Tropical Paleo Magic Cookie Bars

Preheat oven to 350ºF and line an 8×8 inch pan with parchment paper, leaving a little overhang to use as a handle one the bars are baked. I like the rub the pan with coconut oil to help the parchment stick.

Place macadamia nuts on a small baking sheet, and coconut flakes on a separate baking sheet. Place into the oven and bake until golden brown and toasted, about 10–12 minutes for the macadamia nuts and 2–4 minutes for the coconut. Coconut burns quickly, so keep an eye on it!

In a large pot (coconut milk rises when heated a lot), whisk coconut milk, honey, lime juice and lime zest and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Then reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring frequently until sauce reduces to a total of 1 cup, about 18–19 minutes. I recommend checking it at about 16 minutes (you’ll need to pour it out the pot into a measuring up) and if you still have over 1 cup, add it back to the pot and cook a few more minutes. It’s important to reduce to 1 cup.

While sauce reduces, prepare crust. In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat coconut oil with honey until smooth and creamy. Stir in flour and pinch of salt until a wet dough forms.

Press dough evenly into the bottom of the pan. This will be a little bit tough, just be patient with it. I found it easiest to use the palms of my hands, and rinse them off every so often, until the dough was pressed in. Do not bake the crust until the sauce finishes reducing, as this allows the sauce the thicken and cool while the crust bakes.

While you wait for the sauce to finish reducing, chop the toasted macadamia nuts and set aside. Additionally, place crushed pineapple into a kitchen towel and wring out excess moisture. This is important, or bars will not set as the water will be released when cooking.

Once sauce has reduced to 1 cup, set aside to cool while you bake the crust. Place the ready-to-go crust into the oven and cook for 8 minutes.

When the crust comes out of the oven, it may have risen in some spots. Take a small spoon and gently press it all back down, being sure not to leave cracks in the crust. Sprinkle the chopped nuts on top, and lightly press them into the crust. Then, sprinkle on the coconut flakes, followed by the crushed pineapple. Be sure to spread everything out evenly.

Finally, pour the coconut milk sauce evenly over top of everything, making sure you get it down the sides of the bars (but not between the parchment and the pan!) Use a knife to swirl around the layers in a few spots where the sauce pools, to make sure it seeps down into all the layers (don’t cut the crust!) Then gently shake around the pan to ensure the sauce really sinks in everywhere.

Place back into the oven and cook until golden brown and bubbly, about 28–30 minutes. Let cool on the counter to room temperature.

Once the bars are at room temperature, cover and chill the bars overnight to let everything set. The next day, lift the bars out of the pan, slice and devour!

Notes:
1. The coconut flour I usually use needed 3/4 cup, but I also tried it with a different brand and 66g was only 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon. So please weigh your flour first before trying to make the crust.
2. Do not skip the overnight chilling, or your crust won’t be firm and the coconut milk sauce won’t firm up.
3. Serve these cold, or else the crust gets soft!