Monster Cookie Bars

Rich, flavorful, gooey, delicious and good for you! This is packed with healing foods like coconut, apricots and honey! It does have a very strong coconut flavor so if you don’t like coconut this may not be for you. Thankfully it is something my boys LOVE!

Ingredients:

Caramel sauce:

• 1 Can FULL-fat Coconut Milk 
• 1/2 Cup maple syrup

Crust:

• 1/3 Cup Coconut oil at room temperature
• 3/4 Cup Coconut flour
• 3 Tbsp Honey  or maple for Vegan
• Pinch of salt

Toppings:

• 2/3 Cup Sliced Almonds
• 1/2 Dried Apricots, chopped
• 1 Cup Dark chocolate chips (Enjoy Life)
• 1/2 Cup Unsweetened coconut flakes
• 2 Tbsp Almond Butter,  melted

Directions:

1. In a large pot, on high heat, whisk together the can of coconut milk and 1/2 cup of honey or maple. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer there for 1 mintue, stirring constantly.
2. Turn the heat down to medium and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir frequently, until the sauce reduces by about half.
3. Remove from heat and pour into a small cup.
4. Heat your oven to 350° and line an 8×8 inch pan with parchment paper.
5. In a large bowl, with a hand mixer, beat 3 Tbsp of honey with the coconut oil until smooth and creamy. Stir in the flour and pinch of salt until a wet dough forms.
6. Spread the dough evenly into the bottom of the pan.  If you are having trouble, I like to put a little oil on my hands to press the crust down.
7. Allow the crust to bake until lightly golden brown, about 10 mins.
8. When the crust is a light brown, remove from the oven. Sprinkle the almonds on top. Then, evenly distribute the apricots, the chocolate chips and the coconut flakes.
9. Drizzle 1 cup of the caramel mixture EVENLY over the top of the surface.
10. Put into the oven and bake until the sides are golden brown, about 30 minutes.
11. Remove from the oven and let cool until at room temp. Drizzle the almond butter on top.
12. Carefully put tin foil over the top.
13. You can either do 2 things now: freeze for 2 hours to allow to set OR put into the fridge overnight. You want this to be a chilled bar so it holds together and the caramel sets. ENJOY!!