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    Home » Recipes » Holiday Piña Colada Cookies

    December 17, 2019 Baking

    Holiday Piña Colada Cookies

    Jump to Recipe

    Piña Colada cookies bring tropical flavors to your cookie trays and exchanges this holiday season. 

    Piña Colada cookies bring a tropical flavor to your cookie tray this holiday season. www.pineappleandcoconut.com

    I know pineapples and coconuts aren't the first flavors people think of when it comes to holiday baking. To me, they are year round flavors, not just summertime. I had to add these to my holiday cookie list.

    I actually made these piña colada cookies last year and never got around to blogging them so I tweaked the recipe a little and remade and photographed them for you all this year. 

    Piña Colada Cookies close up www.pineappleandcoconut.com

    There are so many fancy Christmas cookies out there in the interwebs and in recipes passed down from generation to generation, that it is great to have a great simple base recipe to go off of for many cookies.

    Especially when in a hurry and need a cookie recipe quick for that last minute holiday party, kids need treats at school, or you almost forgot to make cookies for Santa. 

    This is what is so great about these piña colada cookies; the base recipe starts out like chocolate chip cookies. 

    There is all purpose flour, butter, white and brown sugars, salt, eggs, vanilla.  Those are the best ingredients to a start to really any recipe. Then from there you can add in anything you want from different spices, all kinds of chocolate chunks or chips, dried fruit, nuts etc. The possibilities really are endless. 

    For all my drop cookie recipes my go-to cookie scoop size is medium or #40. It is a one and a half tablespoon size scoop and the cookies almost always come out uniform in size and shape and around 3". The perfect cookie size. 

    Pina Colada cookie stack image www.pineappleandcoconut.com

    For these piña colada cookies, I added in some of my fave rum, Koloa gold rum along with vanilla and a little coconut cream. They lend to the pina colada flavor along with the diced pineapple and coconut flakes.

    I use unsweetened flakes because I find sweetened to be way too sweet. And because these are cookies and not the actual cocktail, I added in some roasted, salted macadamia nuts and creamy white chocolate chips. These cookies have it all.

    Another great thing about these cookies is they freeze well. You can freeze the dough in balls and keep in an airtight container or bag, take a few out and bake straight from the freezer when you only want a few cookies. Or make them a month or so ahead of time and when it's time for holiday baking all you need to do is bake! Or you can bake ahead of time and freeze. I am all for saving as much time as possible during the holidays. 

    A few notes about the recipe:

    • Why use cornstarch in cookies? These cookies have a little bit of cornstarch, just two teaspoons, which helps keep them soft, more tender. I love a cookie with crisp edges and a soft middle and cornstarch helps achieve that effect.
    • Do I have to add in coconut flakes? No. You can make these how you like. If you aren't a fan of coconut flakes but still like coconut, sub some of the vanilla extract with coconut. 
    • Not a fan of nuts? Go ahead and leave out the macadamia nuts.
    • For the pineapple I like using the sweetened candied pineapple, I love the sweet, tropical chewy flavor and texture they lend to the cookies. You can use unsweetened if you would like.
    • Can I use fresh pineapple in cookies? I haven't tried using fresh pineapple in these cookies before. Fresh fruit tends to be watery and will change the texture and outcome of the cookies. If you do make these with fresh please let me know in the recipe comments. 

    Piña Colada Cookies www.pineappleandcoconut.com

    Piña Colada Cookies

    Shanna
    Holiday cookies made tropical with candied pineapple, coconut flakes, roasted macadamia nuts, creamy white chocolate and of course, rum!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 20 minutes mins
    Cook Time 45 minutes mins
    Additional Time 2 hours hrs
    Total Time 3 hours hrs 5 minutes mins
    Servings 40 cookies

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 ½ cups all purpose flour, 11.25 ounces
    • 2 teaspoon cornstarch
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
    • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
    • 2 sticks butter, 8 ounces, room temperature
    • 1 cup light brown sugar, 8 ounces
    • ½ cup granulated sugar, 3.75 ounces
    • 2 large eggs, room temperature
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1 ½ tablespoon gold rum
    • 1 tablespoon coconut cream

    Add-ins

    • 1 cup white chocolate chips
    • ⅔ cup chopped roasted, salted macadamia nuts
    • ⅔ c candied pineapple, diced
    • ⅔ cup unsweetened coconut flakes

    Instructions
     

    • Combine flour, corn starch, baking soda, nutmeg and salt in a bowl, whisk well and set aside
    • Cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy on medium high speed. 3-4 minutes. 
    • Add in eggs one at a time, mixing ell between each and scraping down sides of bowl when needed. 
    • Add in the vanilla, rum and coconut cream and mix again well
    • Slowly add in the flour mixture on low and mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips, macadamia nuts, candied pineapple and coconut flakes. Chill dough for 2 hours up to overnight
    • When ready to bake heat oven to 350 Deg F. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a medium size cookie scoop, scoop out  about 1 ½ tablespoon of dough and place on prepared baking sheet 2-3” apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes until edges are golden and the cookie is just set in the middle. 
    • Cool on pan for 5 minutes, transfer to wire cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container or resealable bag  at room temperature for a few days or in a freezer up to 3 months.

    I know Santa would love to see these piña colada cookies left out for him on Christmas eve, don't forget the glass of milk to go with! Or a Mai Tai... One of these years we are going to spend our holiday in Hawaii. I would love to have a Hawaiian Christmas and these would be the perfect Hawaiian Christmas cookies. 

    Reader Interactions

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    1. Paula Coffman says

      December 31, 2020 at 9:08 am

      I still bought some candied pineapple and this recipe sounds perfect! I may use rum-chatta liqueur, because it has such a yummy flavor.

      Reply
      • Shanna says

        December 31, 2020 at 12:10 pm

        I love rumchata! Let me know how you like the cookies!

        Reply
    2. Lisa says

      April 07, 2021 at 9:39 am

      Should it be coconut CREAM or coconut MILK? The ingredients list says cream and the directions say milk. They are different, so I want to know which one I should actually use. Can you advise? I'm excited to give these cookies a try! Thanks!

      Reply
      • Shanna says

        April 07, 2021 at 12:25 pm

        cream since it is thicker. No clue why I wrote milk in the instructions. I need to proofread better! Thanks for catching that. I hope you like the cookies.

        Reply
    3. Susana says

      June 26, 2023 at 12:09 pm

      I don't have coconut cream at the moment. Could I substitute for regular milk? Or whipping cream, maybe? Thank you! 🙂

      Reply
      • Shanna says

        June 26, 2023 at 5:09 pm

        Yes you could. Either would work

        Reply
    4. Sally says

      March 17, 2025 at 11:57 am

      I have sweetened coconut. How much sugar should I deduct and can I use drain crushed canned pineapple?
      Thanks

      Reply
      • Shanna says

        March 18, 2025 at 5:41 pm

        I wouldn't deduct sugar from the cookie recipe even with sweetened coconut since the coconut doesn't affect the texture, crumb and overall bake of the cookies. The sugar in the cookies is a separate ingredient from the coconut. I would just use less shredded coconut. You could use crushed canned pineapple but drain and press out as much liquid as you can with a paper towel.

        Reply

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    Hi, I'm Shanna. Welcome! 16 + years food blogging. I am a self taught baker, cook and mixologist and longtime photographer. I love making healthy meals, sweet treats and fun cocktails. Hope you enjoy my recipes!

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