almond joy bars

lately i have been a fan of chocolate and coconut, so when i saw these almond joy bars, i bookmarked them and hoped for an occasion to make them.. 


well, as my previous post said, i made dinner for my family to celebrate a belated fathers day.. so yum!


i thought it was a little odd that there was peanut butter in them.. and i thought about leaving it out.. but decided to make the original recipe and then i could always tweak it next time.. 


hmm. just realized.. there are no almonds in this recipe.. they should be mounds bars then right? i dono..

almond joy bars

• 10 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
• ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp. fine sea salt
• 28 ounces of sweetened condensed milk
• 28 ounces shredded coconut
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 cups Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Chunks
• ¾ cup creamy peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350° F . Line a sheet pan (like a 15X10X1 pan) with aluminum foil and coat with canola or vegetable spray.

In a small bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until combined. Add the flour and salt. Carefully mix to combine until it resembles chunky bread crumbs. Transfer into the prepared pan and evenly press the batter into an even layer. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool on a wire baking rack while preparing the coconut topping.

In a large bowl, combine the condensed milk, coconut, and vanilla. Spread over the crust and bake for another 20-25 minutes, until it begins to brown.

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Add peanut butter and stir until melted and smooth. Pour over cooked coconut bars and spread into an even layer. Allow to cool then refrigerate until hardened, about 1 hour. Cut into 36 squares.