Keto coconut macadamia bars might just be my new favorite low carb treat. Buttery almond flour shortbread crust with a gooey sugar-free coconut and macadamia topping. This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill.
I am currently obsessed with these keto coconut macadamia bars. And believe me, friends, when you try them, you will be too. Obsessed, I tell you. You know I love my keto desserts and I have so many wonderful recipes. And so many of them are my “favourites”. Really, ask me one day what my favorite low carb dessert recipe is and you will get one answer. Ask me another day and you will get an entirely different answer altogether.
Here’s the deal. Creating low carb desserts is fun. It’s beyond fun. I’d go so far as to say that it’s the joy of my life. Besides my kids and my husband, of course. Honestly, what gets my heart racing and my adrenaline pumping is coming up with a new delicious keto dessert creation. Especially one that has people oohing and aahing at the first bite. And this one is definitely Oooh and Aaah material.
Nothing delights me more than finding a conventional high carb recipe that piques my interest and seeing if I can make a comparable low carb version. I actually have a Pinterest board dedicated to conventional recipes that have caught my eye and that I want to try to make over. It’s a very very very very very very very large board and it would take me many lifetimes to make all the recipes I have pinned there. It’s such a long board, with so many inspirational recipes pinned to it, that I can’t even scroll to the bottom of it anymore. I’ve lost sight of many wonderful recipes I’d like to try making, because I can’t stop finding new recipes I want to make.
It’s a sickness. One might call it an obsession. But at least it’s a healthy one.
The science of sugar-free baking
I also love the science behind adapting a regular recipe to make it sugar-free and grain-free. It’s not so simple as basic one-to-one substitutions. Sugar does more than just make things sweet; it attracts moisture, it caramelizes and browns, and it helps create a syrupy gooeyness that low carb sweeteners can’t quite accomplish on their own. So my job, as I see it, is to find ways to achieve the same results without sugar or grains. Thank goodness for low carb ingredients like Bob’s Red Mill almond flour and Swerve Sweetener.
These bars were inspired by some conventional Coconut Macadamia Nut Bars I spied on my friend Liz’s blog, That Skinny Chick Can Bake. I knew I had the crust part down, no problem. I have a low carb shortbread crust that is to die for, it’s from my Keto Tagalong Bars. It’s amazing the way this crust comes out of the oven so soft but firms up into a perfect shortbread texture as it cools.
The filling of the original coconut bar recipe takes flaked coconut and macadamias, and that was an easy low carb swap. I love Bob’s unsweetened flaked coconut in a recipe like this. The original recipe also takes sweetened coconut cream, the sugary Coco Lopez stuff that’s often in pina coladas. I went with REAL coconut cream, the creamy thick stuff from the top of a can of unsweetened coconut milk. Knowing that my low carb sweeteners don’t always have the gooey factor of sugar, I added an egg yolk to the filling to help it have the right consistency. And then I popped in the oven and hoped for the best.
Well kids, the best is what I got. I actually took the whole pan on a girls’ weekend trip to the Oregon Coast, and I had no idea what to expect. They looked and smelled good but we didn’t cut into them until that evening. And then we all sighed and oohed and aahed as we tasted. They were gooey, they were sweet, they were nutty and rich. And my non-keto friends, who have tried and loved a lot of my desserts, declared this to be the one of best I’d ever made. I have to be honest, I’d be hard pressed to disagree with them.
I got home from our trip and made another pan the very next day, just so I could get some photos and share the recipe with you. You’re going to love it!
Low Carb Coconut Macadamia Bars
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 ¼ cups almond flour
- ⅓ cup cup Swerve Sweetener
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup butter chilled and cut into small pieces
Filling:
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ cup Swerve Sweetener
- ½ cup coconut cream (thick part from the top of a can of coconut milk)
- 1 ⅓ cup flaked coconut
- ¾ cup macadamia nuts chopped
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Combine almond flour, sweetener, and salt in a food processer. Pulse to combine. Sprinkle the butter over and continue to pulse until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.
- Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of an 8-inch square pan and bake 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Set aside and let cool while preparing the filling.
Filling:
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisk in the sweetener and the coconut cream until smooth.
- Stir in the coconut, macadamia nuts, egg yolk, and vanilla extract until well combined. Pour the filling over the crust.
- Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before cutting into bars. The centre will not seem set but it will firm up as it cools.
Notes
Carol says
These taste great but they don’t cut up into nice bars. The top half separates in places from the bottom crust. They crumble too much to serve as a bar. Ok to eat on or over a plate to catch all the delicious crumbs. I used Splenda for powdered sweetener and cut the amounts to 2/3 of the recipe sweetener. Three stars is only because they can’t be served as bars.
Carolyn says
Sorry, I hate to say this, but the fault lies with you and the fact that you changed the recipe. Splenda does NOT work the same way as other sweeteners and of course it would make it crumbly!
