite of Trinidadians, these little coconut candied-cookies need no baking. They're sweet and chewy.

1 C water
1 C sugar
4 C grated coconut
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. almond extract*

In large sauce pan, bring water and sugar to boil, cooking until mix thickens into light syrup. When small bubbles begin to form, add coconut and cream of tartar.

Continue heating and stirring until the coconut pulls easily away from the sides of the pan. Remove from the heat and stir vigorously with a spoon (a good 4 minutes). Add the almond extract, mix again. Then drop by spoonfuls onto an oiled cookie tray. Allow to harden completely before serving.

* Add a dash of rum extract, too, if you like.

Wow - those sound awesome! Definitely going on my holiday cookie tray this year

Alexa

But that's more of a candy than a cookie, right? I'm looking for something that will make a 3" cookie.

Ideas?

What about these - they are Cuban (3 Guys from Miami) but it might be close to what you are looking for.....

Torticas de Coco ��" Coconut Cookies
By Three Guys From Miami

Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
Yield: 3 dozen

Chewy coconut cookies with a corn flake crunch.

INGREDIENTS:

2 egg whites
1 cup granulated white sugar
2 cups corn flakes
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325úF.

Beat the egg whites until creamy. Add the sugar little by little and follow with the rest of the ingredients until all is well mixed.

Drop by teaspoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet. Bake 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet immediately after they come out of the oven.

I found two - this one and the one on the blog in the link below. Hope that helps!

Coconut Drops
Ingredients:

1/4 Cup margarine or butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp lime juice
1/4 cup milk
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsps baking powder
1/8 teasp. salt
2 cups grated coconut

1) Cream sugar and butter, add salt and baking powder, egg, lime juice and milk, making a stiffer dough than you would for cake mixture

2) Add the coconut with the flour

3) Drop by spoonfuls on a greased baking sheet, leaving space in between for spreading

4) Bake in a moderately pre-heated oven for about 15-20 mins

Here is a link that might be useful: Simply Trini Cooking blog recipe

To be honest, they sound like the macaroons I like. I don't like meringue-y ones. It's basically coconut held together with an egg or two and a lot of sugar. I use the below recipe, which freezes well, incidentally. Too well. I like to eat a billion of these at one time, so I make quite a few when I make them. These may be too sweet for her since the coconut is sweetened and it has sugar too. But hey, they're great, at least to me.

:)

Baker's Angel Flake Coconut Macaroons
By Connie K on December 13, 2005
Servings: 36

About This Recipe: "This is from the back of the Angel Flake bag of coconut. Soft, chewy, toothsome, with just a hint of almond flavor. Yummmmm. Let them 'ripen' a few hours before serving to let them soften. The edges can be a bit crispy straight from the oven."

Ingredients
1 (14 ounce) packages sweetened coconut ( 5 1/3 cups)
2/3 cup sugar
6 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 egg whites
1 teaspoon almond extract

Directions
Mix coconut, sugar, flour and salt in a large bowl. Stir in egg whites (not whipped) and almond extract until well blended. Drop by tablespoonful onto greased and floured cookie sheets. Bake 325F for 20 minutes or until edges of cookies are golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to wire racks. Cool completely.

Here is a link that might be useful: coconut

and a picture of what they look like. DUH on me!

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1570133}}

I'm with Rob. The recipe on the Baker's unsweetened coconut bag is easy, fool proof and delicious. I am sure your 87 year old woman will love them even if it isn't exactly the same recipe.

I have no suggestions at all, but I love macaroons and coconut shortbread and Mounds bars and nearly everything coconut. Well, I didn't like the coconut bread pudding, but I think that's an anomaly, LOL.

It's very nice of you to try to recreate the cookies for your friend, though. I do remember when my brazilian foreign exchange student came here and went to the grocery store, she looked at the cookies and told me that in Brazil they had two kinds. Chocolate and.....not chocolate. Later she told me that the "not chocolate" cookies were coconut, so perhaps expanding the recipe search to other countries might yield something similar. All I can find resemble the macaroons with sugar syrup but little flour.

Annie

Thank you all for the ideas. I'll consult with my friend Suzanne the Cookiemeister, and she's willing to do the baking, because she's always looking for new cookie recipes. I know that my client will be thrilled, too.