Coconut Bars – 12 Days of Cookies

We are halfway through our 12 Days of Cookies extravaganza thing, and I chose something familiar, the coconut bars from 1953. I had these many times while growing up, but I’ve never made them myself and I felt it was high time to do so. They made me feel so very retro I wanted to burst into renditions of old standards like That’s Amore or Rags to Riches, both #1 songs from that year.

Is it cheating to make bar cookies? Seriously, these are so easy to make and they have a wonderful gooeyness about them that is incredibly rich, and we said the pieces need to be small because it is so rich. It’s a small recipe for an 8-inch square pan, but often that’s all you need for an afternoon tea or an easy dessert.

Makes 24 bars.

Be sure to visit all our friends in the cookie clan to see what cookies they chose as well as the Gourmet website to see all their favorite cookies from 1941-2008.

The Rest of the Cookie Baking Clan

Courtney of Coco Cooks

Jerry of Cooking By the Seat of My Pants

Judy of No Fear Entertaining

Sandy of The Bakers Bench

Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen

Kelly of Sass & Veracity

Coconut Bars

Equipment

stand mixer with paddle attachment (or hand mixer and mixing bowl)
8-inch square baking pan
small bowl

Ingredients

CRUST
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

TOPPING
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts
powdered sugar, for sprinkling on top

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F/190° C.

2. In the bowl of the stand mixer, cream the butter. Gradually add the brown sugar and beat until smooth. Stir in the flour until the mixture is smooth. Press the dough into the bottom of the square pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

3. While the crust bakes, clean the bowl and paddle. In the small bowl, toss the shredded coconut with the flour. In the bowl of the stand mixer, beat the eggs and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the vanilla, chopped walnuts, and the shredded coconut mixture.

4. Spread the batter over the baked crust and bake for 20 minutes longer. Cool completely. To serve, sprinkle with powered sugar and cut into 24 squares or bars.

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Source: adapted from Gourmet