Brownie Coconut Bars

These bars originally made an appearance on the Georgas table for one of our "family dinners" in which my favorite sister-in-law, Kaitlyn, and long time family friend slash awesome guy, David, join us for dinner on Tuesday nights. I chose the recipe based on my very scientific method of pairing dinner and dessert: what sweet treat can I make with the ingredients I already have. They were delicious so I decided to whip them up again thinking some girlfriends were coming over tonight to hang out. I changed up the recipe just a little bit this time, again for empirically proven reasons: I was lacking some of the called-for coconut.

I think I figured it out. The thing that makes these so delicious. Brownies with some coconut mixed in? I mean I'd eat 'em. Coconutty blob things with a little chocolate mixed in? While they don't sound great, I hate to see food wasted. But the perfectly sized layer of brownie supporting the floofy, delicious cloud of coconut? Heavenly.

Start by getting out a 9x9 pan, or 8x8, whatever you have. I'm pretty sure mine is 8x8. Line it with foil, leaving a little extra foil hanging over the edges so you can pull it out in one piece later. Spray the foil with nonstick spray or butter it if you're less lazy than I.

Mixing up the brownie layer is really as easy as melting butter in the microwave and then stirring in sugar, salt, an egg, cocoa and flour. Pour this layer into the foiled and sprayed pan. Bake it in a 375 degree oven for 10-15 minutes, until the sides start to pull away from the foil. 

While it's baking, mix up the coconut floofiness. Again, it's as easy as stirring 5 things together in one bowl with one fork or whisk. No mixer required! Combine eggs, sugar, vanilla and flour then when it's smooth mix in the coconut. Also, the coconut weight does not have to be exact. I realize maybe not everyone is as in love with the food scale as I am. 

When the brownie layer comes out, plop the coconut mixture over the top a little bit at a time. With the hot brownies and the thick coconut, spreading is no easy task so resist the temptation to dump all of the coconut on at once. I find that spreading with the fingers works best. Now it looks like this:

I forgot to take a picture after sprinkling the last little bit of coconut on top, my bad. Put the whole thing back in the oven for 25-30 minutes until it's browned on top and a toothpick stuck in the center comes out with moist crumbs. 

Once it is cool enough to touch simply grab the foil and lift the whole square out of the pan. 

The verdict is in. Kevin and I liked this batch better. Having less coconut made the whole bar more moist without sacrificing coconut flavor or floofiness. It really is up to you how much coconut you want to add! 

The Recipe

Brownie Layer:   

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 375. Foil and spray a 9x9 pan (or 8x8). Melt butter in the microwave then stir in sugar and salt. Stir in egg then cocoa and flour. Mix until smooth. Spread evenly in pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes.

Coconut Layer:

• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 4 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut plus a little extra for the top

Stir together the first four ingredients until smooth then fold in coconut. Spoon little plops onto the brownie layer and spread gently with fingers. Sprinkle coconut on top, about 1/4 cup. Bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool before removing from the pan by lifting the foil edges.

Recipe adapted from here