Coconut Lime Crumble Bars

Coconut and Lime are 2 of my favorite ingredients.  Put them together with sugar... mmm. I've been wanting to make these tempting bars for awhile now, but just never have.  After the Teacher Appreciation mexican lunch we served a few weeks ago, I had an excess of limes. So, it was time! 

This recipe was everything I wanted. It has a nice crust both on top and on bottom, with a creamy lime center. The sugar cuts the tartness of the lime, and the coconut is a perfect touch. Fast and easy, these would make a great dessert for a barbeque or pot-luck!

Lime and Coconut Crumble Bars

Adapted from Baking Bites

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teas baking powder
1/2 teas salt
1/2 cup rolled oats, whole or quick cooking
1/2 cup shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
2 teas lime zest

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9×9-inch baking pan with aluminum foil and grease lightly.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add in flour, baking powder and salt and mix until everything comes together in a crumbly mixture and flour is evenly distributed. Mix in oats and coconut. Mixture will be somewhat dry and sandy.

In a medium bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk, lime juice and lime zest.
Put 2 cups of the oat mixture into the bottom of prepared baking dish and press firmly into an even layer. Pour lime mixture on top and spread evenly. Crumble all remaining oat mixture over the top of the lime mixture, covering it completely.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown.
Cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares.

Store in refrigerator, or at normal room temp.

Makes 25 squares.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Coconut Bars

When we go out to a certain restaurant, we always get dessert. It's something quite similar to this. Chocolate chips, coconut, ooey gooey goodness topped with melting vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. Mmmm... Now that I've figured out how to make it at home, we can save a little money!

A few notes on this recipe. I've made it before in a smaller pan (I think 13x9) so it was thicker.  Thinner is better here. I baked it this time on a cookie sheet. (You also get more that way!) Also, while the cookie bars are good at room temperature, they are heavenly warmed up with ice cream and caramel or chocolate sauce on top. If you want to get the absolute best experience, eat these this way!

Enjoy!



Chocolate Chip Coconut Bars

1 1/2 cups butter, melted
3 cups firmly packed brown sugar
6 eggs
3 teas vanilla
3 cups flour
1 teas baking powder
2 cups chopped walnuts
2 cups milk chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate)
1 cup coconut (Because I have to add it to every recipe I make!)

Preheat oven to 325. Grease a sheet pan (I used a cookie sheet with a 1/2 inch lip). In a large bowl, combine melted butter and brown sugar; beat with electric mixer until smooth.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing in between each one. Add vanilla and mix. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Add the flour to the sugar mixture; mix well. Stir in nuts, chips, and coconut.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, and the top is a nice, golden brown.  30 minutes left mine a little gooey, which we loved.

Serve warm topped with vanilla ice cream, and a drizzle of caramel and/or chocolate syrup.

Find some neighbors to share this with because there will be a lot! 

Yum!

White Chocolate Lemon Bars

This is a treasured recipe from a very good friend.
One of those on-line, I've-never-met-in-real-life-friends.
One of those, I-don't-think-we-would've-been-friends-if-we-didn't-meet-online friends.
But she's one of the best women I know.

You know what I mean?

She was kind enough to share her secret recipe for her amazing lemon bars. You've gotta try these! I'm not a huge white chocolate fan, so I hesitated, but the white chocolate matches perfectly with the tart lemon.


White Chip Lemon Bars

1 1/4 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup white chips

2 eggs slightly beaten

The zest and juice from one lemon

Powdered sugar

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees

2. Stir together 1 cup flour and 1/4 cup sugar in medium bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press mixture onto the bottom of 9-inch baking pan.

3. Bake 7 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven; sprinkle with chips.

4. Stir together eggs, lemon juice, lemon peel, remaining 1/4 cup flour and remaining 3/4 cup sugar in medium bowl; carefully pour over chips and crust.

5. Bake 10 minutes or until set (you can touch center and it's springy). Cool in pan on wire rack; sift with powdered sugar when completely cool. Cut into bars.

EAT!!

Trust me. These will be gone quickly!

Nanaimo Bars

Look at that. Chocolaty, coconuty, creamy goodness.  Nanaimo bars are native to Canada, and were all over the internet a few months ago. That's how long I've been drooling over them! I finally got into the kitchen this last weekend and whipped some up.  They were divine.

This is also my entry into the Twelve Weeks of Christmas Cookies! Check out all of the yumminess below! Thanks to Abby Sweets for hosting this great carnival!

I followed the recipe on Barbara Bakes. Hers look different then mine though- her middle layer is bigger. I found that I loved the 1st 2 layers, but the 3rd- all chocolate- was a little over the top. I think that when I make these again I will just drizzle a small amount of chocolate over the top, and double the middle layer.  I found it hard to spread the layers as well, so mine aren't as pretty, but I bet they tasted just as good! ;)

The really great thing about this recipe is that while you do melt some things on the stovetop, there is no baking involved!


