These rich and moist coconut bars are made of not one, but three different forms of scrumptiously healthy coconut, including shredded coconut, coconut oil and coconut milk in their ingredients list.
I have Shirley at Gluten Free Easily to thank for this recipe as it is based upon her famous gluten free Crustless Coconut Pie. I’m a big fan of Shirley’s crustless pie recipes. They’re perfect when I’m looking for a quick and easy, yet simply tasty, gluten free dessert.
I find that this coconut bar recipe tastes a bit like a macaroon bar. If you want to jazz up your coconut bars and get really decadent, try drizzling them with dark chocolate.
Coconut Bars
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk
- ⅓ cup coconut oil
- ⅓ cup honey
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon stevia
- ½ cup blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- 1½ cups unsweetened shredded coconut
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
Instructions
- Mix eggs, coconut milk, oil, honey, vanilla and stevia in a food processor
- Pulse in almond flour, coconut flour, shredded coconut and salt
- Transfer ingredients into an 8 x 8 inch baking dish
- Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes
- Cool for ½ hour, then place in refrigerator and serve when chilled
Here are some of the health benefits of coconut:
- Naturally gluten free
- Full of heart healthy fats that lower LDL cholesterol
- Anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-parasitic
- Reduces inflammation and promotes healthy absorption of nutrients
- High in minerals such as iron, phosphorus and zinc
It is also thought that eating coconut products speeds up the body’s metabolism, helping to prevent obesity.
Finally, Dr. Mary Newport has written an article on the remarkable results she believes she has achieved using coconut oil to remediate her husband’s early onset Alzheimer’s disease.
In this video Dr. Newport shares intriguing anecdotal evidence on the impact of coconut oil on neurobiological function. Her findings will be of particular interest to those of us who are working on our brain health in dealing with diseases and disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS), Alzheimers, Parkinsons, autism, ADD, etc.
So grab yourself a coconut bar and a cup of delicious dandelion coffee (that’s what I’m drinking right now) and settle in to watch the video of Dr. Newport. And be sure to let us know your thoughts in a comment below.
Laura @ Gluten Free Pantry says
I am making these coconut bars today-I have all of the ingredients already. Thanks for such a great recipe!
Stacy says
These look incredible!! I love anything coconut. First chance I get, these are on the menu. Thanks for sharing!
Meagan says
These look fab! I wonder how well they hold together.
Hannah Willette says
Yum! I am going to add pineapple chunks to this recipe and make pina-colada bars. Thanks for the inspiration.
Ally says
Mine came out really moist, you might consider tweaking the recipe as adding pineapple will add more moisture.
Erica Dinner says
Tonight, for sure!!!!!
Rose says
Elana, I don’t have the stevia… could it be left out?
Renee says
I have the same question. I don’t like using Stevia is there a good substitute or is one even needed.
Christine @ Nourish the Budding Lotus says
I used 1/4 c agave instead of the honey and stevia and they turned out perfectly sweet, so I don’t think the stevia would be missed.
Cynthia says
I have used vegetable glyercin
Alana Shaw says
Do you remember how much stevia you used with the agave?
Ally says
I left the stevia out completely, left all the ingredients the same and they taste great!
Julie says
I was wondering about the stevia as well. I am utterly curious about it after listening to a segment about S&W seed company on.NPR. I left out the honey and added more stevia and then I decided to make a couple more changes and go the cookie route. Really really good
All night I was thinking I need to go back and try the bar recipe and then the original pie crust recipe… I love coconut!
Jeanette says
I love Shirley’s crustless pie recipes, and how you turned this into a bar cookie. I haven’t had much luck with coconut flour when I bake without eggs – noticed you only used a little coconut flour here. Have you ever tried baking with coconut flour without eggs?
Judith Stone says
Looks wonderful Elana. Do you do your own photography for the recipes on your blog, and if so do you have any tips? My pictures never look as good as yours even when the food looks at it’s best!
Adrienne @ Whole New Mom says
Hi there. I couldn’t help but respond. Her photos are beautiful. I moved to a nice digital Canon SLR and then bought a macro lens. That really helped. Also a bit of education on how best to use the lens and taking about 20 photos of the food so I can pick the best. Then I looked at foodie blogs to see what I liked and I try to make use of their better points. Hope that helps :-).
Ali says
I *think* Elana uses a light box which makes it easier to take a photo any time of day. I used to use a macro lens but upgraded to a 50mm f/1.4 lens a year and a half ago. I only use natural light. I still have a lot to learn about food photography but this lens makes it really easy, especially if you don’t have a lot of time with a bunch of hungry children at you feet! :)
Hanri says
I have to second the 50mm 1.4 lens – it really changed my food photography and can be used any time of day with great results.
Mama Jo says
I can cook but horrible at baking. This looks like something I may be able to pull off though. And it is ing. that are common to our pantry. I even made the homemade vanilla last Dec. (cheap vodka with a couple of real vanilla beans and aged for a month).
Yummy Inspirations says
A recipe including coconut milk, oil, flour & shredded coconut must be super yummy! Thanks for sharing – going to add the recipe to my “to cook” list! :-)