Magical Coconut Bars were always one of my favourite dessert squares growing up, next to Nanaimo bars. In my younger mind, the sweeter the dessert, the better. The words “too sweet” just weren’t in my vocabulary back then.
Fortunately, for my body (and cavity-prone teeth) I outgrew this mindset, embracing lighter, slightly earthier versions of my favourite desserts. It’s amazing what the taste buds can adapt to with a little time and patience.
Luckily for these lightened up bars, no patience was required for my taste buds. It was love at first bite!
Here are some of the swaps I made:
– coconut oil instead of butter, plus a reduced amount
– unsweetened shredded coconut instead of sweetened coconut flakes
– unrefined coconut sugar instead of processed white sugar
– homemade condensed light coconut milk instead of a can of sweetened condensed dairy milk
– reduction in the amount of chocolate and coconut
I really wasn’t sure how they would turn out given all these changes, but the outcome was just right – decadent, but still light tasting, or at least that was the consensus in the group. I really can’t imagine these any sweeter than they already are.
I took some step-by-step photos to show you how easy (and fun) they are to make!
1. Make graham cracker crust & push down hard. 2. Pour on homemade condensed coconut milk.
3. Sprinkle on chocolate chips. 4. Followed by shredded coconut.
5. Chop pecans and sprinkle on top. Press mixture down with hands and bake for ~30 minutes.
The hardest part is waiting for the bars to set! Most recipes say to chill the pan overnight before slicing (is this even possible? hahah) or chill in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours. Being the patient person I am, I shoved these bars straight into the freezer. A mere 2 hours later, I was enjoying my first square which sliced perfectly. Freezer for the win!
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
Lightened Up Magical Coconut Bars
Yield
20 Squares
Prep time
Cook time
Chill time
2 hours
Total time
While these are lighter than some traditional magical coconut bar recipes, they are still quite decadent, so I prefer to serve them in small squares. A little bit goes a long way! We also found that the bars tasted better the next day, possibly because the flavours have time to settle. Make sure you really push the graham crumbs down firmly into the pan. This is key if you want the crust to hold together well. See my substitution notes below and be sure to read the entire recipe before starting. Adapted from Post Punk Kitchen.
Ingredients
- 1 can light coconut milk
- 2/3 cup coconut sugar
- 2 cups vegan graham cracker crumbs
- 6 tbsp (65g) coconut oil
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 3/4 cup dairy-free chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life mini)
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 3/4 cup pecans, chopped
- pinch of flaked sea salt, for garnish (optional)
Directions
- Prepare condensed coconut milk: Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 9-inch square pan with two pieces of parchment paper (one going each way). Add entire can of coconut milk into a medium-sized pot, and whisk in the coconut sugar. Increase heat to medium and bring to a low simmer. Watch closely as it can boil over very quickly! Simmer on low-medium heat for about 12-14 minutes, whisking occasionally, until the mixture thickens slightly. If film develops on the top as it condenses, just whisk it back into the mixture. Remove from heat to cool while you prepare the crust.
- Prepare graham cracker crust: In a pot, soften coconut oil over low heat until mostly melted. Add to a mixing bowl along with graham cracker crumbs and maple syrup. Stir very well until thoroughly combined. Spoon graham mixture into prepared pan. Starting at the centre of the pan, press the graham cracker crumbs as firmly as you can, moving outward from the centre. The harder you press the crumbs into the pan, the better the bars will hold together. I used a pastry roller at the end to really pack it all in and I had no problems with crumbling when I sliced the bars.
- Assemble: Pour warm condensed milk over the graham crust. Now, sprinkle on the chocolate chips, followed by the coconut, and finally the pecans, evenly over the condensed milk. Press the mixture down lightly with hands until the coconut milk soaks upward into each layer. Sprinkle with flaked sea salt (optional).
- Bake in the oven, uncovered, for 27-31 minutes at 350°F (I baked for 30 mins), until the edges are golden. Remove pan from oven and place on cooling rack for about 30 minutes. Now, transfer the pan to your freezer for 2 hours (quick-set method). Or chill the bars in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight. When set, cut into squares (thaw at room temp first if removing from freezer). Bars can be wrapped up and left on the counter, or in the fridge or freezer.
Tip:
- You can use full-fat coconut milk instead of light.
- Coconut sugar can be subbed for any granulated sugar (Sucanat, natural cane sugar, brown sugar, etc).
- Two cups of graham cracker crumbs produced a fairly thick crust (see photo). You can probably reduce the amount to 1.5 cups if you want a thinner crust.
- You can probably sub non-dairy butter for coconut oil.
- I purchased my graham cracker crumbs from Bulk Barn.
I know some of you are probably wondering about a gluten-free version too. You could try using gluten-free graham crackers and processing those in the processor/blender or you might be able to make an almond flour crust. Thoughts? If anyone tries a GF version please leave a note in the comments!
Just wanted to comment and say THANK YOU! I made these for my family as a Christmas dessert & to say it was a hit is a total understatement. They could hardly wait for them to thaw from the freezer before half the pan was gone! Love hearing remarks like, “I can’t believe these are vegan!”. So, so good!
