Coconut Dream Bars

By arnoldh

Ingredients

• For the crust:
• 2 C unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3/4 C packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 C pecans
• 1/4 t salt
• 10 T unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
• For the filling:
• 1 1/2 C sweetened shredded coconut
• 1 C cream of coconut (you can find this in the baking aisle)
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 C packed dark brown sugar
• 2 T unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 t baking powder
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 C pecans, toasted and roughly chopped
• 1/2 C chocolate chips

Details

Adapted from 52kitchenadventures.com

Preparation

Step 1

To make the crust:

Preheat the oven to 350°F and place rack in middle of ove. Line a 13″x9″ baking pan with foil and lightly coat with nonstick spray.

In a food processor, process the flour, sugar, pecan and salt for about 10 seconds, until the pecans are coarsely ground. Add the butter and pulse around 10 seconds, until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Press the mixture into the baking pan, pressing it down firmly with the flat bottom of a glass. Bake for 20 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. Cool for 20 minutes before adding the filling.

To make the filling:

Combine coconut and cream of coconut in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, vanilla and salt until smooth, then stir in the pecans and chocolate chips. Spread the filling over the cooled crust, then dollop heaping spoonfuls of the coconut mixture over the filling. Spread into an even layer, but don’t worry if appears patchy.

Bake in the preheated oven until topping is a deep golden brown (around 30-40 minutes). Let cool completely, then lift bars out of pan using the foil and cut into 24 pieces. The bars can be refrigerated in an air-tight container for up to 5 days.