Coconut Macadamia Triangles

These delightful little treats come to us courtesy of Mel at My Kitchen Cafe. She's got a lot of wonderful recipes and she had tagged this as one of her top "sugar rush" choices. Since these bars combine some of my favorite things, I knew I had to try them!

These are deliciously chewy, crunchy, sweet and salty. I loved them!

Start by preparing the pan - you'll need a large piece of foil to line a 9" pan and have "handles" hanging over the edge. Then, lightly grease the foil, or use cooking spray.



Next, the crust. Combine the flour, brown sugar and salt (see recipe for exact quantities!) and then cut in the butter. My new favorite way to do this is with the food processor!



Press the crust mixture into the prepared pan.



Bake for about 10 minutes until the crust edges are golden.

Now, make the topping. Combine the remaining flour, brown sugar,



salt, corn syrup,



egg and vanilla.



Stir well with a wooden spoon to combine all the ingredients, then add the coconut.



Chop the macadamia nuts, then toast them in a skillet over medium heat until they're golden.



Add the nuts to the batter, stir well, then spread over the crust.



Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the topping is lightly browned and the edges pull away from the sides of the pan. Cool completely on a wire rack. Do not get impatient - these bars need to completely cool before you cut them otherwise they won't set up properly!

When they're cool, lift them out of the pan with the foil handles.



Remove the foil completely, and cut the bars (on a cutting board!)into 4 equal rows.



Cut them again in three rows, then cut each rectangular piece in half to make triangles.



Melt the chocolate, then dip each corner of the triangles in the chocolate.



Lay the bars on waxed paper to dry the chocolate completely.



Store in an air-tight container, or just eat them right off the wax paper!

Get more ideas at Cooking Thursday, Friday Food, Foodie Friday, Food on Fridays and Would you Like Chocolate with That?

Coconut Macadamia Triangles

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
3/4 cup brown sugar, plus 1 tablespoon, divided
3/4 tsp. salt, divided
5 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into small pieces
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup macadamia nuts, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup shredded coconut
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted

Line the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square pan with aluminum foil, letting the edges hang over the pan slightly. Grease the foil or use nonstick cooking spray.

Combine 1 cup flour, 1 Tbsp. brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl and stir together to combine. Scatter butter pieces over the flour mixture and using a pastry blender or two knives or your fingers, cut in the butter until small crumbs form. (Alternatively, you can use a food processor to do this.) Turn the crust mixture out into the prepared pan. Press the mixture into the pan in an even, solid layer.

Bake at 375 until the edges are golden, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine 2 Tbsp. flour, 3/4 cup brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, egg and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Beat with a wooden spoon until thoroughly blended. Stir in the nuts and coconut until blended.

Spread the coconut topping over the warm baked bottom crust. Return to the oven and bake until the topping is lightly browned and the edges pull away from the sides of the pan, about 15-20 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Cut into twelve 3 by 2 1/4-inch rectangles. Cut each rectangle in half on the diagonal to make triangles. Dip one corner of each triangle in the melted chocolate and let cool on a sheet of waxed paper. Makes 24 bars.