Thursday, April 4, 2013

Raspberry Coconut Layer Bars

Raspberry Coconut bars 2

So Easter has come and gone and I suppose if I was a organized blogger I would have had this recipe posted before Easter so you could have added this deliciousness to your Easter table, but I'm a slacker!

Hey, at least I'm sharing the recipe!!

I made these and photographed them the day before Easter. They looked so good. I say looked because I didn't sample them. My husband did and proclaimed them delicious, but I resisted. I've been on a little sugar fast. Trying to see what happens when I lay off sugar entirely. I mean nadda. Nothing. No sugar or honey in my tea (which is the absolute worst!) with the exception of my birthday when I had a piece of cake and Easter when I had HALF of one of these bars, yes I said HALF (it's so sad) I haven't had any other sugar in a MONTH! 30 days. It's epic. Me the girl with the sweet teeth, notice I didn't say tooth cause one tooth could not remotely describe how much I love sugar.

I have a disease that I've been struggling with for almost 16 years now and I read somewhere that a low glycemic diet might help, so I'm giving it a whirl. I don't know how long I'll stay on this "no sugar" diet, but I'll do it as long as I can to see if it's helping.

I have to say, the first week was hard, but then it got easier. I couldn't have picked a worse time to quit either.....chocolate bunnies, cookies, pies and my beloved Cadbury mini eggs all taunting me! I didn't have any mini eggs this year. I look forward to eating them every Easter. I still can't believe I didn't eat any. *snob*

Let me tell you, I had a big table full of desserts for Easter. I made four and my Mom brought lots more. I knew I had to limit myself to one dessert, so I scanned the table to see what I REALLY wanted to eat and these were the winner hands down. After I heard everyone ooohing and ahhhing over them, I knew I made the right choice.

Raspberry Coconut bars 1

I'm so sorry if you not a coconut lover cause these are so good.

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Raspberry Coconut Layer Bars
recipe adapted from one at Mom on Time Out
1 2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 stick butter (melted)
2 tablespoons sugar
3 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1- 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups seedless raspberry jam (I used enough to cover the whole pan which was almost the whole jar)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used slivered almonds, but any nut would work)
White chocolate chips
Semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine graham cracker crumbs,butter and sugar in a bowl. Press firmly into bottom of ungreased 9 x 13 pan. Spread coconut over the top and then pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over top.

Bake in preheated 350 oven for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely on wire rack.

Spread jam over cooled top, sprinkle with nuts. Melt the white and semi-sweet chips separately in a small bowls in the microwave for 30 seconds and then at 10 second intervals until just melted. * see note. I used a spoon to drizzle both chocolates over the bars. Cool and cut into bars. You can stick these in the fridge to speed up the process.

*Note - I didn't measure out the chips for sprinkling. I just put a big handful in each bowl and microwaved until just melted.

7 comments:

Foodiewife said...

When I read that you were giving up sugar, I admitted to myself it would be nearly impossible for me to do. Congrats for making it to 30 days. I love coconut, and I'm sure I'd love these.

Anonymous said...

These look wonderful! How are you feeling, can you tell a difference after thirty days? I need to do this also. Congrats, you are doing great!

Amy said...

You know I did the no sugar (and no snacks all around) for 30 days. Yes, it did get "easier" as the weeks went by, but never easy. And once the 30 days were up, I was grateful to have sugar treats again. I really believe some people just need it for their overall disposition! Paul was sure happy when I started eating cookies again. Lol.

Also? I want to marry these bars.

food recipes said...

Hi Lisa,This looks so yummy.useful recipe.Thanks

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Anonymous said...

These look absolutely amazing. I think I'm going to try to make them sometime next week.
And congrats on your "no sugar" diet. Chapeau!

Greetings from France

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