There aren’t a lot of dessert options when you’re eating dairy-free. Desserts that don’t include any milk, butter, buttermilk, yogurt, cream, cream cheese, etc. are not only hard to come by, but usually not too enticing. I know dairy-free margarine and several other substitutes exist. (I’ve got some and I’ll try them out eventually.) They just don’t excite me. Thankfully, not all chocolate is made with milk (especially the dark varieties). And coconut oil makes an excellent replacement for butter in some recipes.

I just discovered coconut oil and I love it. And from what I hear/read- it happens to be good for you. I’ll eat it for breakfast spread on a toasted english muffin. Yum. Anyway, its health benefits are probably negated by the copious amounts of sugar used in this recipe. But this is after all, dessert. Feel free to use butter instead. I’m sure (in fact, I know) that would be good. But the oil adds even more coconut flavor without sacrificing richness or texture in this recipe.

Chocolate Coconut Bars

INGREDIENTS

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and at room temperature (I used 1/2 cup coconut oil)
1 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes + extra for sprinkling on top
1 cup chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.

2. Combine the flour and salt; whisk and set aside.

3. Stir together the melted butter (or coconut oil) and brown sugar until smooth and creamy; beat in egg and vanilla extract until well blended.

4. Slowly beat in the flour and salt mixture until just blended. Next, stir in the coconut and chocolate chips. Scrape the batter into the pan. Make sure the batter is spread evenly, smooth with a spatula. Sprinkle extra coconut on top of the bars.

5. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until set in the center but still soft. (Mine were almost overly done after 18 minutes- this may be due to my hot oven or replacing the butter with coconut oil.) Do not overbake the bars. Let cool slightly before cutting the bars into squares and serving.

Makes an 8×8 pan.

(Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker via Lahatchita Eats)