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 nectar

Top 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. vanilla

Preheat 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.

Iced Fudge Brownie Cookies

Yippee, I have the best after-work job ever! I get to test cookie recipes for Garrick and Kelly. COOKIES! I’m downright gleeful with this gig. Anyway, what you see above is part of the first batch I tested for them. As you might guess, my friends and I didn’t last long with the finished product; we give these babies, 5 big, giant, dough balls!

Texture: soft, moist, crumble-free, ever-so-slight crunch on the exterior

Taste: rich, chocolate, brownie-like

Rating: 5 dough balls