I’m a huge fan of Almond Joy candy bars, and I’m also partial to the deliciously flaky shortbread cookie crust from my Pecan Pie Bars…
So I decided to do the logical thing and combine the two into these amazing Almond Joy Cookie Bars.
Your welcome.
These bars are actually fairly easy to put together and disappear even quicker. My kids couldn’t get enough of these and kept begging for more. I had to cut them into tiny squares because they are really rich, but totally worth it!
Each bite is filled with buttery shortbread cookie crust, sweet coconut filling, crunchy almonds, and a delicious chocolate topping!
What’s not to love about that?!
Obviously, if you’re more of a Mounds Bar lover, you can leave the nuts off and there ya go- Mounds Cookie Bars!
You know what they say… sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t! 😉
Make these Almond Joy Cookie Bars, take a bite, and slip into your coconut safe haven!
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Almond Joy Cookie Bars
Ingredients
Crust:
- 3/4 cup butter, cut into tiny pieces
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Coconut Filling:
- 10 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Topping
- 1/2 cup dry roasted almonds, whole or chopped
- 1 3/4 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Lightly coat a 9x13" baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl combine the ingredients for the crust. Use your hands or a pastry cutter to combine, until the mixture is crumbly. Pour into the baking dish, and press into an even layer. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
- Meanwhile combine the filling ingredients in a large bowl and carefully spread over the cookie crust in an even layer. Return to oven and cook an additional 25 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 1 hour.
For the Topping:
- Spread the almonds over the top of the coconut layer. Place the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals at 50% power, stirring in-between, until the chocolates are smooth and melted. Pour over the almonds and gently spread to coat evenly.
- Let cool to room temperature before slicing into bars. Enjoy!
Grilled Chicken and Wild Rice Soup + Motivation
Katie
I would not make these again. The crust was not very tasty and there was a lot of it in comparison to the other layers. The chocolate was really difficult to spread evenly on top of the almonds. I made several cookies and bars for Christmas and these just sat. Disappointed….
Shawn
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy these as much Katie. The cookie base is basically just a shortbread cookie, so it’s not meant to hold lots of flavor, but rather be a tender base for the sweet coconut and chocolate topping. 🙂
Abbie
I made these bars with a couple modifications due to personal taste. They are very good but rich. I used organic UNsweetened grated coconut and the entire 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk. The recipe as written calls for 10 oz. but I didn’t know if this is a typo or if it wasn’t, how I would measure 10 oz. accurately. I thought the bars would be too sweet for our taste using sweetened coconut. Also the grated coconut thickened with the extra s.c. milk. I also added 1/2 tsp. coconut extract and used almost a cup of toasted slivered almonds. I let them cool for an hour then melted the entire 12 oz. bag of semi-sweet chips to spread on top. The chocolate was not setting up at room temperature so I put it in the frig for about an hour to cool so we could enjoy the bars after dinner. The recipe made 24 decent-sized squares (mine were about 2.5 x 2.5). The bars are delicious and not too sweet. I baked the crust 15 min. and then covered with the coconut/milk mixture and baked 25 min longer. They don’t have a distinct variation between the crust and the coconut layer as pictured but that could be due to my modifications. After I spread on the melted chocolate I decorated with some toasted sliced almonds and a sprinkling of sweetened flaked coconut. Thanks for the recipe. I was able to use the coconut and almonds that needed to be used. I will make again. I think the recipe is versatile. Next time I may top with the almonds and chips about halfway through the 2nd baking.
Gina
I’m wondering, can you substitute Almond Flour for the AP Flour to make this Gluten free?
Shawn
I’m not an expert on subbing almond flour for AP flour, but I would assume it could work with the proper substitution amounts.
Jocelyn @BruCrew Life
I like the sounds of these bars. Come on coconut heaven!!!
Sheila @ Sweet Baked Life
These look fabulous!!!
Jen @ Jen's Favorite Cookies
I love coconut! This looks amazing!