Camelot Dream Bars

One of my favorite things to bake is bar cookies and I realized that I hadn’t made in a while. So this week I knew that I wanted to make bar cookies, but what type? I didn’t really feel like going to the store, and I was in short supply of sugar, so I had to choose wisely. I decided to look in my King Arthur Flour Cookie Book for inspiration.

I had eyed a couple of recipes but handed the book over to my husband for a look. He picked these Camelot Dream Bars. These had an optional ingredient of butterscotch chips, which I didn’t have, but they had enough other good ingredients. The preface for this recipe says that these are a less sweet version of a very sweet cookie. Now I do like sugar but occasionally I come across a cookie that’s too sweet. (Usually those cookies have sweetened condensed milk in them! I remember one Christmas of overly sweet cookies.)

I was hesitant with the base of these cookies because there was so little dough that I didn’t think it would ever cover the base of the pan. It did cover, but it’s very thin. The topping is similar to German chocolate cake frosting, which I love! It all bakes up into a delicate, thin bar, but packed with a lot of flavor. 

½ cup butter, room temperature

¼ cup brown sugar, packed

¼ teaspoon salt

1-1/2 cups flour

¼ cup flour

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

¾ cup brown sugar, packed

1-1/2 cups shredded coconut

1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” pan with foil and spray the foil with non-stick spray.

In a large mixer bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and salt. Add the flour and stir until combined. The mixture will be crumbly. Press the dough into the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes, until just beginning to brown. Allow the base to cool while you prepare the topping.

In a small bowl combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. In a large mixer bowl beat the eggs until they are thick and lemon-colored. Add the vanilla and the brown sugar and stir until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture, the coconut and the pecans.

Carefully spread the topping on the partially cooled base with the back of a spoon. Bake for 20 minutes, until the topping is lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Recipe from King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion