These Pineapple Coconut Yum Bars are sweet and gooey and crunchy all rolled into a tropical dessert that is sure to please! Excellent with a frosty beverage on a warm summer day. They come together easily and satisfy both adults and kids. Change up the recipe and add some chopped maraschino cherries and/or nuts if you like.
You start by whisking together all the dry ingredients. And the melted (but cooled) butter and stir with a fork until you get course crumbs. It's important that you cool the butter so it doesn't melt the flour etc. Then reserve a cup of the crumbles and press the rest in the bottom of a parchment lined pan. Line your pan for ease of removal and to stop the square from sticking in the pan.
Next, mix the drained pineapple (I like crushed), sugar and cornstarch. The cornstarch thickens the mixture like a pie filling, so it holds together nicely when sliced. Pour it over the crumb layer and spread. Now is the time to dot with chopped cherries and/or nuts if you like. Then crumble the remaining course crumbs with coconut all over the top.
You can use sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut in the crumb. I normally mix the two together. I find that certain brands over sweeten the coconut making it super sugary and heavy and some just lack flavour altogether. So a balance of the two is the sweet spot - so to speak:)
My pictures are of a 9x13 pan. I had a crowd with whom I wanted to share it, so I doubled the recipe. But this recipe is for an 8x8 or 9x9 square pan.
I hope you enjoy it!
Pineapple Coconut Yum Bars
Ingredients
Crumb base and topping
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup coconut
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter - melted and cooled
Filling
1 20oz can crushed and drained pineapple
3 tbsp white sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
Optional - add chopped maraschino cherries and/or nuts
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a square 8x8 or 9x9 with parchment.
Whisk together flour, coconut, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add cooled butter and stir with a fork, until the mixture resembles course crumbs. Reserve one cup of the mixture and press the remainder into the bottom of the pan.
In a second bowl, stir together crushed pineapple - after draining it - with the sugar and cornstarch. Pour over crust and spread evenly. Add nuts and/or cherries if you like.
Sprinkle the remaining crumble mixture over the filling.
Bake the bars for 25 minutes or until it is golden brown.
Cool bars completely in pan. Slice and enjoy after cool and set. Enjoy!