Almond Joy Brownie Bars
Fudgy, dense brownies layered with a sweet cream cheese coconut topping, crunchy roasted almonds, and a smooth chocolate glaze. These almond joy inspired bars might change your mind about coconut!
Omg you guys. The craziest thing is happening to me!
I never thought I’d say this, but…
I LIKE COCONUT!
Wha??? How did that happen? Is that even possible?
Seriously, how can somebody go from being a coconut hater for nearly 40 years, to a coconut lover, almost overnight???
These bars definitely played a key role.
Really, it began for me with coconut milk. After having it in Thai curry, I had no trouble deciding that the flavor of coconut is woooonderful, but maybe it was just the texture I had been hating for all my life.
-Is it too late to be posting a coconut recipe? I hope not. I’m so out of the coconut loop, I’m telling you! I’m totally a newbie to the coconut club, so please tell me I’m not committing a coconut faux pas by posting a coconut recipe after Easter.-
*Why is coconut such an Easter thing, anyway?*
Anyhow, back to the bars, and my complete coconut 180. My husband loves coconut and has always wished for me to make more coconut desserts. I did intend to do this before Easter, but I had so many coconut ideas I didn’t know which one to try first. I settled on a coconut ice cream cake for Passover, which I made by layering Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss Naked Coconut Milk ice cream between layers of almond dacquoise. Then I topped it with a chocolate glaze which was delicious but extremely sloppy and not blog-post-worthy. I would love to share the recipe with you at some point, because: A) it was the bomb, and B) it was gluten and dairy-free. But I need to tweak/perfect it a bit so it looks as good as it tastes. The ice cream totally made it! This coconut ice cream is so unbelievably creamy, and the flavor is outta this world, but it did have little bits of coconut meat running throughout. Which I thought I didn’t like, but the more I licked it off my fingers, the less I minded it.
-No, Luna & Larry’s is not paying me to say that. I just really liked their ice cream. Or rather, non-dairy frozen dessert. Also it’s organic, low glycemic, gluten-free, soy-free, and vegan. So, you know. Go nuts.-
Fast forward to two weeks later, when I’m finally getting around to using the bag of sweetened grated coconut I had purchased back when I didn’t know which coconut direction to go in. I’m whipping the coconut into soft cream cheese + vanilla extract, tasting for sweetness, and having a complete coconut epiphany. Cue the choir of angels! Hallelujah, and praise be to coconut!
This is an easy recipe that just begins with your favorite brownie recipe. Do you have a favorite brownie recipe? You know I do. It’s dense and fudgy and extremely dark-chocolatey. You’ll only need one bowl and no mixer, and it’s completely made from scratch, with pantry staples. It’s one of the most popular recipes on this blog! If you don’t already have a box in your cupboard, or an old standby recipe, I think you’ll really like this one!
Once the brownies are all baked up and cooled, just top them with this infamous coconut cream mixture. It’s so good!
Press a few almonds in…
…and drizzle on the chocolate glaze. I find that everything cuts really nice and clean if it’s chilled in the fridge for a few hours. And I really like this kind of knife. I run it under hot water after every cut, and it glides right through the snappy chocolate coating without cracking it.
How do you feel about coconut? Are you a hater or a lover? Maybe if you’re a hater this recipe could convert you! All that chocolate and cream cheesy goodness, the salty roasted almonds, and that sunny tropical flavor… I only wish I had made these sooner!
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Almond Joy Brownie Bars
Ingredients
- 2 2/3 cup (240 g) sweetened shredded coconut
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) cream cheese,, softenend
- 1/4 cup (59.15 ml) heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 batch brownies,, baked in a 9x9-inch pan (I halved this recipe and cut the bake time to 30 minutes)
- 1/3 cup (47.67 g) whole roasted & salted almonds
- 2 ounces (56.7 g) chocolate,, chopped
- 3 tablespoons half & half
- 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
Instructions
- Place the coconut, cream cheese, cream, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl and stir to combine.
- Spread an even layer of the coconut mixture all over the surface of the cooled brownies.
- Press almonds over the surface, spacing them out evenly.
- Place the chocolate and half & half in a small bowl and microwave until the cream is hot and the chocolate is beginning to melt. Stir until smooth.
- Mix in the powdered sugar and pour over the coconut and almonds. Shake the pan to level/smooth the glaze, and chill in the refrigerator, preferably overnight.
- Cut into bars using a hot bench knife.
What if you’re a complete cream cheese hater? Is there any other mixture that coconut could be added to for this? I would make these for my dad (who would eat the cream cheese) but I cannot stomach it and I’d love to be able to try these too.
Hm, that’s a toughie! Can you stomach mascarpone? That would give a similar texture but with less tanginess. Another option would be to use a buttercream frosting, but that would obviously be a lot sweeter.
These look amazing! I will have to make these for my coconut loving husband (yeah, and me too)!
Oh yeah! Definitely, you guys will both love them! Thanks so much for stopping by, Sheila, and for the sweet comment 😉
So delicious! Thanks for linking up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!
