Coconut Candy (with Desiccated Coconut)

Looking for an easy coconut candy recipe? By easy I mean something that does not require overly specialized or hard-to-find ingredients. And something that does not require high cooking skills or techniques.

Well, if you are looking for one such candy recipe, you have come to the right place! This coconut candy recipe is literally no fail because it is so straightforward. And so long as you follow the measurement given and the cooking steps, its almost impossible to get it wrong. 

If we were to look at the ingredients I have used in this recipe, they are all pretty common ones that you can easily find at home or in grocery stores. The main ingredient is of course, the coconut. I used desiccated coconut which is dry and unsweetened. To this, I add sugar and condensed milk and then butter and flavoring and color. I also have another similar coconut candy recipe, and that one uses fresh grated coconut. You can check it out here.

Proportion wise, the desiccated coconut makes up almost half the ingredients followed by condensed milk and sugar that make up the other half. Butter is just a tiny bit. And the color and essence are purely to enhance the smell and color and are almost negligible in terms of weight.

And the whole process of making this candy takes about 30 to 40 minutes. I would consider that pretty quick, and after making it, the candy needs to cool down. So that is another about 15 minutes before the candy is ready to be served. 

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How to Make

Ingredients

• The desiccated coconut I used in this recipe is the dried, unsweetened one. And so you will realize as you measure it, that 240g of it (as required for this recipe) is actually quite a lot in terms of volume. This is simply because the desiccated coconut in this dry form is really very light. So, at 240g, although may seem like not much, when measured out, would actually require quite a big bowl to hold it. 
• Having said that, upon mixing it with the condensed milk, it actually comes together and reduces in volume quite a bit as the condensed milk mixture brings the dry coconut together. So don’t worry if your measured desiccated coconut looks like it will not fit into your prepared tin size of 7 inches by 11 inches. It will definitely fit. 

Cooking the candy

• The process starts with melting butter and sugar in a pot over low heat and heating up the condensed milk. I put all the 3 ingredients together instead of the butter and sugar first, and then the milk. Either way is fine.
• The sugar, milk, and butter needs to be cooked until the sugar is almost melted. Do that over a very low heat so that you don’t burn the mixture. And continue stirring the mixture as you wait for the sugar to dissolve. 
• It is also useful to remember to use a pot that is of a size that can fit all the ingredients, especially the desiccated coconut. Too small a pot will make it hard for you to mix all the ingredients in. A larger pot should not be an issue.

When to add coloring and flavoring?

• Always remember to add the essence and color to the sugar mixture before adding the coconut. While it is still OK to miss the essence at this stage and add it after the coconut, missing the color can result in you having to spend a lot more time and effort in mixing the candy to ensure the color is well distributed. Adding the color before adding the coconut really saves you this hassle. 
• I use rose essence in this recipe and chose to tint my candy with the slightest hint of Wilton Pink food color so the rose essence and the pink color were really a good match. You can always use vanilla essence to replace the rose essence.

Shaping and cutting the candy

• When transferring the candy into your prepared tin, make sure to press it down firmly. This is so that the coconut comes together for a more solid and firm candy. I use the back of a large spoon to do this. I also place a piece of parchment paper over the top of the candy to level the top. While the parchment does not stick to the candy, the back of a spoon does. To prevent this, I apply butter to it. 
• Cut the candy while it is still warm. Waiting for it to cool down will make it harder to cut the candy and it will be crumbly. And it is also easier to cut the candy outside the tin rather than inside the tin, especially the corner and end pieces. For this reason, I always line my tin with parchment paper. And I make sure the paper is slightly larger than the tin so that it would be easier to lift the candy off the tin. I then place the warm candy on my work surface and using a sharp buttered knife, slice the candy into 1 inch by 1-inch square cubes. After cutting, I let the candy cubes to cool down completely before storing them in an airtight container.

Storing the coconut candy

• This candy lasts quite well. I have had it stored at room temperature in an airtight container for 2 weeks at its longest. The candy was still as good as on the day it was made.
• It is important to make sure that no traces of water or anything damp touches the candy when handling it as that can reduce its shelf life.  

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Like this recipe? Here are my other posts you might want to check out

• Coconut Loaf Cake with Lemon Glaze Topping
• Orange Layer Cake with Orange Buttercream and Candied Peels
• Cherry Coconut Cookies - Easy Christmas Cookie Idea
• Light Fruit Cake - An Easy and Quick Recipe

Recipe (Printable)

Here is the full, printable version of my easy coconut candy recipe:

Hope you like this easy coconut candy recipe.

Happy candy making 🙂