Amanda says
Any suggestions on how to bake both the crust and filling with just a microwave? VanLife has become quite innovative and would love to make these despite no oven. I’m determined to actually, and I would so appreciate any thoughts on how to tweak the baking for a micro. Thanks so much, these look delicious!
Carolyn says
I’m sorry, I have never attempted bars like these in a microwave.
Hazel says
Just made these I subbed out the coconut cream for heavy cream and they turned out fantastic , such a wonderful dessert recipe thank you. I would recommend chilling in fridge for few hours before trying to slice.
Wendy says
This recipe didn’t work well. Too much butter in the bottom layer makes these very soft and greasy.
Carolyn says
I am trying to figure out why a few people have an issue with the crust being too soft in this recipe. I made it 3 times and each time the crust was fine. Can you tell me what kind of pan you used?
Christiane Lariviere says
Hello Carolyn, thank you so much for your very good recipies 🙂 Is your last cookbook is available PDF ? Thanks and I wish you an happy 2020, healthy and happy 🙂
Carolyn says
Do you mean the big Keto Baking book? It is available on Kindle.
maurine says
oh man! I was so excited about these! I love coconut and macadamia nuts. But they ended up being a complete disaster! They smelled so good in the oven! I followed the recipe to a “T” and I’ve been doing low-carb baking for almost a year so I kinda know what I’m doing. Haha! But these bars… totally fell apart. It was a complete mess! I ended up crumbling them all up into a heap and freezing the crumbs. I didn’t want to throw it all away because low carb cooking is so expensive so I’m trying to figure out what I can make using the crumbs! Any suggestions would be helpful!
Carolyn says
You can use the crumbs for ice cream topping. Or add some butter and turn them into truffles. I have made this recipe multiple times and it is not crumbly but it seems that if you are not using true coconut cream (just the thick part from the top of the can), it can cause some issues. Also… what sweetener did you use?
Maurine says
Hi. Sorry for the late response! Yes, I used coconut cream…just the thick part from the top of the can. And I used swerve sweetener. Maybe I should be using something different?
Carolyn says
No, that’s exactly what you are supposed to be using. I can’t account for it but I do know these work as is because I have made them multiple times. I think some people are just over-baking them and they get too dry. But without being in people’s kitchens with them, I can’t say for sure.
Sarah says
I made these last night, I found they fell to bits – we ate them with spoons, still delicious! So I put the whole pan in the fridge overnight and this morning they sliced perfectly into bars. So I suggest anyone who tries the recipe and find it crumbles like crazy to refrigerate it before trying to slice.
Janice says
These are in the oven! I licked the spoon after I put the filling on the crust and OMG, it’s going to be hard to let them cool! I’m on desserts for our trip to Canada’s Wonderland tomorrow with our three kids, spouses and seven grandchildren, so these are going to be alongside the Rice Krispies squares. Thank you so much for all you do. I’ve never been disappointed with any of your recipes and I have a long list of them I want to try!
Tammy says
How do you store them? Also, I used whipping cream in place of the coconut cream and 72% dark chocolate chunks in place of the coconut and they came out amazing.
Carolyn says
They are fine on the counter for a few days but should be in the fridge if they will be around longer.
Kay says
These also burned for me even cooking for less time. Mainly the shortbread part. I did already compensate for my dark non stick pan and reduced temp by 25 degrees. I will adjust next time. I will also add a little less of the swerve as they were a little too sweet. great recipe though, I cannot wait to try again and get it right on my end . Looking forward to trying the brownies too.
Carolyn says
So others who have had trouble with this discovered that their coconut cream wasn’t thick enough. That might be part of it. But I would lower the temp even more for the next time.
Natalie says
OMmmmmG! These were scrumptious! Hands down one of the best keto desserts I have made yet. The only thing I would do differently is cut the sweetener in half because these were a little too sweet for me. Also, how do you recommend storing leftovers? I made a double batch to take as a dish for Easter that is 3 days away. Thanks for sharing all your wonderful recipes!
Carolyn says
I’d store in a covered container in the fridge or wrapped up tightly in plastic. Then let come to room temp before serving.
Heather says
I made these. I forgot to add the egg!! But I didn’t have trouble with anything crumbling more than expected without the egg. I baked for 33 minutes in a ceramic pan. I used golden Lakanto in the crusty and classic in the filling. I did get the cooling effect in the filling. I think next time I might try half the sweetener, just so I can try to keep my sugar cravings in check. I added cinnamon to the crust, just cause. I really like these. I’m eager to make these again, except the right way.
MJ says
Oh man…. these are delicious. I followed recipe exactly, but cut baking time as they were looking done. Unfortunately, mine were also crumbly. I bought another brand of coconut milk/cream to try. I also have to look up every recipe using that crust. Amazing!