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.
Lorain says
I made these without eggs today. I used the egg replacer Ener G, whipping it and adding it at the end….well, the taste is really good but they are “underdone” so to speak. A little gooey but without the eggs that is understandable. As my wheat and egg allergies are very recent I am not a pro at egg replacers.
I may try to scoop out the centre, more gooey part and blob it onto some parchment and bake again to see if I can firm it up a bit.
Would love to hear if anyone out there had better success.
Odile says
These are delicious! I made them this morning.
Kathie says
Thank you for posting the link to Dr. Newport’s interviews. I found the information enlightening and my “I don’t have time for this” attitude quickly dissipated as I watched every part. I’ve used coconut oil intermittently in recipes mostly from this site. Since I’ve watched the video we’ve incorporated coconut oil into our diets as a prevention measure.
Thanks again!
Terra Stead says
Saw this recipe last night. Made it this morning for a party tonight. I topped half of them with all fruit raspberry jam. Either way they were delicious. Thanks for all the inspiration and yummy food!
Angela says
Perfect timing… needed a dessert to bake for my get together last night. Baked this and wow’d everyone!! I didn’t use stevia either… came out perfect!! Thank you Elana.
diane says
I made these today – and they are wonderful! Love the coconut taste, and that they aren’t too sweet. I have so many food allergies, but coconut is not one of them. So it’s great to find a treat that I can actually eat! Thank you for these!
Chrissy says
Btw, don’t you LOVE Barlean’s coconut oil? It’s my absolute favorite! I just wish they made it in bigger sizes bc I use it every day.
Chrissy says
Oh, man, these look amazing! I’m obsessed with coconut, so I can’t wait to make these after I finish Whole 30!!
andrea says
Yep, I’m waiting til after my Whole 30 as well…but these will be baking on the morning of February 1st for sure! I’m actually going to try to sub date puree for the honey…and omit the stevia.
Trish says
Made these without any sweetener. I don’t think they needed any!
Chrissy says
Trish, great to know! I like cutting out sweeteners as much as possible!
Amy says
My son is a huge fan of “magic cookie bars” and I wonder if I could tweek this recipe to make a healthier alternative. The original recipe includes sweetened condensed milk, graham cracker crumbs, coconut, choc chips and nuts.
Lisa Stafford says
Amy,
I’ll bet you could tweak this recipe a bit by adding chocolate chips and chopped pecans. Let us know how it turns out.
Lisa
andrea says
Elana’s recipe for Chocolate Almond Joy Bars is a great alternative to Magic Bars…
https://elanaspantry.com/chocolate-almond-joy-bars/
Lisa Stafford says
Elana,
This recipe looks fabulous. I hope to prepare it soon, and I know you are not eating chocolate now, but the idea of drizzling it on top sounds heavenly.
Did you use canned coconut milk? Full fat or lite? There is also available now, coconut milk beverage, so there is room for lots of interpretation here.
I have recently read the book Virgin Coconut Oil and am excited to learn and experience many of the health benefits of the beloved coconut.
(((Hugs))),
Lisa