Raspberry-Coconut Oatmeal Bars
Andrea Potischman
Sep 8, 2017
[Updated Recipe] Dessert bars, or simply “bars” and “squares,” are an American creation. Bars are sweet snacks with a cake or a cookie-like texture, made in one pan, and enjoyed any time of the day. Staples of neighborhood bake sales, class parties, and picnics, bars are great any time of the year.
I make my recipe for raspberry-coconut bars using seedless raspberry jam, but one could easily substitute it with another flavor of jam. Apricot, strawberry, or blackberry jam would all be fantastic. Like cookies, bars have countless variations–seven-layer bars, lemon squares, cheesecake bites, chocolate peanut butter bars. They sometimes push culinary boundaries (if you ask me), like those that are piled high with fruit loops or sprinkled with chia seeds.
I like bars, because they fall in the cookie family, and I’ve yet to meet a cookie I didn’t like. This recipe for my raspberry-coconut bars is a favorite of mine that I make often. It incorporates some of my favorite ingredients: oatmeal, coconut, and raspberry. And some of my family even justify these as a great “breakfast bar“, they do have oatmeal in them so maybe that works after all.
This recipe recently got an update. In the original one, I used organic quick oats (oats that are pre-cooked, dried, and then rolled and pressed slightly thinner than rolled oats) but I have switched over to using traditional whole oats instead for a heartier oat-bar texture.
Raspberry-Coconut Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients:
- 1 3/4 cups sweetened flaked coconut
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups oats
- 3/4-cup seedless raspberry jam
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly butter an 8x8-inch baking pan and set aside.
- Next, place 3/4 cup coconut on a sheet tray and lightly toast in the oven, mixing once, until light golden brown in color, about 7-8 minutes. Allow the toasted coconut to cool completely.
- In a food processor, such as a Cuisinart fitted with a blade attachment, add the flour, both sugars and salt and blend well. Add the butter and pulse to incorporate. Mix in the oats and pulse a few more times to make sure the oats are mixed in.
- Transfer to a medium size mixing bowl and fold in the toasted coconut. Mix well.Reserve about 3/4-1 cup of dough for the topping. Place the remaining dough into the prepared baking pan. Using your fingers, press the dough evenly into the bottom of the pan covering the entire bottom. Using a spatula, spread the jam over the dough.
- Crumble the reserved dough evenly over the jam. Sprinkle the remaining non toasted coconut on top. Bake on the middle rack for 25 minutes. Be sure to cool the bars completely before slicing.
I remember having these bars with you, Neal and the boys at that park in Portola Valley ages ago! I love these bars! Another winner!