In a pan, on a medium to high heat, toast unsweetened fine shredded coconut stirring with a wooden spoon all the time so they don't burn. This will take approx. 3-4 minutes. Leave aside to cool a little bit.
Preheat your oven to 175˚C or 350˚F. Line your baking sheet with baking paper.
In a medium size bowl sift your flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add toasted coconut and combine everything with a whisk. Set aside.
Using a hand mixer, or a stand mixer, beat together butter and sugars until lightly pale and fluffy, approx. 2-3 minutes. Add in egg and vanilla extract and mix until everything is combined.
Next, add your dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Use a silicone spatula to bring all together, rather than mixing until for too long. The dough will be a little sticky, that's fine.
Form 30 g balls of cookie dough, place on baking sheet leaving approx 2 inches between them so the cookies can spread. You can use latex gloves while forming the cookie balls so it's less messy.
Bake for 8 minutes. After 8 minutes, lightly press still hot cookies with a glass to flatten them a bit.
Then, using the back of a measuring teaspoon make small indents for the nests. You can leave this step out if you don't wish to make chocolate nests.
Transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely before decorating.
chocolate coconut nests
Melt chocolate over a bain marie and mix with 200 g of coconut. Leave it to cool a little bit in the fridge. This is finicky, but you don't have to be precise. I used latex gloves and formed little balls in my hand, put them into cookie indents and pressed with my finger to make it come to the sides. Sprinkle with remaining coconut.
Notes
Use latex gloves to make forming cookie balls and chocolate nests less messy.
Keep the cookies in an airtight container to prolong their freshness and softness.
Toasting coconut really enhances the flavour of the cookies, so please don't skip it! :)