Coconut Chews

If you think being a food blogger makes me some sort of dinner party hostess extraordinaire - you couldn't be more wrong.  😅 I awkwardly stumble and fumble my way through dinner parties just like a lot of you.  One of my biggest challenges is coming up with menus that everyone on the guest list will enjoy.  The goal is to avoid offending my guests or possibly be even worse - having them leave my house hungry.  🤣

Just like Ella Fitzgerald sings, "You like potato and I like potahto. You like tomato and I like tomahto,".  Eating habits are personal and the like-dislike balancing act is even more crucial when it's not just my stomach on the line. 

I actually have a list of foods that I don't serve to new guests because they can very polarizing.  

* mayonnaise
* pickles
* stinky cheese
* mushrooms
* olives
* brussels sprouts 
* coconut

Coconut is a seemingly innocent fruit, but it's as polarizing as north and south. It can cause quite a conundrum. I'm a huge coconut fan and I feel like my life would be less fulfilling without it, but I recognize that the flaky texture is too much for some to bear. 

I put my own feelings about coconut aside when I plan menus for guests, and I refrain from making anything with the fibrous one-seeded drupe.  It's another story though when I bake for myself or close friends that I've already vetted for food preferences and allergies.  Bring on the coconut cake, the macaroons, the coconut rice and the coconut chews!  

Coconut Chews
Crust
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour 

Filling Ingredients
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut

Combine crust ingredients.  

Press into a greased 8x8" square pan.  

Bake 10 minutes at 350.  Let cool.

Stir together filling ingredients and pour over crust.  

Bake 20 minutes.  Cool completely.  

At the risk of offending the non-coconut lovers - these chews are the BOMB!  💣 They're easy to make, they're sweet and buttery and loaded with delightfully flaky coconut.   

Ciao!

Click here for a printable version of this recipe