What is Baker’s Cookie Coconut?

The Joys of Jell-O, on page 73, has a recipe for Marzipan that calls for “1 package (7 oz.) Baker’s Cookie Coconut”. This product doesn’t appear to exist anymore. It appears to be something different from Baker’s Angel Flake Coconut; other recipes in the book call for that ingredient, such as the Citrus Ring on page 45 that calls for “⅓ cup Baker’s Angel Flake or Premium Shred Coconut”.

A search of the Baker’s or Kraft/Heinz web site brings up no such product as “Cookie Coconut”. Various Internet searches for “Baker’s Cookie Coconut” or “What is Baker’s Cookie Coconut” bring up a lot of recipes, but no product. A search limited to archive.org brings up the February 11, 1970, Romulus Roman and a recipe for Coconut Dream Squares that…

…use Baker’s Cookie Coconut, a form of coconut developed especially for cakes and cookies.

The photograph of the squares is “Courtesy Baker’s Cookie Coconut”, and the caption includes:

The squares use a medium-cut moist cookie coconut developed especially for baking.

What is the nearest equivalent to Baker’s Cookie Coconut available today?

coconut vintage-cooking

Best Answer

I've found a Polish language website at https://docer.pl/doc/n581exe which appears to contain at least some of the text from a 1977 Baker's recipe book, Baker’s Chocolate and Coconut Favorites (this is the sixth edition; the Internet Archive dates an earlier edition with the same cover as 1962).

It says this about the Cookie Coconut variety (click the button above the tags list to see all the text):

Baker's Cookie Coconut is perfect as an ingredient. The moist, tender wisps, sweetened just enough to bring out the coconut flavor, mix easily into batters and doughs.

That would suggest to me undried, finely shredded and lightly sweetened coconut.

For comparison, Baker’s Chocolate and Coconut Favorites (pages 3-4) says that “These four types of Baker’s Coconut are available”:

Baker’s Angel Flake Coconut is moist, tender, sweetened flakes of coconut. This popular coconut gives a distinctive flavor to every dessert, whether used as an ingredient or a garnish. Flaked coconut is available in 3½-ounce and 7-ounce cans; also in 7-ounce and 14-ounce bags.

Baker’s Premium Shred Coconut is one of the most beautiful, delicious decorations and ingredients for cakes and other desserts. Buy the 4-ounce, 8-ounce, or 16-ounce bag.

Baker’s Southern Style Coconut contains both long and short shreds and is a bit moister, as southerners like it. This coconut, which has made coconut treats traditional in the south, is packed in 4-ounce cans.

Baker’s Cookie Coconut is perfect as an ingredient. The moist, tender wisps, sweetened just enough to bring out the coconut flavor, mix easily into batters and doughs. It comes in 7-ounce bags.

It provides this advice for substitutions on the bottom of page 4:

To substitute coconuts: In most cases the shredded and flaked coconuts are interchangeable. However, it’s best to use 1 cup cookie coconut for 1½ cups shredded coconut or 1? cups flaked coconut. When using shredded coconut in cakes, you may want to cut the shreds slightly with a kitchen shears or knife—otherwise the cake may be difficult to cut.