I love coconut, and chocolate… so naturally Almond Joy candy bars are one of my favorites. This homemade spin on the classic candy bar has all the flavors of Almond Joy candy, with an additional element… a buttery crust. The resulting combination is a rich and delicious treat!
This recipe is made in a 9″x13″ pan, and the bars are plenty rich enough that they can be served in small squares. One pan will yield about 36 bars, making this a perfect recipe to take along to a pot-luck, or large gathering. These beautiful bars would be very elegant served in mini cupcake liners (as I usually do with my Fudge Mint Brownies), as part of a dessert table.
How to Make Almond Joy Bars
Almond Joy Bars
These rich and delicious bars are sure to be popular with coconut lovers
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk 1 can
- 14 oz shredded coconut 1 bag
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups almonds sliced
- 8 oz bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate
Instructions
- Toast the almonds by spreading them in a thin layer on a baking sheet and baking at 375*F for 5-7 minutes. Keep a close eye on them, so they don't over bake. They should be a light golden brown.
- Line a 9"x13" baking pan with foil that hangs over the edge (for easy removal). Spray the foil with a light layer of cooking spray.
Make the crust
- With a mixer, or food processor, blend the butter and sugar until smooth and fully combined. Add flour and salt, and blend lightly until almost incorporated. Add 1 cup of cooled, toasted almonds, and blend until just combined.
- Press crust into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Bake 5-6 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 350*F.
Make the coconut filling
- In a bowl, mix the sweetened condensed milk, coconut and vanilla. Spoon the mixture onto the crust, spreading gently, so you don't distrub the crust.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the coconut is a nice golden brown.
- Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler, or in the microwave. If using a microwave, use short intervals of 30 seconds or so, stiring between intervals, and removing from microwave when the chocolate is almost, but not fully melted. Stir until fully melted.
- Spread the melted chocolate over the baked coconut bars.
- Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup toasted almonds on top chocolate.
- Place coconut bars in the refrigerator for about 1 hour, until chocolate has hardened.
- When fully chilled, remove entire dessert from the pan by pulling up on the foil liner. Slice into bars, using a sharp knife, cleaning the knife (with warm water) between cuts if you want nice, sharp bars.
- Bars may be served at room temperature, or directly from the fridge. Store remaining bars in the refrigerator, wrapped well. Can be made 2-3 days in advance.
Nutrition
Calories: 215kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 3gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 77mgPotassium: 165mgFiber: 2gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 111IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 57mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
I just made these and I agree that you need more chocolate in order to spread around. I didn’t double the chocolate but I definitely had to add more to cover.
I just made these this weekend and they were super delicious. Here are the problems I encountered with the recipe. You can’t make the recipe and then stick in the fridge for an hour, it will still be hot and chocolate will still be completely melted, I did that and then had to stick in the freezer for an hour Also, I had a hard time spreading 8 oz of melted chocolate around so I had to add more.
I was just wondering – if I made these in mini cupcake liners, how much would the baking time change? Thanks for any help you can offer. 🙂
Hi Dee, I’ve never tried to make this recipe that way, so I can’t say for sure. I would guess the baking time would be very similar to what I have listed in the recipe. I can’t see any real benefit of making this recipe in mini liners, and I think it may be quite a bit more work. But I always encourage experimenting, so give it a try if you like! =)
Are the bars substantial enough to hold up to double the layer of chocolate?
Hi Kimberlee, I’m not sure why you would need to double the chocolate, it has a nice layer as is… but feel free to make any adjustments you like. If the chocolate is too thick it may be a bit more difficult to cut, but if the bars are well chilled and you use a warm, clean knife (cleaning between cuts), you should have success.
Hey I made these and I was just wondering about the crust, is it supposed to be like grainy or I don’t know how to say it but I guess like powdery or something? I don’t know if I did it right, it was my first time but it still turned out tasting good but the crust just like fell apart… please explain and help! 🙂
Hi Kim, My only suggestion might be to press the crust mixture into the pan a bit firmer. As needed sometimes I wet my hands with a bit of water (if you find the crust mixture is sticking to your hands) as you are pressing it in the pan. Another suggestion might be to bake the crust portion just a minute or two longer.
Dear Turkan,
The recipe calls for one can of sweetend condensed milk. Here in the United States, the cans are 14 oz. The same goes for the bag of coconut, one bag that is 14 oz. I typically “google search” my substitution questions for certain ingredients if I do not have them at home. I found this on a website regarding the sweetend condensed milk:
“The best make-your-own version is to mix 1 cup of evaporated milk ( comes in a can) with 1-1/4 cups of sugar in a saucepan, heat and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved, and let cool. If you don’t have evaporated milk in a can on hand either, you can make your own by slowly simmering any quantity of milk in a pan until it reduced by 60%, and then adding the sugar to make sweetened condensed milk”.
Hope this helps! I am so excited to make these tonight!
Hi Glory,
I love to try your receips, they’re amazing and your explanations are very helpfull.
I don’t think that I can find sweetened condensed milk in Turkey. Can I replace it with anouther liquid, what could you suggest?
Ans one more quiestion; I couldn’t understand the amount of 1-14 oz. could you pls last time write for me how shall I convert to grams. I know that 1 oz makes 28,349… grams but i didnt get what 1-14 is .
thank you very much
Turkan