It doesn't get much better than these insanely yummy and gooey chocolate coconut bars. If you are a big fan of Almond Joy candy bars then you will love these scrumptious treats.
Packed with chocolate chips, almonds and flaked coconut, oven baked chocolate coconut cookie bars only take 30 minutes to make. Most importantly, there is no need for long chilling times or shaping of individual cookies.
You can decide how big or small you want to cut your cookie bars, depending on how many people you want to feed. But everyone will surely love the nutty taste of these soft and chewy chocolate coconut blondie bars.
WHAT ARE COOKIE BARS?
Cookie bars are made from a basic cookie dough that is flavored by adding delicious add-ins like chocolate chips, nuts, peanut butter chips, caramel bites or coconut flakes, for example. Most importantly, no individual cookies need to be rolled, as you bake the dough in a baking dish and then cut into squares. They are quick, easy and oh so delicious!
❤️ WHY YOU'LL LOVE THIS CHOCOLATE COCONUT COOKIE BAR RECIPE
✔️ These insanely delicious cookie bars are gooey and packed full of chocolate chips, almonds and coconut flakes.
✔️ No chilling time or shaping of cookies necessary.
✔️ It only takes 30 minutes to create these Almond Joy cookie bars.
✔️ Cookie bars can be baked in the oven or air fryer.
CHOCOLATE COCONUT BARS INGREDIENTS
This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for chocolate coconut bars, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
You may have all of these chocolate coconut cookie bar ingredients in your refrigerator or pantry and not need to make a trip to the grocery store. See recipe card below for ingredient amounts.
- All-purpose flour: Plain all-purpose flour works great here but cake flour can be substituted by adding an additional 2 tablespoons for each cup of all-purpose flour. If the recipe calls for 1 cup of all-purpose flour, use 1 cup and 2 tablespoons of cake flour.
- Baking Soda
- Baking Powder
- Sea Salt
- Butter: It is important to use softened butter, so it blends well with the other ingredients. Take the butter out of the fridge 30-60 minutes before starting the recipe. You can also soften butter by microwaving it for a couple of seconds.
- Granulated Sugar
- Light Brown Sugar: The molasses in the sugar adds great flavor to your cookie bars and keeps them chewy. You can substitute dark brown sugar in a pinch.
- Egg
- Vanilla Extract
- Chocolate Chips: We used regular semi-sweet chocolate chips for this recipe but you can also use mini chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips or a mix of all of them.
- Flaked Coconut
- Almond Slivers
INSTRUCTIONS
This section shows how to cook oven baked chocolate coconut cookie bars, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique. For full instructions, nutritional information, to print the recipe or to have the recipe scaled to double or triple, see the recipe card below.
PREPARE: Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a 9x9" baking dish with parchment paper.
🔴 TIP: Use parchment paper, because the cookie bars will come out of the pan much easier.
COMBINE THE DRY INGREDIENTS: In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk to blend.
COMBINE THE WET INGREDIENTS: Combine softened butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar.
🔴 TIP: Make sure you use softened butter. Take the butter out of the refrigerator 30-60 minutes before you make cookies. Or you can cut cold butter into 1 tablespoon portions, place on a microwave safe plate and microwave for 5 seconds.
MIX BATTER: Mix with an electric mixer until creamy. Add an egg and the vanilla extract. Mix again until combined.
COMBINE WET AND DRY INGREDIENTS: Slowly add dry ingredients, about a ¼ cup of flour mixture at a time, to the wet ingredients. Keep mixing with the electric mixer until all ingredients are well blended. Add chocolate chips, ¼ cup almond slivers, ¼ cup coconut flakes and mix.
🔴 TIP: Do not overmix the batter, go slow and stop mixing once everything is just combined.
BAKE: Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining almonds, coconut and a handful of chocolate chips on top. Cook for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown and done.
🔴 TIP: Push down chocolate chips and almonds slightly first, so they're secure. Then scatter the coconut.
ENJOY: Once cool, remove from the baking dish and cut into squares.
HOW TO MAKE COOKIE BARS IN THE AIR FRYER
You can also try to cook this wonderful chocolate coconut dough in the air fryer. We prefer the oven baked method for this recipe, but this is fun too!
Make sure you cut the recipe in half, or bake your cookie bars in 2 batches. We used a round cake pan and cooked the cookie bars at 300ºF until done.
If you like making cookies in the air fryer you must also try our scrumptious Air Fryer Cookies or Air Fryer Cookie for One.
TIPS FOR THE BEST CHOCOLATE COCONUT BARS
Follow these tips to make the best almond joy cookie bars.
✔️ Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. It is tempting to use cooking spray but they’ll come out of the pan much better with parchment paper.
✔️ Use softened butter. The easiest way to soften butter is to take it out of the refrigerator and leave it on the counter for 30-60 minutes before you make cookies. If your butter is not soft, cut into 1 tablespoon portions and place on a microwave safe plate. Microwave for 5 seconds. Be careful because it will melt quickly.
✔️ Do not overmix the cookie batter. Mix just until it’s all combined.
✔️ Evenly distribute toppings. When you put almonds and chocolate chips onto the batter, before cooking, you should lightly press them into the batter so they’re secure. Scatter the coconut but don’t press or they may break.
STORAGE TIPS
Counter: In the unlikely case you end up with chocolate coconut cookie bar leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container or ziploc bag at room temperature for up to 3 days. Make sure they are tightly wrapped or covered so they stay soft and chewy.
Freeze: Completely cooled oven baked cookie bars can be frozen in a freezer safe container or bag for up to 3 months.
Defrosting: Thaw your coconut almond blondie bars on the counter for a couple of hours. To enjoy a delicious warm cookie bar, simply pop the defrosted treats in the microwave for a few of seconds or in the oven for a minute or two.
MORE COOKIE RECIPES
Do you love the convenience of no chill, no shape cookie bars? Then you have to try our Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars, White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie Bars, Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars, and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars.
Another must-try recipe are these insanely yummy Lemon Cream Cheese Cookie Bars. The combination of citrusy cream cheese filling with cookie crumble topping is just to die for.
Deep Fried Cookie Dough Bites, Air Fryer Chocolate Chip Cookies, Double Chocolate Chip cookies or Rose Vanilla Shortbread Cookies are some of our other favorite cookie recipes.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
For perfect results every time, here are answers to the most common questions about cooking almond joy cookie bars.
YES. You can line your baking dish with either parchment paper or aluminum foil. Make sure you have a slight overhang on the edges. This makes it a lot easier to lift the baked cookie bar out of the pan. We do not recommend using non-stick spray or buttering and flouring your baking dish for this recipe.
For the cookie bars to be done they should be slightly puffed up, golden brown with crispy edges. The middle might still look underdone, but don't forget the cookie bars will keep on cooking for a couple of minutes after they have been removed from the oven. When you insert a toothpick at the center it should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs on it. If there is still raw batter on the toothpick, keep the cookie bars in the oven for another couple of minutes.
Yes. You can double the recipe and bake it in a 9x13" baking pan. You might have to add a couple of minutes to the baking time. Start checking the cookie bars at the 20 minute mark to be sure you don't overcook them.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup butter - softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar - packed
- 1 large egg
- 1½ tsps vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips - (half a 12 oz bag)
- ½ cup flaked coconut
- ½ cup almond slivers
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a 9x9" baking dish with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk until mixed well.
In a large mixing bowl, combine softened butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Mix with an electric mixer until creamed.
Add egg and vanilla extract. Mix again until combined.
Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture, mixing as you go until it's all just combined. Do not overmix.
Add chocolate chips, ¼ cup flaked coconut, ¼ cup almond slivers and stir until combined.
Spread cookie batter into the baking pan. Spread evenly and smooth with a spatula. Add 10-20 more chocolate chips as well as the remaining almonds and coconut to the top.
Cook for 20-22 minutes or until golden and cooked to your desired crispiness. Remember it will continue cooking a little when you remove it from the oven.
Once cool, remove from the baking dish and cut into 16 pieces (or 9 if you prefer).
Notes
- Do not overmix the batter. The one downside of mixing cookies with an electric mixer is the danger of overmixing when combining the wet and dry ingredients. Go slow and stop mixing once everything is combined.
- If your butter is not softened it will not mix well and your cookie bars won’t cook correctly.
- Add a handful of chocolate chips to the top of your cookie bars and press in lightly, if desired.
- We tried cooking in an air fryer in a round cake pan. Cut the recipe in half and cook at 300°F until done. We prefer the oven method but this is fun as well!
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