Coconut Oatmeal Bars
Chewy bars packed with oats and toasted coconut. A perfect treat for any time of day.
Granola bars have been on my to-bake list for what seems like ages. My husband eats one of the store-bought variety almost every morning for breakfast and often reminds me that he’d like a homemade version. Yesterday I sought out to make them a reality, but somehow I got sidetracked and made these Coconut Oatmeal Bars instead. Not quite cookie, and not quite granola bar, they’re deliciously somewhere in between.
The cookbook I found the original recipe in called them a “dressed up granola bar”, which is what enticed me in the first place. But after looking more closely at the recipe, they essentially seemed to be mere blondies, and so I made a few adjustments to help me pretend they’re healthy enough for breakfast. I substituted some of the all-purpose for whole wheat flour and cut back on both the sugar and the butter. And I don’t feel that the final product hurt any because of it. They’re still plenty sweet and delicious.
These bars are a sweet treat, to be sure. I’m not going to try to tell you it’s not. But it is one that, in my opinion, you can feel a little better about. Even baby John couldn’t resist stealing one off the table as I took these photographs, and I happily let him enjoy it.
baking tip:How to toast coconut
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Spread shredded, flaked or shaved coconut evenly on an ungreased baking sheet pan.
- Bake for about 4 minutes, just until the coconut begins to brown. Give it a good stir and return it to the oven.
- Bake for another 4 minutes, then stir it again.
- Return it to the oven and check every minute or so until it’s nicely golden brown, stirring as needed. Total bake time is typically around 10 minutes.
Coconut Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup sweetened shredded coconut (56 grams)
- ¾ cup whole wheat flour (85 grams)
- ½ cup all-purpose flour (60 grams)
- ¾ cup packed light or dark brown sugar (160 grams)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter , at room temperature (141 grams)
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (100 grams)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Spread coconut on a sheet pan and toast in the oven in 2 minute intervals, stirring to make sure it browns evenly and watching closely to see it doesn't burn. Let cool.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar together on medium high speed until light and creamy. Add the flours and salt and mix until combined and comes together in large clumps. Mixture will be crumbly. Add oats and toasted coconut and mix until incorporated.
- Press dough into a buttered 8-inch square baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool completely before slicing.
- Store bars in an airtight container at room temperature for several days.
These were quick and easy. Yummy too! I did vary recipe a little by: Added approx. 1/4 C of chopped Pecans and 1/4 C of Butterscoth Morsels. I also used regular flour rather than both varieties and I greased a casserole dish rather than the Parchment paper. They turned out great!!
10 tablespoons of butter? C’mon, let’s at least try not clog every artery we have. There are so many good alternative ingredients to baking like this it’s sad to see people not even try.
I’m pretty sure you can substitute the butter with coconut oil.
This is probably the closest thing I’ve ever found that tastes similar to the oat bar from Starbucks, except that I actually think Annalise’s version tastes so much better! I couldn’t wait for it to completely cool, before cutting into squares and trying a few. These will definitely be in heavy rotation in our home, though I think I might dial back the sugar a bit and try with coconut oil for a vegan version. Thank you so much for this fantastic recipe!
These look so good! Do you think they would turn out okay if I used unsweetened coconut flakes, and refined coconut oil instead of butter?
I wanted to eat something sweet but at least a tiny bit ‘healthy’ so tried out this recipe. Could barely wait for it to cool. Simple to make and yummy! I think a hint of cinnamon would be nice and, for a less healthy version, some chocolate chips would be tasty. Next time I’ll add some ground flax. Thanks for the recipe.
Great suggestions! So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
These are baking in the oven right now. I added some ground flax seed and chopped dried apricots! Can’t wait for breakfast tomorrow.
I’m going to try coconut oil as a butter substitute for a vegan friendly bar.
Please come back and let us know how the substitution works out. I’m sure the extra coconut flavor will be great!