Coconut Dreamin'

By now you should know that I LOVE coconut. My husband is a coconut addict too and would eat anything that tastes coconutty :) 

Lately we've been LOVING these Dream bars, these are the most delicious chocolate & coconut bars you've ever had. I've made them a few times because we are addicted to them — I even made a batch for our road trip and they where life savers!

They are super easy but are not the healthiest thing in the world, but it's ok, you "only" need a little piece. I've adapted a recipe I found on Martha.com to make them as healthy as possible. I promise you they'll be a big hit!

INGREDIENTS::

_ CRUST

_ 20  big graham crackers  (I get the Honey Maid Grahams Low Fat)

_ 1.5 sticks of butter, melted (I've tried reducing this amount but you really do need this much)

_ pinch of salt

_TOPPING

_ 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

_ 2 cups of flaked coconut (I get organic unsweetened)

_ 1/2 cup of walnuts or pecans

_ 1.5 cans of sweetened fat free condensed milk

DIRECTIONS::

_ Preheat oven to 350. Make sure rack is in the center.

_ Line a 9x13" with parchment paper. It might get a bit messy and it will not look perfect so don't worry about it.

_ Make crust: In food processor grind the crackers, add salt and melted butter. Pulse a bit more. Pour this into the pan and press into the bottom with your fingers, make sure you get all the corners.

_ Add the coconut all over, again, make sure you get the corners.

_ Add the coco chips and the nuts on top of the coconut.

_ Pour the condensed milk evenly over everything covering them all. 

_ Bake for about 15 min, rotate pan and cook for about 15 min more. You want a little brown around the edges but the middle nice and creamy.

_ Transfer pan to wire rack and LET COOL. I know you'll be tempted to eat it now. After it cools carefully lift the parchment paper, place it on your cutting board and cut into squares.

The original recipe says you must wrap each bar with plastic wrap and keep them refrigerated. What I do is put them in a tupperware container but I add a layer of parchment paper between the bars. And I don't like to eat them cold so I nook them for about 6 seconds... dreamy!!