Nanaimo Bars

Bottom Layer
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
5 Tb unsweetened cocoa
1 large egg, beaten
1 1/4 cups Graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup Almonds, finely chpped
1 cup coconut, shredded

Middle Layer (I might double this next time!)
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 Tb and 2 teas Heavy Cream
2 Tb Vanilla Custard Powder (or Vanilla pudding mix)
2 cups Powdered Sugar


Top Layer  (I doubled this layer, but will not next time!)
4 ounces Semi-sweet chocolate
2 TB Unsalted Butter

Directions:

1. For bottom layer: Melt unsalted butter, sugar, and cocoa in the top of a double broiler. Add beaten egg, and stir to cook and thicken (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat.  Stir in crumbs, nuts, and coconut. Press firmly into an ungreased 8x8 inch pan.

2. For middle layer: Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and powdered sugar together well. Beat until light in color. Spread over bottom layer.

3. For top layer: Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, pour over middle layer, and chill.  *I sprinkled fresh coconut on top!

These bars are super sweet, so cut small! They also freeze well!

Enjoy!

Strawberry Cookie Bars

I've discovered something about myself as I cook and bake more. I'm becoming more adventurous, and willing to take risks with my food. Valentine's day weekend, I was making a desert to take to a family party. It was supposed to be a strawberry jello-like dessert. I made the crust, but when I went to make the topping, I realized that I didn't have any white chocolate chips. I was tired and disappointed. A year earlier, I would have thrown in the towel and picked something up at the grocery store.

This time, however, I just stood there, staring at that crust, wondering what I could do with it. I wanted to use the strawberries, and I had the idea of cream stuck in my head. I ended up making a cream cheese frosting, and added the strawberries on top. Now, it sounded simple. Basically it was just a sugar cookie with frosting and strawberries. You can imagine that, right? But, when it came time to eat, this desert was an amazing creation. The frosting had not set up like frosting does, probably because of the strawberry juice, or because it had been out of the fridge for awhile. I was so worried when I cut into it, and the frosting was a liquid. But then I heard something... From the mouth of my Grandpa came these words... "This sauce is amazing!" Yes! My dessert was a triumph!

Strawberry Cookie Bars

Crust:
1 pouch (1lb 1.5oz) Sugar Cookie Mix (I used Betty Crocker)
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 egg

Frosting:
1 cream cheese block, softened
1 stick (1/4 lb or 1/2 cup) butter, softened
4 cups Powdered Sugar
1 teas. vanilla
1 cup of pureed strawberries

Toppings:
3-4 cups additional sliced strawberries
1 cup shredded coconut

Heat oven to 350. Spray bottom only of a 13x9inch baking pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine cookie mix, butter, and egg until a soft dough forms. Press evenly in bottom of pan. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until light golden brown. Cool completely- about 30 minutes.

Make frosting: Combine all the frosting ingredients, EXCEPT the strawberries in a large bowl. Mix with a hand mixer on medium, until combined and fluffy. Stir in pureed strawberries.

Layer the sliced strawberries on top of the cookie crust; saving a few for garnish.

Frost the top of the cookie bar. I didn't use the entire amount of frosting- only about 3/4 of it. If you have extras, just put it in the fridge, where you can spread it on graham crackers and enjoy later!

Sprinkle the saved strawberries and the coconut on top of the frosting. Cover and refrigerate to keep the strawberries fresh.

Chocolate Butterscotch Bars

These bars are easy to make, and easy to impress! I believe it was originally from a Pillsbury recipe, but it's been so long, that I've lost the source.

Chocolate Butterscotch Bars

1 pkg Yellow Cake Mix
1 pkg (3.4oz) Instant butterscotch pudding mix
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 cup (6oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup flake coconut
1 cup chopped nuts (reserve 1/2 cup for Glaze)

Glaze:
1 cup (6oz) butterscotch chips
3 TB milk
2 TB butter or margarine
Reserved nuts from dough

Heat oven to 350**. Lightly grease 13x9" baking pan.
In a large mixing bowl, combine dry cake mix, dry pudding mix, oil, and eggs. By hand, stir until well blended.
Stir in chocolate chips, coconut, and 1/2 cup nuts.
Press mixture in prepared pan.


Bake at 350 for 25-30 min until golden brown.
**Higher altitude (Utah): bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes.
Let cool in pan.

In a small saucepan, combine glaze ingredients; melt over low heat, stirring until smooth.
Drizzle over warm bars. Sprinkle with reserved nuts.

Makes 36 bars...or so...