Chocolate-Coconut-Oat Bars
Chocolate-Coconut-Oat Bars
I had at least three baking disasters last week. “At least” meaning, that’s all I can remember; there might’ve been more. Oh no. That’s right. It was the thermostat on my car that went bad, then the hot water heater in the house. Plus the three kitchen disasters. I needed something easy and reliable to counteract the losing. So I revisited the Choco-Coco Bar.
The first time I ever made this bar, I used the recipe from The Chicago Diner Cookbook, but the “crust” portion of the bar wasn’t a thriller. It was dry. What luck, though, in making my normal vegan blog rounds, I stumbled upon a very similar recipe at Urban Vegan. Thankfully, within about 20 minutes, my week filled with disasters turned into easy deliciousness. Got to get me more o’ dat!
Chocolate-Coconut-Oat Bars (from the Urban Vegan blog)
Bottom Layer:
1 1/2 cups uncooked oatmeal (instant is fine)
2 T. coconut oil
1/4 cup agave nectarTop Layer:
1 cup dark chocolate buttons or chips (vegan)
1/2 cup pecans*
1 cup shredded dried coconut
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp. vanillaPreheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix “bottom” ingredients and press into oiled 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish. Mix “top” ingredients and spread atop crust. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Let cool and cut into squares. Makes 9 large or 18 small bars. Optional: Add 2 Tbsp. dried raisins, cranberries, cherries, or cacao nibs to “top”.
*Urban Vegan calls for walnuts. I’m partial to the pecan.
September 23rd, 2008 at 8:54 pm
You know what I already like about this recipe? That you don’t have to bake the crust first and then bake the rest, as in some bar-type recipes. Of course, I have some questions.
Do you use pecan halves or chopped pecans? Do you chop them yourself or buy them prechopped? I get so frustrated chopping nuts.
Are these chewy? Is the crust crumbly? I’m wondering if they would be good to share at work.
My mouth is watering just thinking about the coconut.
September 23rd, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Day-um, those look good.
September 24th, 2008 at 6:15 am
KristinAthena:
I also like that you don’t bake separately like most bar recipes make you do. These end up tasting similar to those 7-layer bars. I’m still trying to find vegan butterscotch chips, but they’re hard to come by. If I do, I’d add those to these and they’d be pretty close. Without the chewiness. They’re more crumbly than chewy. But, they’d be perfect to bring to work!
I like the small squares, not because I like small servings necessarily, but because I like nibbley things. Small seems more nibbley.
I think I used pecan halves – I bought them from the bulk bins and was more concerned about avoiding “raw” pecans than anything else. I’d say whatever looks right and easy for you. I didn’t do any nut chopping.
Leasey:
They were! Are! Were!
September 24th, 2008 at 6:19 am
P.S. There is so little “sugar” in these (just the maple syrup, as agave nectar has a low glycemic index) that they seem almost “healthy” to me – without the health-nut taste. I’ve been eating them as snacks and dessert.
September 26th, 2008 at 5:41 am
Oh, no: you used the H word. Now I have no reason not to make these and eat them all myself.