King Arthur Flour is providing some terrific resources for holiday baking. Its holiday baking guide highlights "Coconut and White Chocolate Brownies" as "a soft, buttery bar" that makes a great last-minute homemade gift. The photo of the bars covered in fat flakes of coconut was enough to convince me to give the recipe a try.
These bars are quick and super easy to make. You don't even need to wait for butter to soften because the recipe calls for melted butter. All you need to do is combine brown sugar and melted butter; beat in eggs; add vanilla and salt; stir in flour and baking powder; and fold in flaked coconut, white chocolate chips, and dried cranberries. You spread the batter into a pan, sprinkle on more coconut flakes, and bake. I did take the extra step of toasting half of the coconut (the portion that was going into the batter, as opposed to the portion going on top of the bars) first. But even so, it probably only took me 15 minutes total to make the bars and get them into the oven.
I checked my bars at the minimum suggested baking time (25 minutes) and the tops of the bars and the coconut were quite dark brown, much darker than the photo on the King Arthur website. I think I would have preferred them a shade lighter. But I really shouldn't complain because they were so delicious. The bars were substantial, chewy, and so satisfying. I used Callebaut 25.9% chips, which added some wonderful creaminess without being too sweet. And the chewy tart cranberries are a lovely counterpoint. I wouldn't think that brown sugar, cranberries, white chocolate, and coconut would be a natural combination, but the flavors sing here in harmony.
So yes, these bars would make an amazing homemade holiday gift. But make an extra batch so you can keep some for yourself!
Recipe: "Coconut and White Chocolate Brownies" from King Arthur Flour.
These bars are quick and super easy to make. You don't even need to wait for butter to soften because the recipe calls for melted butter. All you need to do is combine brown sugar and melted butter; beat in eggs; add vanilla and salt; stir in flour and baking powder; and fold in flaked coconut, white chocolate chips, and dried cranberries. You spread the batter into a pan, sprinkle on more coconut flakes, and bake. I did take the extra step of toasting half of the coconut (the portion that was going into the batter, as opposed to the portion going on top of the bars) first. But even so, it probably only took me 15 minutes total to make the bars and get them into the oven.
So yes, these bars would make an amazing homemade holiday gift. But make an extra batch so you can keep some for yourself!
Recipe: "Coconut and White Chocolate Brownies" from King Arthur Flour.
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