Hey Jenn, so glad to hear this! I never tire of hearing that either heh
Magic Cookie Bars are one of my family’s favorite Christmas treats – but this is the first Christmas we are gluten and (mostly) dairy free. I made these with GF graham cracker crumbs and dark chocolate chips. Better than the original and a huge hit. Thank you for the recipe!
Could the coconut oil possibly be substituted with nut butter?
Im sorry Im not sure Courtney. Please let me know if you try it out!
I just made these bars today and they are delicious! My only query is with regard to the chocolate chips; for some reason my vegan chocolate chips from Whole Foods did not melt. Any thoughts?
I had issues with my chips not melted fully too. I think you could melt the chocolate before baking and just drizzle it on maybe?
Will do! Thank you and happy new year!!
Thank you so much for your website, your pictures, your recipes! I have tried several of your recipes and people can’t believe they’re eating vegan food! I was so excited to see the magic bars, I made them right away..huge hit. I gotta tell ya…I love salty and sweet…so…I made them again but used chopped salted peanuts in place of the pecans…WINNER !! So happy to be able to make these and share and see the looks on my friends and families faces when I tell them their vegan…WHAT??? Keep on doing what you’re doing! :D
Oh boy, these are really, really delicious. Waay better than the original (too sweet) recipe.
Thanks for posting and hope you have a wonderful 2013!
I made these last night and they turned out great! I made my own gf graham crackers and let the coconut milk cook for about 45 minutes instead. Delicious!
Do you have the nutritional info for this? (Am I blind?! I’m not seeing it anywhere!)
Thanks – making these for a new year party tonight. I have also loved these my whole life. Even cheated on some non-vegan ones over Christmas, but THAT’s over ;) Yum, can’t wait!
I made this bars as a main desert for our New Years celebration. Everyone loved it!!!! Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!
Yum, these look so incredible!!
I made these bars last night & they are delicious!!!! I actually spoiled my breakfast this morning by eating one; I couldn’t wait:-) Thanks, Angela!
Just made these tonight and couldn’t even wait the 2 hours to try them. After just an hour they sliced perfectly and I cannot express how amazingly decadent these are!! Thank you so much for the recipe; my non-vegan coconut-hating husband actually said they were incredible – how funny is that? :) I check your website daily and am always making something of yours, and I truly have nothing but high praise for everything on here… your talent and creativity is just amazing! Thanks for all you do for all of us!
I have tried the PPK version with GF graham crackers (both hand crushed into crumbs and given a whirl in a food processor) and it comes out great either way! So great that non-GF, non-vegans have told me that it’s the most amazing dessert they’ve ever had. I can’t remember the brand of GF graham crackers that I used, but one box is just scant of two cups crushed so it works out well. I also have concocted a really quick graham cracker crust with oat flour, sugar, cinnamon, and earth balance that turned out alright as well.
Hope that’s helpful for the GF vegans out there :))
Wow! These bars are INCREDIBLE! And I’m not just saying that!
I made them gluten free, using a recipe for graham cracker crumbs (which I thought was a clever idea….why make crackers only to crush them up?!), and they came out amazingly! :D
For the graham cracker crumbs, I used:
1 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapoica flour
1/2 cup almond flour (other flour may work for nut-free)
1/2 cup melted Earth Balance soy-free butter substitute
1/2 cup brown sugar
I mixed that in a kitchen aid mixer, then poured it into a 9×13 pan (should be crumb-like…), and baked at 350 for 15-20 minutes, stirring once halfway through.
Watch carefully because they can burn quickly! :)
Then, I just used 2 cups of these crumbs for your crust recipe!
The bars came out great! I was so pleased with them :D Thanks for all your hard work Angela!!
(The only thing I found weird was the sweetened condensed milk part…i used a light can of coconut milk, as the recipe suggests, but used cane sugar instead of coconut sugar. I boiled/simmered it for a while and it never seemed to thicken up enough! It eventually got thick enough to use, but not exactly what I was expecting…also, it was a strange gray-ish color, but maybe because I didn’t use coconut sugar? The color was fine in the finished product though.)
Regardless of this, the bars were incredible, definitely a recipe to make again! :D
I made a version of these and used Gluten Free Graham Crackers that I ground in my vita mix. They worked great!
These look fantastic! Can’t wait to test them out!!
Girl, these bars look AWESOME!
These look absolutely delicious! I find it hard to find a good dessert recipe that doesn’t use butter or eggs. Coconut oil sounds like a great alternative! (Definitely helps that I LOVE coconut). Thanks for sharing!
This was delish!! I have made approx 10 or more recipes in the last month and all of your recipes come out delicious! I don’t have to test run a recipe. I’ve made the twix bars two times now and took them to a party. I took these delish morsels to work and the men loved it! Thank you for providing so many delicious recipes! I have discovered a whole new genre of cooking and I love it! (My daughter I’m nursing is dairy, soy, corn, egg, nut allergic.) Yes, most of the recipes I’ve tried were desserts, but I just made the tomato pesto and it is a hit! I’m going to try the lentil loaf this weekend. Thanks again.
Thank you for the feedback, I’m so glad you enjoy the recipes D!
Can you tell me how many ounces/ml are in the can of coconut milk?
Thanks
398 ml if I recall :) enjoy