Toasted Coconut Macadamia Chocolate Bars

Oh HEY. Can I offer you a baked good on this fine day? More specifically, one that involves coconut, macadamia nuts, and big ol’ chocolate chunks?

That’s what I thought 😉 .  

So I am h-o-m-eeee for the summer! While I’m usually up in Santa Barbara for school, I have a solid 3 months where I’ll be back in my hometown. First thing on my agenda? Bake aaallllllllll the things.

I’m a recipe hoarder.

I have stacks on stacks on stacks of old magazines clippings that help me brainstorm recipes and food styling, my Pinterest board is bursting at its internet seems with food related noms, and I have a bad habit of taking my phone out right before falling asleep to type a note about a possible combination of ingredients that I want to try out. That usually ends with me dropping my phone on my face. Worth it.

So here I am, in the middle of June and r-e-a-d-y to start to make a dent in my summer baking list. However, I’m throwing it back to an old recipe that I tried out a few years ago and fell in love with. I brought a version of these bars to a mutual friend’s party and they disappeared in a matter of minutes.

Poof.

After that, I sorta forget about their goodness in favor of trying out new recipes.

I usually don’t repeat things that I’ve already tried (other than a few select family favorites), but I was struck by a craving for fun tropical flavors a few days back. When I think summer, vacations to Hawaii comes to mind. I grew up visiting Maui every summer with my entire extended family on my Japanese side and there was never a shortage of tropical flavors and mouthwatering chocolate-dipped macadamia nuts from the ABC stores.

This recipe is a slight play on all those flavor I’ve been craving and involves a perfectly sweet and salty graham cracker crust that’s topped with oodles of sweetened coconut flakes, big chocolate chunks, and crunchy macadamia nuts. Held together by a perfect sweetness from the sweetened condensed milk, it’s fudgy and filled with all the glorious mix ins your heart desires <3.

IM IN LOVE OK.

I know that when it comes to coconut, there isn’t too much of a middle ground on how people feel about it. They either LOVE it, or really, really hate it (like my sister).

I get it.

It’s an interesting flavor and you really have to have a good first experience with it or your mind is already made up and you won’t even touch anything that’s made with it with a 5 foot pole no matter how hard someone tries to get you to try a bite (COUGH MY SISTER COUGH). This recipe, however, has a super mild coconut flavor to it and isn’t overwhelmingly coconut-y at all. Don’t judge it till you try it, because I’m convinced this will make you do a complete 180 when it comes to how you judge the fruit.

So cheers to summer! I worked a bit on my editorial calendar and can already tell that this summer is going to be absolutely FILLED with tons of recipes. I’m upping up my bloggy game so be prepared to be very well-felled for the next few months!