Happy Valentine’s Day!  I hope you take a moment today to recognize all the love in your life.

I’m not much of a fan of Valentine’s Day, but one of my college roommates loved it.  It’s her favorite holiday, and she makes a point of telling everyone in her life how much they mean to her.  And even if Valentine’s Day is a silly commercialized holiday, there is nothing wrong with telling the people you care about that they are something special to you.  So today let me tell you, dear readers, that you are very special to me.  Thank you for visiting my little space on the web, I appreciate it greatly!

Now, to the food!  These cookies are fantastic.  They’re a little tropical vacation from all this snow!  The ricotta may seem a little off-putting, but they give the cookies a fantastic texture, so that they’re almost more similar to a muffin-top than to a cookie.  The coconut and lime flavors go so well together and the crunchy coconut on top takes them over the top.  These are the perfect treat to share with all the people you care about in your life.  If you don’t feel like sharing these with everyone you care about, then you can halve the recipe.

Coconut Lime Ricotta Cookies

Makes about 25 large cookies

Adapted from Cooking Classy

• 1 cup coconut
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 15 oz ricotta cheese, low-fat
• 6 Tbsp coconut milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp coconut extract
• 2 tsp lime zest

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Spread coconut out on a baking sheet and place it in the oven while it’s preheating, keep an eye on it, but it should be done by the time the oven has reached 300.  Set coconut aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl, beat together butter and sugar, until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Beat in eggs one at a time, then add in the ricotta, coconut milk, extracts and lime zest, and beat until well mixed.  Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing until just incorporated.

Scoop dough onto parchment lined baking sheets (I used a 4oz cookie scoop).  Bake for about 20-23 minutes, or until lightly golden.  Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Coconut Lime Glaze:

• 3 Tbsp coconut milk
• 3 Tbsp lime juice (about 1 lime)
• 1 tsp coconut extract
• 2 tsp lime zest (about 1 lime)
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In a bowl, whisk all ingredients together.  Top each cooled cookie with about 1 tsp of glaze, then sprinkle with toasted coconut.