Palm sugar is derived from palm trees and gets a lot of use in Southeast Asia. It gives a distinctive caramel flavor to dishes and it pairs really well with coconut in this recipe. These coconut palm sugar bars are very rich and seriously addictive. Cut them into small bites and store them in the freezer so you won’t be tempted to eat them all at once!
The Recipe
by volume by weight
1/4 cup melted butter 56 grams melted butter
1/4 cup oil 56 grams oil
1 cup brown sugar 198 grams brown sugar
1 cup palm sugar 198 grams palm sugar
2 large eggs 136 grams eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla 12 grams vanilla
3/4 teaspoon salt 3 grams salt
1 teaspoon baking powder 4 grams baking powder
1½ cups desiccated coconut 150 grams desiccated coconut
1 cup all purpose flour 120 grams all purpose flour
Directions
Heat the oven to 350F. Line an 8 inch square pan with aluminum foil and butter or oil the foil well. (Trust me on this.) Mix the butter and the oil together and then add the sugars. Stir to combine.
Add the eggs, vanilla, salt, and baking powder and mix until smooth.
Stir in the coconut.
Add the flour and stir just until incorporated. Pour into the pan and bake for 25 minutes.
Let the bars cool completely in the pan.
Use the foil overhang to lift the bars out of the pan and use a sharp knife to cut into small squares. I actually flip the bars over and cut from the bottom. This leaves a clean cut edge on the top. You could also partially freeze them (you need to store them there anyway so they’re not too tempting!) and then cut them for perfectly clean edges.
Alternatives
If you like, you could stir in all sorts of additions to these bars: chocolate chips, chopped pecans or almonds, or chopped, dried fruits of all kinds (think pineapple, mango, dates).
If you can’t find palm sugar, brown sugar is a perfectly acceptable substitute – it just won’t give quite the same tropical flavor.
