Chocolate-Caramel Coconut Bars

Silky smooth chocolate, rich caramel, flakey coconut, crunchy pecans, and a graham cracker crust.

Overview

This five layered dessert is quick and easy to make. The base is a graham cracker crust. Followed by chocolate chips, caramel chips, coconut flakes, and pecans.

Coconut milk is added to help everything congeal. There is no flour added. So this recipe could be made gluten free if you swap the graham crackers for a gluten free equivalent.

This recipe leans on the sugars present in the ingredients and, as such, there is no added refined sugar. The pecans, coconut flakes, and coconut milk naturally include vitamins and minerals. A decadent dessert that should probably be enjoyed in moderation. Maybe your will power is stronger than mine.

Ingredient Breakdown

Of the ingredients only two were tricky to track down locally. But fear not, I was able to easily order them online. For convenience, I have added Amazon links below.

Vegan Butter – For cooking and baking I usually reach for Earth Balance vegan spread. It is used in this recipe when mixing up the graham cracker crumb base.

Graham Crackers – I found these delicious vegan graham crackers on Amazon. They are by a company called Must Love. They don’t have any added sugar and are sweetened with dates. We will discuss methods to convert them to crumbs shortly.

Caramel Chips – I also sourced the caramel chips from Amazon as well. The brand I went with was Lieber’s. Aside from being vegan they are also Kosher.

Semisweet Chocolate Morsels – It is encouraging to see more options from established companies. I picked these up at my local grocery store but they are also available on Amazon here.

Coconut Flakes – Coconut flakes are a good source of manganese, a mineral that plays a crucial role in the body’s antioxidant defenses. They are also a good source of fiber, protein, and healthy fats.

Pecans – Pecans are a rich source of antioxidants, including vitamin E, polyphenols, and flavonoids.

Coconut Milk – Coconut milk is a nutritious and versatile food that is rich in medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), vitamins, and minerals.

Prep Work

The Must Love brand graham crackers are whole and delicious but for this recipe we need to convert them to crumbs. There are a couple of options that come to mind. The easiest, and the option I utilized, was to pulse them in a food processor.

If you don’t have a food processor then you can add the graham crackers to a Ziploc bag. Then manually bludgeon them to the desired size. Take care not to break the bag.

Baking Notes

To start add the butter and crumbs to a small bowl. Using a silicone spatula fold the mixture until combined.

Add the graham cracker crumb mixture to a 9 x 9 brownie pan. Then using the bottom of a small glass, lightly press the graham crumbs until the base is even.

After the base is setup add the semisweet chocolate chips. Use your hands to evenly spread the chocolate chips over the graham layer.

Progress through the remaining layers: caramel, coconut flakes, and pecans. At each layer attempt to sprinkle each ingredient evenly.

Similar to the other layers distribute the coconut milk uniformly over the top. Bake at 350ºF for 35 – 40 minutes

Substitutions and Variations

Graham crackers – To make this recipe gluten free use gluten free graham crackers instead. I found these vegan and gluten free graham crackers by Fair & Square on Amazon.

Semisweet chocolate chips – In place of semisweet you can use carob or dark chocolate.

Coconut Flakes – To change the flavor profile slightly you might try toasted coconut flakes.

Pecans – In place of pecans you can try walnuts.

Storage

Wrap aluminum foil over the brownie container and store in the refrigerator. Alternately, you can cut them into squares and place in a separate container. These should keep nicely for up to a week.

If you liked this recipe, be sure to check out our other recipes below:

• Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Lemon Coffee Cake
• Blueberry Muffins
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins with Walnuts