Chewy Chocolate Coconut Fruit Bars

May 14, 2015 by Kristi 44 Comments

These Chewy Chocolate Coconut Fruit Bars are creamy, rich, sweet and decadent with a crisp dark chocolate center, surrounded by mandarin oranges, pineapple, coconut and pecans. Truly a decadent (and messy!) treat.

How about if I sweeten your week this week? 🙂

Like majorly sweeten it with some deep, dark, rich chocolate + coconut in a bar that not only has mandarin oranges and pineapples, but a graham cracker crust with a pecan topping?

Have I got your attention?

I sure hope so, because I need friends to help me indulge in this sweet treat. Did I mention that it’s drenched with decadent sweetened condensed milk? Mmmmm, hmmmm…I know, right?

In other news (this is the scoop on the what’s happenin’ before these bars came to be…). When I’m not in the kitchen making wonderfully sweet treats to share, I swear that I spend a large part of my day figuring out how to entertain my Jamaica. And trust me, I wouldn’t…, but I’m far worse off if I don’t.

If you have a Siamese Cat, you know what I’m talking about.

They are super smart, and are constantly looking for something to get into. Basically, they are brainy, inquisitive little trouble-makers, is what they are. 🙂

And, to entertain them, you have to be intuitive, act fast and act like whatever you’re doing is the best thing ever, because then he wants it! Which means you need to get innovative.

Case in point, here was this weekend’s toy box.

Yep, that’s right. That binder clip on the left turned out to be hours of fun. And the twist tie? That game never gets old. And on special occasions, he wants to take on a bit of tin foil. Sigh…

And, ALL this needs to happen WHILE I’m making sweet treats. Because if he isn’t distracted, then I’m not allowed to be distracted either. 🙂 It’s a great way to keep him entertained while I get some actual work done.

Ok, back to these bars. They are a juicy, crunchy, moist, chocolately, fruity delight. Trust me when I say this – they are a mixture of all things good. And they are messy. Who’s with me on messy desserts?

The chocolate bar nestled inside will not melt. So as you sink your teeth into these, you’re met with the soft, juicy flavor of toasted coconut, mandarin oranges and pineapple. Then, you meet the solid crunch of chocolate, to the soft graham cracker, pecan crust.

Pure bliss in a bite.

It’s delightfully rich with the 60% cacao chocolate, but so fresh from the juicy fruit. And who doesn’t love coconut and crunchy pecans? Not to mention the sweetened condensed milk, which I could drink on the side…

The crunch comes from the unmelted chocolate and pecans, the chewy from the coconut and graham cracker crust and the juicy from the mandarin oranges, pineapple and sweetened condensed milk.

But, as good as it was, this recipe didn’t turn out as I planned…

In this recipe, I envisioned the chocolate in the center melting and everything getting ooey, gooey and chewy. I dreamed of it being the perfect blend of flavors that melted in your mouth.

That didn’t happen.

But at least one of the things I envisioned did come true. This dessert was a perfect blend of flavors that made your mouth water with textures and layers that was absolutely delightful, rich and delicious.

But – as good as these bars were… I need to know… Are you owned by a cat?

Enjoy!

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