We combined a peanut butter cookie, a brownie and a macaroon and made something totally wonderful-and definitely worth the effort. The bars are almost like fudge, so a little goes a long way. Bonus: This triple-threat dessert smells amazing as it bakes!
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 3 hr 30 min |
| Prep: | 10 min |
| Inactive: | 2 hr |
| Cook: | 1 hr 20 min |
| Yield: | about 44 bite-size pieces |
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 2 cups smooth peanut butter
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- Brownie Layer:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- Macaroon Layer:
- 3 large egg whites
- One 14-ounce bag sweetened, shredded coconut
- 1/4 cup sugar
Instructions
- Position an oven rack in the bottom position of the oven, and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-inch square baking dish with foil, leaving an overhang on all sides. Coat the foil with cooking spray.
- For the peanut butter cookie layer: Beat the peanut butter, sugar and salt in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high until smooth. Beat the eggs in one at a time and then the vanilla. Adjust the speed to medium-low, add the flour and beat until incorporated. Press the batter into an even layer in the bottom of the prepared baking dish; set aside.
- For the brownie layer: Combine the flour, cocoa powder and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Melt the butter and chopped chocolate in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until smooth, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat; let cool slightly, then stir in the sugar. Mix in the eggs until combined. Stir in the flour mixture and then the chocolate chips until just combined. Pour the brownie batter over the peanut butter layer.
- For the macaroon layer: Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until frothy. Toss the coconut, sugar, vanilla and salt together with your hands in another large bowl; add the egg whites, and stir until the coconut mixture is coated. Scatter the coconut mixture in an even layer on top of the brownie layer (there shouldn’t be any brownie peeking through).
- Bake until the center doesn’t jiggle when the pan is shaken and the coconut is golden brown, 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes. (A knife inserted in the middle will still come out wet, because the brownie layer is super fudgy. The jiggle cue is the key to determining doneness.)
- Transfer the pan to a rack, and let the bar mixture cool completely, preferably overnight. Lift it out of the pan, and peel off the foil. Trim the bar mixture to make neat edges, and cut into very small squares, about the size of fudge.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 32 servings |
| Calories | 338 |
| Total Fat | 22 g |
| Saturated Fat | 12 g |
| Carbohydrates | 33 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 23 g |
| Protein | 7 g |
| Cholesterol | 35 mg |
| Sodium | 80 mg |
Reviews
I wish I’d read the reviews, too. The baking time was way too long–only the very center was edible. A terrible waste of time and ingredients! NO stars!
I gave this two stars ONLY because the edible portion was tasty. Unfortunately, I did not read the other reviews (something that I typically do) before spending the time, effort & $ on this recipe… I am an accomplished baker and this recipe is NOT accurate! The baking time is ridiculously long – resulting in the bottom of the peanut butter layer burnt to the point that it was super hard; resembling a charcoal-like crust! What a shame to lose the product and what a mess!! If you make them, put into a larger pan & cook for a much shorter time!
What a waste of time and money. I’m usually very satisfied with your recipes. What happened? I should have used my common sense when I believed that nine eggs, cups and cups of sugar and chocolate were all going to fit in that 9 inch square pan….three 9 inch square pans? Maybe. Then maybe my hard work would have paid off with a beautiful treat as was pictured. I cut a few pieces to taste it and the rest went in the trash. Not worth it.
I wish I had read the other reviews before I spent time and energy making these bars. Yes, they need a larger pan than the 9 x 9 and the baking time is too long. I have been baking for about 50+ years. These came out burnt on the bottom and I had to scrap off as much burnt area as possible. I them bushed milk on the bottom to soften and still had to use a cleaver to cut them. Yes, they were very chocolatey and not to my taste nor would the grandchildren eat them. I will not make these again. If you decide to use this recipe, decrease the baking time and temperature and use a much larger pan.
This recipe does not fit in the recommended pan, and the baking time seems to be too long. I used a 9 x 13 pan and baked for 55 minutes, which was still a little too long. The edges were overdone so I cut them off. That being said, this is a good combination of flavors and I will try it again.
Can’t put them on the bottom rack of oven , it’s too hot. How many calories are in a
1 piece
This recipe tasted good but needed a few adjustments. First it did not fit into a 9 inch square pan. I put it in a 9X13 oval pan but even that made the layers very think and the whole thing hard to eat. Second the jiggle test did not work to judge its doneness because even when it was raw it did not jiggle. I just baked it for 1 hour and 20 minutes which worked fairly well though might have been slightly to long. Finally it is necessary to put foil in top of it when it bakes otherwise the coconut will burn.
In the picture, there are two brownie layers. Typo?