Mini Kisses Coconut Macaroon Bars

Mini Kisses Coconut Macaroon Bars - made April 23, 2011 from Old-Fashioned Bake Sale from Publications International (book #94)

I have no memory of where or how I got this recipe book.  It could've been a gift (if so, apologies to whoever gave it to me that I don't remember) or I could've picked it up in the bargain aisle at the bookstore.  It has lots of nice little homey recipes that are very straightforward and easy to make.  More importantly, nearly every recipe comes with a picture.  I love food pictures and am forever snapping pics of food, not just what I bake but also when I go out to eat or when I'm at a social gathering and there's plenty of food to adore and photograph.

The picture in the cookbook for this particular bar cookie looked especially good and I love coconut so it didn't take much for me to choose this recipe to try.  I didn't have any mini Hershey Kisses but I had plenty of the regular-size ones so I just chopped those in halves and thirds and called it good enough.  I did deviate from the directions to mix the dry ingredients first without the coconut, mixed the wet ingredients together, added to the dry ingredients then added the coconut.  It might not be a big deal but I find it easier to mix the other ingredients together more uniformly if I didn't have 10 ounces of coconut already in there.  I added the Hershey Kisses last and baked for exactly 35 minutes.  I did time it for once since I figured the toothpick test wasn't going to work with something of this texture.  At 35 minutes, the top was lightly golden brown and smelled so good I almost didn't want to wait until it was completely cool before diving in.  But the instructions do say to cool for at least 8 hours or overnight so I dutifully kept my distance until then.

 Overall, this was pretty good.  If you're a coconut lover like I am, this is like eating the inside of an Almond Joy without the almonds.  It's not as sweet as the candy but the Hershey kisses add a nice touch of chocolate to the coconut.  The only thing I would change though is to bake it in an 8-inch pan instead of a 9-inch so you get thicker bars.

3 ¼ cups (10-ounce package) sweetened coconut flakes

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

3 egg whites

1 whole egg, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup Hershey’s Mini Kisses Milk Chocolate

1.      Heat oven to 350⁰F.  Lightly grease 9-inch square baking pan.

2.      Stir together coconut, sugar, flour, and salt in large bowl.  Add egg whites, whole egg and almond extract; stir until well blended.  Stir in Mini Kisses.  Spread mixture into prepared pan, covering all chocolate pieces with coconut mixture.

3.      Bake 35 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool completely in pan on wire rack.  Cover with foil; allow to stand at room temperature about 8 hours or overnight.  Cut into bars.

Makes about 24 bars