Coconut Pecan Dream Bars

by Dorothy Reinhold on March 28, 2020


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Coconut Pecan Dream Bars are for coconut lovers. A bit like a chewy little coconut chess pie in bar form, they’ll make you swoon.

This post is sponsored in conjunction with #SpringSweetsWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to help in the creation of the #SpringSweetsWeek recipes. All opinions are mine alone.

Raise your hand if you’re in the coconut lover’s club with me. I might be president; I’m willing to be co-president with anyone else who feels as I do. I’ll try anything that has coconut in it, and probably come back for seconds.

How to make Coconut Pecan Dream Bars

7 ingredients on a white counter1. Assemble your ingredients and tools. This is always a good idea, no matter what you are making. That way you won’t be in the middle of the recipe and suddenly realize you’re missing something. Not that I have ever done that.

2 pans of coconut on a white counter2. Toast the coconut in the oven. This makes it taste more nutty.

A hand pats crust into a baking pan3. Mix crumbs for crust and press into a baking pan, then par bake.

Coconut pecan filling on a big mixing spoon4. Mix filling ingredients, and stir in coconut and pecans by hand.

Filling is spread over crust using a small spatula5. Spread filling gently over par baked crust.

Pan of coconut bars ready to bake6. Looks good enough to eat at this point, right? Wait…bake it again.

Coconut bars baked and out of the oven, sitting in a pan on counter7. Cool bars a bit, but cut them while still warm.

My Coconut Pecan Dream Bars recipe joins others today as the last day of #SpringSweetsWeek 2020, in which 27 bloggers from around the country have come together to share 100 sweet recipes perfect for spring, and coincidentally, well suited to get us through these trying days.

Fingers hold a single coconut pecan bar, in front of a plate of bars behind

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Coconut Pecan Dream Bars

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Yield: 24 bars

Coconut Pecan Dream Bars

Coconut Pecan Dream Bars are for coconut lovers. A bit like a chewy little coconut chess pie in bar form, they'll make you swoon.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups flaked coconut
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup butter (add a pinch of salt if you are using unsalted butter)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 350F degrees. Spread coconut out on a cookie sheet and toast it in the oven. Keep an eye on it, checking frequently, because coconut burns easily. It will only take a minute or 2.
  2. When any section of it begins turning light brown, take the pan out and dump the coconut onto a plate to cool. Leave oven on.
  3. Combine 1 cup of the flour and 1/4 cup of the sugar. Cut in the butter until the mixture is the consistency of cornmeal. I do this with an electric mixer on low, but you can do it with a pastry cutter, or a couple of forks, or even your fingers. Press these crumbs firmly into an UNgreased 9- by 13-inch baking pan.
  4. Bake for about 11-12 minutes.
  5. While crust is par baking, in the same mixing bowl (no need to clean it), beat eggs until light, a minute or 2. Add remaining cup of sugar gradually, beating constantly until mixture is light and fluffy, a couple of minutes. Add remaining 1/4 cup of flour and baking powder to the bowl, and fold into egg-sugar mixture (I do this by hand). Add vanilla, coconut and nuts and fold in by hand until thoroughly mixed.
  6. Remove crust from oven, and spread coconut pecan mixture gently over crust. I use a small offset spatula to do this. Return pan to oven and bake 15-18 minutes, until lightly browned on top.
  7. Remove from oven, set pan on a heat-proof surface and allow bars to cool in pan for 15-30 minutes. Cut into bars while warm.
  8. Makes about 24 squares.

Notes

Recipe source: Adapted from a recipe shared with my by friend Cassy Cohen.

https://www.shockinglydelicious.com/coconut-pecan-dream-bars/

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Collage of 2 photos of coconut barsSponsor product used in this recipe

2 bags of pecans on a white marble counter1.  Millican Pecan: I used delicious, high quality pecans from family-run Millican Pecan for this recipe, grown in the “Pecan capital of the world” — where the San Saba and Colorado rivers join in Texas. Founders of this company developed many great pecan varieties in the 1880s, and their descendants are still farming the original orchards to provide pecans for retail and online sales. The founder discovered the now-famous tree known as the “Mother Pecan Tree,” and over the years this tree was used to produce many great pecan varieties — the San Saba Improved, Texas Prolific, Onliwon, Squirrel Delight, No. 60, and Western Schley, to name a few. Their website has a fascinating history of the farm, and the pecan industry, for your culinary education.

My Spring Sweets Week recipes:

Try them all!

1. Orange Posset
2. Greek Yogurt Tangerine Cake
3. Coffee Banana Breakfast Smoothie
4. Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread
5. Coconut Pecan Dream Bars

Thank you #SpringSweetsWeek sponsors: Dixie Crystals, Millican Pecan, Door County Coffee & Tea Co., Anolon, Fresh April Sprinkles, Deiss Kitchenware, and Adams Extracts for providing the prizes free of charge. These companies also provided the bloggers with samples and product to use for #SpringSweetsWeek recipes. All opinions are my own.

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Tagged as: bar cookies, coconut, Cookies, dessert, pecans

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