Chocolate Paleo Magic Cookie Bars with Strawberry

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spread hazelnuts onto a small pan and bake until browned and toasty-smelling, about 8–11 minutes. Finely chop and set aside.

In a large, high-sided pot (the coconut milk rises up a lot when heated) set over high heat, whisk coconut milk and 1/2 cup honey (or agave). Bring mixture to a boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Turn the heat down to medium and and simmer for 16–20 minutes, stirring frequently, until sauce reduces by about half and you end up with 1 cup of super-thick liquid. This really varies based on the size of the pot you use. I recommend checking it after 16 minutes, and if you have more than 1 cup, cook it a few more minutes until you have that amount.

Once you’ve turned the sauce down to medium heat, place strawberries, 1 tablespoon honey, and water in a medium pot set over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all the water evaporates and you can mash the strawberries. You want the sauce to be really thick—this takes 10–20 minutes depending on the size of your pot. Set aside.

While the sauce reduces, it’s time to make the crust. Line an 8×8 inch pan with parchment paper, leaving a little bit of an overhang up the sides of the pan, to use as a handle later. Spray the sides generously with coconut oil spray (this also helps stick the parchment to the sides and bottom of the pan).

In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat the remaining 3 tablespoons honey with coconut oil until smooth and creamy. Stir in flour, cocoa powder and pinch of salt until a wet dough forms.

Press the 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 is done reducing, as you want to time it so the sauce can thicken a little more while the crust bakes.

Once the sauce has done reducing and you have 1 cup of liquid, set aside to cool. Then bake the crust just until the sides darken slightly, about 8 minutes. When crust comes out of the oven, it will have risen a little bit. Use a small spoon to pack it down, making sure to not leave cracks in the crust.

As soon as the crust comes out of the often, sprinkle chopped nuts on top, and lightly press them into the crust. Sprinkle on the chocolate morsels evenly.

Pour the coconut sauce evenly over the top of the surface, making sure to really get it into the edges of the bars (but not between the parchment paper and sides of the pan!). Gently shake the pan around until the coconut milk mixture begins to sink between the layers.

Spoon the strawberry sauce over top and use a sharp knife to swirl around, being careful not to cut into the crust. Place into the oven and bake until the sides are lightly golden brown, about 27–28 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature. Then, cover with tinfoil and refrigerate overnight. The next day, lift the bars out of the pan and run a very sharp knife around the edge of the pan, slice into bars 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. You need to let these sit overnight to make sure the coconut milk really has a chance to chill and thicken.