Coconut Bars from Fat Witch Brownies

Coconut Bars - made January 2, 2023, adapted from Fat Witch Brownies by Patricia Helding

Crust

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons packed light brown sugar

Topping

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of cinnamon

2 cups sweetened coconut (I used flaked)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Crust: mix together butter, flour and brown sugar until a dough forms. Spread evenly in bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes or until crust is light golden. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
3. Topping: Beat brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs and vanilla extract until well combined. Add the sweetened condensed milk, mixing thoroughly. Add flour, baking powder and cinnamon, mixing until combined. Mix in coconut until well combined. Spread topping evenly over par-baked crust. Bake for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting and serving.

I'm forever switching back and forth between the recipes I've pinned on Pinterest and the (guilty) call of my existing baking books calling me from my bookshelves to use them. I bought them whereas the pinterest recipes are free so why don't I actually use what I bought? (rhetorical question)

In any case, I've had this book from Fat Witch Brownies for donkey's years. Long ago, when I first discovered Fat Brownies, online brownie bakeries weren't as much of a thing as they are today and getting a recipe book from said online (and brick and mortar) bakery was a big deal. So I promptly bought the book, tried a few of the recipes of the brownies I'd ordered online then let same book gather dust over the years. Sigh.

Anyway, I tried this recipe from Fat Witch and thumbs up because I love coconut and brown sugar flavor together. This one was a tad too sweet though and it may be because I didn't bake it enough (the edges were perfect, the middle piece was a bit grainy). Still, the crust was perfection, not too hard but not dry-crumbly-soft either. It's a good shortbread base and you can't beat the chewiness of the coconut.

If I make these again, I'd bake a little longer than the 30 minutes the recipe suggests (at least in my oven) or, at a minimum, I'd use the recipe for the shortbread base in any other recipe that needs it.