Coconut Pecan Chocolate Chunk Bars

Name: Coconut Pecan Chocolate Chunk Bars
Yield: Makes one 9 × 13 × 2-inch (23 × 33 × 5-cm) pan of cookies, about twenty-four 2-inch (5-cm) squares
Cuisine: United States
Ingredients: 2 cups (about 8 ounces/225 grams) pecan pieces, coarsely chopped; ⅔ cup granulated sugar; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 2⅔ cups (7-ounce/200-gram package) sweetened shredded coconut; 1¼ cups light brown sugar, firmly packed; 4 large eggs; 12 ounces (350 grams) bittersweet (not unsweetened) chocolate, cut into ¼- to ½-inch (6-mm to 1-cm) pieces; ½ teaspoon baking powder; 1½ cups all-purpose flour (spoon flour into a dry-measure cup and level off); 6 ounces (1½ sticks/175 grams) unsalted butter, softened; ½ cup sugar; ¼ teaspoon salt

Preparation info

Makes one
9 × 13 × 2 inch
squares

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Modern Baker

By Nick Malgieri

Published 2008

About

Coconut in all forms is a favorite of mine, and these bars combine it with a buttery pastry base, pecans, and bittersweet chocolate chunks. Of course you can use chocolate chips, but the chocolate chunks allow you to use a much better quality chocolate in the topping.

Ingredients

Dough

1½ cups all-purpose flour (spoon flour into a dry-measure cup and level off)
½ teaspoon baking powder

Americas
United States
Pastry
Vegetarian

Method

Set a rack in the lowest level of the oven and preheat to 350°F (180°C).
For the dough, stir together the Hour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
Beat the butter with the sugar in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed until soft and light, 2 to 3 minutes.
On the lowest speed, beat in the flour mixture, scraping do