Skip to main content

Coconut Toffee Bars

Sometimes only a blondie will do.  On the other end of the spectrum from dark, fudgy brownies, blondies have such a buttery-sweet quality to them that is so satisfying and comforting.  With the rich flavor of butterscotch to serve as a vehicle for other ingredients, what goes into them is entirely a personal matter.   Some bakers will insist on adding chocolate chips and/or walnuts to their bar cookies, while others will push the limits and add everything but the kitchen sink.


For this particular version of blondies I decided to add toffee bits in order to complement the butterscotch flavor of the brown sugar, as well as flaked coconut for added texture and sweetness.  The bars that emerge from the oven are heavenly squares of tender richness which immediately beckon you to have one.  Patience!  The bar cookies need to cool completely before they're divvied up into generous portions.

My Coconut Toffee Bars are rich, it's true, but they're the type of cookie you'll want to indulge in when the time is right.  I love how some of the toffee bits remain on the surface of the bar cookies, while others sink to the bottom and form pools of soft toffee.  The flaked coconut is an added bonus.

Let's bake something sweet & delicious!


Coconut Toffee Bar Ingredients
  • 2 sticks or 16 tablespoons {226 g.} unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 3/4 cups {375 g.} packed light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup {50 g.} granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoon {10 ml.} pure vanilla extract
  • 2 3/4 cups {370 g.} all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon {1.25 ml.} fine sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon {2.5 ml.} baking powder
  • 2/3 cup {60 g.} sweetened flaked coconut
  • 8 oz. or 1 1/3 cup {226 g.} toffee bits


Yield: 15 bar cookies
Equipment: 9x13” aluminum baking pan

Spray a 9x13” baking pan with nonstick cooking spray or butter it, line the longest side with parchment paper with at least a 1-2” overhang on each side.  Keep it ready.

Center Oven Rack
Preheat to 350° F (177°C)
  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium speed until lightened, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Add the light brown sugar & granulated sugar and continue beating on medium speed until light & fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Stop & scrape down the bowl & paddle at least once.
  2. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until thick on medium speed.  Add the vanilla extract & beat until combined.
  3. In a medium bowl, add the all-purpose flour, fine sea salt and baking powder.  Whisk to combine throughly and evenly.  Add the dry ingredients on low speed, mixing just until combined.
  4. Remove the bowl and paddle from the mixer.  Using a large spatula, combine the toffee bits and flaked coconut into the batter.
  5. Put the batter into the prepared pan and distribute it evenly with an offset spatula. 
Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes.


The top should feel set.

Let the cookie bar cool completely in the pan.

Loosen the sides of the bars before gently lifting the cookie slab and removing it onto a cutting board.  Cut into 15 bars.

Pile them high onto a cake stand and let everyone have a bar.



Have fun baking!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank You for Posting!

Popular posts from this blog

Antique Salt Cellars

There was a time when salt cellars played an important role on the dining table for the host or hostess.  As a result of it being such an expensive commodity several hundred years ago, salt was seen as a luxury and it was the well to do that made salt cellars quite fashionable & a status symbol for the home.  A single salt cellar usually sat at the head of the table and was passed around throughout the meal.  The closer one sat to the salt cellar, the more important one was deemed by the head of the household.  Smaller cellars that were more accessible and with an open top became a part of Victorian table settings.  Fast forward to the 20th century when salt was no longer a luxury and when anti caking agents were added to make salt free-flowing, and one begins to see salt cellars fall out of fashion.  Luckily for the collector and for those of us who like to set a table with Good Things , this can prove to be a boon. Salt cellars for the table come in silver, porcelain, cut glass
49 comments
Read more

Vintage Wilton Wedding Cakes

Wedding cakes have certainly evolved over the decades just as tastes and styles have in our American way of life.  There was a time when elaborate & very formal towering feats of sweetness were the standard for every bride & groom.  Growing up in a household where I witnessed several wedding cakes take shape from start to finish, I can tell you  that every single one of these was a true labor of love.  For mom, Wilton was the go-to supplier in every aspect of cake baking, including the wedding cakes which flew out of our house every single year for friends & family.   Vintage Wedding Cake Toppers It’s fun going back and looking at Wilton’s methods and styles for wedding cakes during the 1960s and 1970s.  Back then, the shapely cakes were not simply stacked and covered in perfect fondant the way they are these days, but were iced and decorated with real buttercream, along with a multitude of accessories.  There was even a working fountain available that could b
8 comments
Read more

Collecting Jadeite

With its origins dating back to the 1930s, jadeite glassware began its mass production through the McKee Glass Co. in Pennsylvania. Their introduction of the Skokie green & Jade kitchenware lines ushered in our fascination with this jade color.  Glassmakers catered jadeite to the American public as an inexpensive alternative to earthenware soon after the Depression, both for the home and for its use in restaurants.  The Jeanette Glass Company and Anchor Hocking introduced their own patterns and styles, which for many collectors, produced some of the most sought after pieces.  Companies marketed this beautiful glass under the monikers of jadite , jadeite , jade glass , jad-ite , jade-ite , so however you want to spell it, let it draw you in for a closer look.  If you want a thorough history of the origins of jadeite, collectors’ pricing, patterns & shapes (don’t forget the reproductions in 2000), I highly suggest picking up the book by Joe Keller & David Ross called, Jadei
48 comments
Read more