These Chewy Coconut Bars are so simple, sweet, perfectly chewy and loaded with natural coconut flavor. I love them so much I could eat one every day!
Make sure to try my Coconut Cookie Recipe too!
Easy and Delicious Chewy Coconut Bars
I bake a lot of dessert recipes…obviously. And coming from a family where everyone has a different favorite dessert recipe it’s hard to please everyone. And of course coconut is one of those ingredients that people seem to love or hate, but luckily in my house everyone happens to like love coconut! So when I made these coconut bars, and not only did everyone love them, they went back for seconds (and thirds) I knew I had a winner of a recipe on my hands!
What To Expect With This Coconut Bars Recipe:
- This recipe is simple in flavors (and prep) and undeniably delicious…crackly on the top, perfect chewy edges and loaded with coconut!
- 10 minutes of prep time and 20 minutes of bake time means dessert in 30 minutes! Of course they will be too warm to cut immediately out of the oven, but a large spoonful topped with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce is also a pretty delicious option!
- The edges of these bars are chewy, so if you are an edge lover, this recipe is perfect for you. The buttery crisp edges are caramelized and outstanding while the centers stay chewy and sweet.
Ingredients:
- Butter
- Light brown sugar
- Large eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Kosher salt
- Baking powder
- All purpose flour
- Sweetened flaked coconut
How To Make Coconut Bars:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×9 baking dish with parchment paper and coat with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan melt butter over medium-low heat. Once butter is melted, continue cooking until it boils, swirling the pan constantly so the butter doesn’t burn. Slowly the butter will begin to brown. Once it has reached an amber color remove from the heat and stir in the brown sugar until completely combined. Using a rubber spatula stir in the eggs, vanilla, salt and baking powder.
- Next stir in the flour until incorporated and then finally the shredded coconut.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes. The edges will be golden and the center will be almost set.
- Allow the bars to cool completely before cutting into squares.
Common Questions:
- Is 2 cups of sugar right? Yes, there are 2 full cups of light brown sugar in this recipe.
- Can I reduce that amount of sugar? The answer is yes…and no. The sugar adds to the chewiness of this recipe, and of course the flavor. You can reduce it down to 1 1/2 cups with minimal issues to the integrity of the recipe, but for the best outcome, 2 cups is how it’s written and how these bars are intended!
- My bars sunk in the middle, is that normal? Yes, these bars tend to rise a little higher on the outside and sink a touch in the middle when they bake. It’s ok…actually it’s preferred. Those golden brown edge pieces are where the chewy magic happens, and this is coming from an “I hate brownie edges” girl.
- Why are my bars are so gooey? Let them cool completely and I promise you they will firm up. The centers will be soft when right out of the oven, and while they still stay soft, they firm up as they cool, so be patient!
Can I Add In Chocolate Chips To These Bars?
Sure! I would receommend adding in 1/2 cup of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips if you are looking for a little chocolate. I wouldn’t recommend milk chocolate or white chocolate as they are both more sweet and these bars are sweet enough!
You can even add in some chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans if you love that nutty texture!
How To Store Coconut Bars:
I store mine airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days for best freshness. You can also freeze these in an airtight container for up to 30 days. Allow the bars to thaw at room temperature.
Love Coconut? Here Are More Coconut Recipes To Try:
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Chewy Coconut Bars
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 20 bars 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Chewy Coconut Bars are so simple, sweet, perfectly chewy and loaded with natural coconut flavor. I love them so much I could eat one every day!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 cups light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×9 baking dish with parchment paper and coat with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan melt butter over medium-low heat. Once butter is melted, continue cooking until it boils, swirling the pan constantly so the butter doesn’t burn. Slowly the butter will begin to brown. Once it has reached an amber color remove from the heat and stir in the brown sugar until completely combined. Using a rubber spatula stir in the eggs, vanilla, salt and baking powder.
- Next stir in the flour until incorporated and then finally the coconut.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes. The edges will be golden and the center will be almost set.
- Allow the bars to cool completely before cutting into squares.
Notes
Store airtight for up to 3 days at room temperature.
Freeze airtight for up to 30 days for best freshness.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 144
- Sugar: 17 g
- Sodium: 115.4 mg
- Fat: 5.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 22.6 g
- Protein: 1.8 g
- Cholesterol: 18.6 mg
Made these an hour ago and wow these turned out sooo good! Definitely will make again!
Absolutely love these bars!! I always have to cook double the time to get them done in the middle but the taste is outstanding!
So moist and chewy! I was craving a coconut dessert and this was just perfect. Browning the butter took a few extra minutes, but the yummy result made it worth the effort.
My previous review yesterday gave these a 5*. I’m back today to tell you after these cooled my hubby and I each ate 2 large squares. (Yup I hear ya :-)) ) These are fantastic.
After reading many of the reviews on here I just wanted to touch on” the baking time” of these squares. I’ve been baking for over 55 years. I tell everyone that when you read the baking time on all recipes take it as an estimate. Watch your goodies and judge accordingly, keeping in mind the authors tips. Let’s remember all ovens are different and there are at least 5 different sizes of eggs (here in Nova Scotia). These 2 factors will change the amount of time required to bake everything.
Oven thermometers, every baker should have one. They hang in your oven and are dirt cheap and worth every cent.
Eggs, I personally use XL or Jumbo eggs in everything I bake, yes everything. As a result larger eggs means more moisture and more baking time.
Personally I have never ever bake a pan of squares in 20 minutes ever. These squares took at least 35 minutes to cook in “my oven using EX-Lg eggs”. Here’s how I knew these were done baking: 1-2 minutes after the middle of these squares raised up (making them look like a cake), I took them out of the oven. Once out of the oven the middle sank, as they should have. My squares were perfectly cooked. Gooey but not runny. Moist and delicious.
I will make these again and again, there is no doubt about that.
Shelly we love your squares. It’s lovely to get a new recipe worth keeping and passing down to future generations. Thank you again. 5* all the way.
Darlene, this is very good information. There are a lot of variables when baking. Thanks
Oh my, delicious! I am waiting impatiently for these to cool. Yup cut 4 of them so they would cool quicker. Don’t do that, they really need to cool, haha. Took a nibble off one, they are so tasty. I absolutely love a googy square.
Such a quick and simple recipe to whip up too. They’re sweet but that’s the point. I think next time I’ll make a buttercream frosting for them, just because I love frosting.
Shelly thanks for sharing this recipe.
Don’t make. Too sweet. Took forever to bake and then not all the way cooked — gooey. Throwing out
We made these for home ec class. My 6 year old learned about substitutions and omissions and how they can affect flavor. For example, we didn’t have enough butter, so we used coconut oil at a 1:1 ratio. We also mixed the recipe with just 1 cup of sugar, instead of 2 (This decision was based on our taste buds and how little sugar we eat.). We tasted the mixture right before transferring it to the pan and thought it tasted great. The husband asked for seconds. We all had to stop ourselves from eating the whole pan.
My family has made something very similar except we add peanut butter instead of the oil and it has less sugar. It isn’t cooked just made like a cookie bar or brownie in the mixer. I ve never seen anything in a cookbook or on pinterest until this. no clue who made it up but its been in our family for three generations now .
Made this recipe today. Absolutely delicious! I cooked it about 10 minutes longer than the recipe called for. It still slightly jiggled when I took it out but I think that’s bc it has to cool and then the sugars set or firm up. A lot of comments were from people who said it wasn’t cooked. I think that’s where the disconnect is. Let it cool on the stove top or cooling rack and expect it to be gooey inside like a brownie and I promise you’ll love it!
I just made this recipe…what a waste of good ingredients, did not like it, greasy and no flavor