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#14 Coconut Bars 1953

Unassuming, but pecan-pie satisfying.
"Ooh, these are good," said Doug, skeptical about whether he would like the latest experiment.

I can hardly blame him. Some of my cookies have been worthy of the calories, and some have been a bust.

Doughy bottom layer requires
serious spreading into all corners of the pan.
The first surprise with this recipe is the dough consistency for the bottom layer of the bars. I expected the standard shortbread mixture that crumbles into the pan and needs patting down before baking, like the lemon bars I often make (my standard of comparison for bar cookies). But you don't cut the butter in, as for a pastry. Instead, you beat the ingredients into a doughy blob and spread it out with a firm spatula to cover the parchment lining in the pan. I was concerned this would become a hard rock, without the light crunch of shortbread. Not to worry.

The second surprise was the new taste and texture of the topping. It starts with the same eggs and sugar as in my lemon bars recipe. The lemon juice (in the lemon bars) makes a gelatinous topping when mixed with eggs and sugar. Some subtle and not-so-subtle ingredient swap-outs result in a completely different treat.

Parchment paper lining is essential to lift
entire pan of bars from pan.
You start with the same eggs, the sugar is brown (not regular), and of course, the Coconut Bars have coconut and chopped nuts. Think pecan pie. The caramelized top layer clings to the teeth and tongue, prolonging the pleasure.

Substitution Note: Although the recipe calls for walnuts, pecans are my typical substitute. Having grown up in walnut country (California), maybe I'm bored with them. But pecans have a better crunch and come with a toasty flavor even before they are toasted.

Gooey, caramelized and loaded with flavor. Friends gave them rave reviews.

The recipe is here and here.
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  1. AnonymousAugust 24, 2011 at 7:08 AM

    My husband will enjoy these - he loves coconut, which isn't my favorite (safe for me which will allow me more calories to devote to shortbreads). Another one for my holiday baking. -Claudia

    ReplyDelete

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