Step 1

In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a medium bowl with an electric mixer, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and mix until well combined.

Step 2

Add the vanilla and egg and beat on medium speed until they are well incorporated and the dough comes together in a ball.

Step 3

On a lightly floured board, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to an even ¼-inch thickness. Transfer the whole board to the refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes. If you don’t have a board that can be easily moved to the refrigerator, roll the dough out on a lightly floured piece of parchment. Then you can slide the parchment onto a baking sheet or tray that you can put in the fridge.

Step 4

Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Step 5

Remove the chilled cookie dough from the refrigerator and cut out the cookies using a 2 ½-inch round or fluted cutter.

Step 6

Place the dough rounds on th prepared baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the edges are a bit golden.

Step 7

Remove from the oven and transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Step 8

Stir the dulce de leche to make sure it is loose enough to pipe onto the cookies and then transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip (or use a sturdy zip-top plastic bag and cut the corner off for piping).

Step 9

Pipe about 1 ½ tablespoons of dulce de leche onto the bottom of half of the cookies. Top each with a second cookie, smooshing them together so that the caramel spreads to the edges of the cookies. Press some coconut into the caramel around the sides.

Step 10

Refrigerate the cookies to firm up the caramel.

Step 11

Serve at room temperature.