I can tell you one thing, for sure. That is this:  It is a good thing that I am not a very skilled baker. I enjoy cooking far more than I do baking. If I really enjoyed baking, with recipes like this one, it wouldn’t be long before I weighed 500 pounds!

So I try not to get too carried away when I see a recipe that I like, if it requires baking. But there are some recipes, such as this one, that I collect and keep tucked away for when I want to celebrate a special occasion. I am thinking that these cookie bars would be an excellent substitution for my birthday cake this year.

 

INGREDIENTS

Cookie Crust
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup chocolate graham cracker crumbs (not quite 9 full-sheet crackers)
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Layers
¾ cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1¾ cup shredded sweetened coconut
½ cup sliced almonds
About 12 oz. sweetened condensed milk (not quite one can)

 

INSTRUCTIONS

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a slight overhang for easy removal and spray with cooking spray; set aside.

For the Crust: In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar, using a hand mixer, until smooth and creamy.  Add the vanilla and egg and mix until combined.  Add the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt and mix until fully combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Press graham cracker dough evenly into the bottom of your prepared baking pan.  Bake for 5 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with the mini chocolate chips (reserving a small amount), coconut and sliced almonds.  Drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over the top and sprinkle with reserved mini chocolate chips.  Remember the pan is hot! Return pan to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until set (I baked mine for about 26 minutes).  Loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil halfway through baking time to prevent the coconut and almonds from browning and rotate the pan in the oven.

Allow to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes and then stick in the refrigerator to cool all the way through (the bottom of the pan will be cold).   Cut into 9-12 squares.  DO NOT cut the bars while they are still warm or the gooey filling will run all over the place.

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Quick Tip:  Are you pressed for time? You can shorten the time required to make these by buying a roll of refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough and baking it for the crust, then proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Recipe and image courtesy of Jenn at Eat Cake For Dinner