Coconuts -- the origin of creamy coconut milk and chewy coconut flakes -- make excellent desserts. Perfect in treats hot and cold, baked and no-baked, the fruit is a versatile beacon of deliciousness. Here are 13 clever ways to go coconuts for dessert time.
1. Chocolate Coconut Brownies
You'll need a tall glass of milk to wash down these crazy rich triple-layer bars. Their fudgy brownie base, coconut cream cheese center and chocolate ganache topping will have you dreaming of chocolate coconut goodness for months to come.
2. Coconut Cream Pie Dip
This sweet dip, paired with graham crackers or vanilla cookies for dunking, acts as a deconstructed coconut cream pie. It will start as an attractive center piece at your next party and will quickly end as an empty bowl.
3. Coffee and Coconut Popsicles
These four-ingredient pops get creaminess from coconut milk, a caffeine kick from coffee and sweetness from pitted dates and vanilla extract. Drizzle them with melted chocolate and sprinkle with shredded coconut for a delightful touch of texture.
4. Coconut Cloud Cake
Forget cotton candy; if clouds were edible, they'd most definitely taste like this light and pillowy coconut cake, frosted with the airiest of toppings and flecked with flaked coconut.
5. Homemade Coconut Oreos
These soft vanilla cookies, sandwiched with coconut cream frosting, are like quadruple-stuffed golden Oreos.
6. Samoa Ice Cream Cake
Just when you thought dessert couldn't get tastier than Samoas, BAM, it did: with a buttery graham cracker crust, vanilla ice cream, homemade caramel sauce, melted chocolate and toasted coconut, all combined in a blissful no-bake cake.
7. Grandma's Coconut Chews
These comforting bars combine a rich shortbread crust with a soft and dense coconut filling. One bite will make you feel like you're curled up on your grandmother's couch, listening to family stories with a full belly and a happy heart.
8. Chocolate Coconut Cream Poke Cake
There is no better way to utilize rich coconut cream than to let it seep through poked holes in a moist chocolate cake. This bad boy is generously topped with a frosting made from whipped cream, cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla -- then sprinkled with crispy toasted coconut for a tantalizing textured experience.
9. Pineapple Coconut Thumbprint Cookies
Pina coladas take food form in these chewy coconut cookies, filled with a quarter-sized dollop of pineapple preserves for a treat fit for an island getaway.
10. Old Fashioned Coconut Custard Pie
Go vintage with this no-fuss pie recipe from the 1930s. A smooth custard is speckled with shredded coconut and baked, giving it the texture of creme brulee -- but the flavor of coconut cream pie.
11. Homemade Almond Joy Truffles
If you're a candy lover, these chewy truffles will give you all the flavor of an Almond Joy bar -- without the preservatives of processed candies. Their silky chocolate shells give way to a soft coconut filling and a crunchy almond surprise in the center.
12. Toasted Coconut Cream Pudding
This lovely layered dessert comes together in a pinch with store-bought pudding mix, vanilla wafers and toasted coconut. It's so sweet and velvety, you'll forget banana pudding ever existed.
13. Coconut Lemon Scones
Concoct a terrific teatime treat with these citrusy scones, topped with lemon glaze and crispy coconut -- and perfect with a comforting mug of tea.