My pleasure, as always Karly! 😀
MUST make these soon!! 🙂
Oh ya, MUST! They are seriously amazing! Thanks for stopping by and for the sweet comment. I hope you enjoy! 😀
Chewy bars are the best! That final photo with the bite missing makes me want to run to the kitchen and make these immediately….actually, I might do that!
Ooh, I hope you do, Wendy! These bars will totally make your day! Thanks so much for reading and for the great comment 😀
Hi Allie, just wanted to let you know that I included your recipe in a chocolate round-up on my blog today! Thanks for linking up such an incredible recipe to the weekend re-Treat link party!
Britni @ Play. Party. Pin.
Yay! Thank you so much, Britni! I love the Weekend re-Treat; thanks so much for hosting it every week, and for the feature!
OMG! These are absolutely beautiful, and your photos … oh my! Just gorgeous. The BF would love these guys, so maybe I should hide the recipe for the time being. 😉 I hope you are having a fabulous week, Allie!
Thanks Justine! So far, so good! Hope you are getting all settled in and life’s somewhat back to normal for ya. Maybe this weekend you can break out of few of these, if the weather’s nice 😉
Allie, I used to hate coconut too but I’m a total convert. I love the stuff, can’t get enough. I love putting it in everything – loaves, muffins, cakes, cookies. Delish. And these almond joy bars are beyond amazing. They look fantastic, girl, and your photos as always are gorgeous. How do you cut such straight lines?! I’m terrible at it. Even with a super sharp knife dunked into boiling water, my bars are always crooked and wonky looking. Everything about these bars is perfection!
Hey Nancy! I used one of those bench knife/pastry scraper thingies. And I warmed it up like you said. It’s so crazy how many people start out hating and then do a complete 180! Now I’m just on a coconut roll- I just made a coconut berry smoothie and the coconut was my favorite part! Thank you so much for all the sweet compliments, friend 😉
I’m thrilled that you joined the coconut bandwagon. It’s a great place to be! I’ve always been a coconut lover. These look delish indeed!
Maybe you’d like to be a contributor for my coconut obsession board on Pinterest. I just started adding contributors and would love a few more. Let me know. 😉
http://www.pinterest.com/carmelmoments/coconut-obsession/
Oh ya, that would be awesome! Now I’ll have to come up with even more coconut recipes 😉
I just need you to follow the board in order to send the invite. Thanks!
Oops, sorry about that! I didn’t realize I wasn’t already following. Done!
Coconut is a year-round obsession for me just as these bars are sure to become 🙂 Love the brownie base – so decadent! Pinned and shared on FB!
Thanks so much, Trish! I’m so happy you liked it so much. Now I can’t wait to come up with more coconutty desserts 😉 Hugs to you, friend!
Yay — you love coconut…and look what you’ve done with it! I’m a huge Almond Joy fan, so I’d be head over heels for these bars. I can’t wait to try them! As for coconut and Easter, maybe it’s because coconut is used for Easter bunny cakes and bird nest desserts so much? Coconut is one of my favorite things ever, so I’m excited to see more coconut recipes from you. 🙂
I’m sure you’ve gotta be right, Marcie. My hubby said the same thing- and also those coconut cream filled eggs. I’m so glad you like coconut too! I’m psyched to come up with more coconut recipes now, and it’s good to know there are lots of other coconut lovers out there who will appreciate them. 😉
Oh Allie, you’ve got my wanting a bounty bar, their very similar to your almond joys. This bar looks delicious with a capital D!!
Thanks so much Laura! I keep hearing about Bounty Bars after this post. I guess it’s the U.K. equivalent. Thanks for the sweet comment and I hope you’re enjoying your week so far <3
I’m so glad that your taste buds decided to change their mind! Coconut is one of my favorite flavors. And I can never pass up a treat that combines coconut and chocolate. I hope you had a wonderful weekend, Allie!
Thanks Ashley! I did- hope you did too! Thanks so much for the sweet comment xoxo
I totally feel your pain when it comes to coconut! I used to not want to touch it with a ten foot pole but it turns out that it’s all in the way you prepare it. I can’t think of a more delicious way to eat it than these bars!
Thanks, you are so sweet Nora! I really liked the way all that dark chocolate balanced out the sweet coconut. Thanks for the kind words! <3
Oh gosh, I am a HUGE coconut lover so these bars?? They look utterly amazing lady! I’m glad you came around to the dark side : ) And coconut is great all year round … well at least we eat it all year round! haha
Good to know, good to know! Ok so then you’ll be seeing more coconut recipes from me then 😉 Thanks so much for the awesome compliments, girl. Hope your week is off to a terrific start!
Wow, these bars look out of this world Allie! And seriously? I had no idea you didn’t like coconut before – it’s a staple in our pantry. So glad to hear you are coming around now because I can’t wait to see all the coconut yumminess you come up with 🙂 I can’t get over all these beautiful layers – pure perfection – pinning 🙂
Thanks so much, Kelly! And, I know! I always felt I was missing out on a lot of dessert possibilities. So I’m really happy to have changed my mind, after all this time. Thank you for pinning, sweetie, and I hope you and your family are all doing well and loving the Spring weather 😀