Saturday, April 10, 2010

Coconut Pecan Chocolate Chunk Bars

When I was trying to decide whether to bake some cappuccino thumbprint cookies, re-make some caramel crumb bars, or go for the coconut pecan chocolate chunk bars, I posed the question to everyone on Twitter. I received an enthusiastic, majority vote for coconut pecan chocolate chunk bars. Don’t tell anyone, but I was secretly hoping for that result. These cookies sounded decadent and somehow gooey and crunchy at the same time. All of the options I was considering are from The Modern Baker which is a book that hasn’t failed me yet. Every time I open this book, I’m reminded of something else I want to try. Just now, I was distracted by the photo of some little, Parisian fruit tarts. But, I wanted to tell you about these cookie bars. The base is a crunchy, shortbread kind of layer which is covered with a mixture similar to pecan pie filling and topped with chocolate chunks. Yes, I’m happy these won the vote.

The buttery dough was pressed evenly but not too firmly into a nine by thirteen inch pan, and it was baked until puffed for about 15 minutes. The filling was made from brown sugar, eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla, sweetened flaked coconut, and coarsely chopped pecans. Last, chocolate chunks were strewn about on top, and there was an interesting note about the chocolate. After chunking it into one-quarter to one-half inch pieces, Malgieri instructs you to place the chocolate in a strainer to sift away any dust formed while chopping it. He suggests tidier chocolate gives the bars a nicer look, and chocolate chopped from a block is of higher quality than chocolate chips.

The bars were just as decadent as I thought they might be. In fact, it’s a good idea to cut these into rather small squares. There’s a note at the end of the recipe stating that you should freeze the bars if they’re not eaten right away, so I’m glad to know they freeze well. They are rich and sweet, but a good, bittersweet chocolate prevents them from being too, too sweet. And, the coexistence of gooeyness from the brown sugar filling and crunchiness from the cookie crust and pecans was even better than I’d hoped.





38 comments:

  1. You do not realize what these bars are doing to me! I had resolved to eat 'clean' today after last night's takeout-pizza fest but now . . . The only thing that may save me is that I only have a sad little handful of Nestle chocolate chips - not enough to do justice to this. Please excuse me, I'm going to stare at that first photo for a while . . .

    ReplyDelete
  2. These bars are making my mouth drool. I have to go get the ingredients and make them like right now! =)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love that you captured the yummy ooey gooey chocolatiness of these bars!

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a sinful ooey gooey chocolatey treat!

    ReplyDelete
  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  6. WOW! As soon as I saw the picture I was going to write the word decadent in my post and then I saw you used it. Decadent indeed.

    I love Nick Malgieri. I went to one of his classes on chocolate and he is a very lovable person.

    Could you please check whether in the book there is a recipe for sicilian fig cookies? I copied the page without realizing that I need the recipe for the cookie dough. I think it is from this book. If you can't find it I can always check my library again. lauran AT 800wine DOT com thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yep, these got the vote! They look too good.

    ReplyDelete
  8. WOW. These look gooey and delicious.
    Too dangerous for me to bake them!

    ReplyDelete
  9. What do u know, I saw this on tastespotting and guess what? Its Lisa's page :D. They look awesome daaaaaahling. So heavenly i could gobble them up.
    *kisses* HH

    ReplyDelete
  10. I want this. Now. I will have to diet for a month if I make these, but I have this leftover coconut from my Easter eggs nagging at me. And hcolate too.

    ReplyDelete
  11. make that chocolate! my keyboard is sticky.

    ReplyDelete
  12. ooey gooey simply incredible...I want one now!!!!
    this may be Mondays dessert and school!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Ahhhh they look as good as i imagined them to be!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh I wish I could have one right now!

    ReplyDelete
  15. OMG, what an ooey gooey treat! I'm drooling!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    ReplyDelete
  16. Looks fantastic! These bars look absolutely scrumptious!! YUM.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I don't even like coconut and these look fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  18. chocolate-y goodness. I can already tell that this is one of those treats that leave you licking your fingers to get those chocolate bits. hehehe... Love it.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I think I need to get the Modern Baker , it's 5:30am here n I cannot help to hop over to check it out!

    ReplyDelete
  20. yum, you're killing me with all the pecan-related cookies and cakes :D These look lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  21. sifted chopped chocolate? well i never! what a clever idea, although i doubt a little chocolate powder would make these any less gorgeous or decadent. :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. What do you do this to me? I just got up and had some stale boxed plain cookies with black coffee and i am just drooling over these!

    ReplyDelete
  23. I just ordered this book.... not that I needed another cookbook, but there's a group of people baking the book, and I've been thinking about joining.

    If you want to take a look, here is the link -
    http://modernbakerchallenge.wordpress.com/

    even if you don't feel like joining, could be interesting to see how the recipes are performing in the hands of different people.


    The bars look decadent indeed.... a lot of running would be required to burn them off :-)

    ReplyDelete
  24. Oh that first photo just made my heart flip...beautiful, just beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I love chocolate bars like this full of texture and taste from the coconut and pecans. Yup, just about perfect. The fact that they freeze well, well that;s just bonus!

    ReplyDelete
  26. All my favourite ingredients and of course, I am drooling after so many days of diet.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I just made an amazing dinner. Its sitting so lovely on the stove keeping warm to be enjoyed by me and husband. Maybe some candlelight. Maybe some wine. It's going to be a great dinner. I even made fresh pasta which will be cooked a la minute. Monday night is always a night I do something a little special because it's Monday and one of my least favorite days of the week. My dear Lisa I am so ready to chuck it all out the window for a square of this delicious thing you've made.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Those look absolutely terrific, yum!

    ReplyDelete
  29. These are the kind of bars that are dangerous for me to have around! Even in the freezer. I have been known to eat frozen cake. They are really heavenly!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Wow, those look deadly. In a good way! :)

    ReplyDelete
  31. Hellllooooo, Dolly! These look amazing. Looking forward to dinner tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Hi, I'm new to Tastespotting and found this awesome post!! but how do I find the recipe???? looks awesome, would love to make it right now!!!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Is it wrong that I want to lick the screen?

    ReplyDelete
  34. You had me at chocolate chunk. Oh my. I'm delirious just looking at these gooey goodies.

    ReplyDelete

Blogging tips