You might call them Hello Dollies or Magic Coconut Bars, but these Paleo Majestic Coconut Bars are 100% a blast to the past and made with MUCH better ingredients!
Look, I know there are people out there who think eating paleo needs to be militant, boring, and lifeless if it’s going to “work,” whatever that means. But what I’ve found is the opposite actually. Living on salmon and kale is great, and so is taking the opportunity to indulge in something that might be considered “off limits”; be it a glass of wine or a sweet treat.
For me personally, avoiding those craveable treats, makes me want them more. And it makes me irritable and grumpy and miserable to be around. So my solution is this. Make a treat, make it from scratch so it takes time and effort, make it with better ingredients, and ENJOY IT. Just don’t enjoy it in place of the good-for-you stuff. Seems pretty simple right?
So not that you need an excuse or justification, but because my opinions are as big as my hair today, you got the low down. Now that that’s over…
These are those bars! You know the ones. The Hello Dollies, the Magic Coconut Bars, the taste of the actual gates to Heaven opening? Yeah those.
I saw someone post them in my news feed the other day, except with literally every ingredient that I avoid. So naturally I was like “I’m going to push aside all my adult responsibilities and child rearing so I can recreate this recipe.” Because that’s what any chocolate fan does.
It took a couple of tries, because science, but they’re here now, nobody got hurt (minus the fly I swatted who wanted to barf on my bars) and they’re freakin’ amaze. Enjoy y’all!
PrintPaleo Majestic Coconut Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup cassava flour
- 7 tablespoons grass fed butter or sustainably sourced palm shortening for vegan option
- 6–7 tablespoons cold water
- 1, 14 ounce can full fat coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup or Date Lady date syrup
- 1.5 cups of dairy/soy free chocolate chips
- 2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1 cup pecan pieces (or leave off if you want to make it nut free)
- Sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350
- In a mixing bowl, combine the cassava flour, butter or palm shortening, and water and mix by hand until a ball of dough is formed
- Then press it into a casserole dish/baking pan until it is evenly distributed (mine was 11×9)
- Place it into the oven and bake for 15 minutes
- While your crust bakes, open the coconut milk can and combine it with the maple or date syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat
- Bring it to a simmer, whisking periodically, for 10-12 minutes
- Once the milk has simmered for 12 minutes, remove it from the heat
- Remove the crust from the oven once it’s baked for 15 minutes and sprinkle 1 cup of the chocolate chips over the warm crust
- Then sprinkle the 2 cups of shredded coconut over the top of the chocolate chips
- Press all the ingredients down into the pan slightly before doing the next step
- Now pour the condensed coconut milk over the coconut and then finally layer the last of the chocolate chips (1/2 cup) and the pecans on top and sprinkle a little sea salt on top of that
- Bake for 30 minutes and remove from oven
- Allow the bars to cool completely (around 1 hour) before slicing so they will set up and hold form. I know it’s hard. Just do it.
Hi, the recipe is not in full. Does not state where to put pecans in and the coconut flakes …
You wrote: “Then sprinkle the 2 cups of shredded coconut over the top of the chocolate chips
Press all the ingredients down into the pan slightly before doing the next step
Now pour the condensed coconut milk over the coconut and then finally layer the last of the coconut and chocolate chips (1/2 cup) on top and sprinkle a little sea salt on top of that”
But the recipe calls for 2 cups coconut and you say sprinkle the 2 cups in step 9 but in 10 you say say “layer the last of the coconut”.
LOL, other than that, pretty tasty but vs simmering the coconut milk, can’t you just use a can of the coconut milk condensed milk bought in the stores?
Also the chocolate chips are
I am correcting any mistakes and you can use whatever ingredients you like but many people cannot find sweetened condensed coconut milk local to them so I included it for those who don’t have access.
Hi! I made this recipe and it was perfect! I do have a question tho, can other nuts be used? Also, can the nuts be in pieces, for the recipe?
Thanks…
Yes definitely!
It’s in the oven as I write this, so easy to make. Can’t wait to try (I’ll try and wait the whole hour!)
This was really good. Was it like eating the real Hello Dollies? No. Did I feel a whole lot better about eating this version. Absolutely!! And the best part was seeing the look on my husband’s face and his comment that came as soon as he finished chewing (haha)…”These. Are. SO. Good.” … coming from the dude who could eat half a pan of the real thing in one sitting. So, thanks! Thanks so much for all you do, Jennifer!
Yay!! We all deserve a yummy better-for-us treat <3
I made these and they are amazing!!! I didn’t have pecans on me so I made them with walnuts but they were still great. I love them! They are so easy to make too! I will try them next time with the pecans! Thank you! ?
Yay!!! So glad, thank you!
Hi, what other type of flour can I use? I don’t have cassava flour.
Thanks!
Hmmm, I’m not sure, I wrote the recipe with cassava. You could probably use almond flour but it wouldn’t be identical.
These bars are so, so delicious, not as sweet as the real seven layer bars, which I like. I cut the butter into the cassava flour and added water, like you do when making a pie crust. The coconut condensed milk was easy to make following the directions. These are going to be my go-to paleo treat, thank you for this recipe!!
Thank you Sarah!
Is there a good cassava flour substitute? My stomach does not tolerate it. I love your recipes but many of them include this flour.
Possibly almond flour – I’m not entirely sure.