German Chocolate Bars with a rich, buttery shortbread crust, topped with a caramel layer filled with coconut and toasted pecans, and drizzled with chocolate are sure to become a new family favorite.
Bars and brownies are some of my favorite treats. (Sorry cookies!) These mouth-watering German Chocolate Bars keep well for days, making them perfect gifts. They cut easily into squares and can be stored at room temperature. They probably won’t last long though.
German Chocolate Bars are a little something different and they’re sweet, a little bit gooey, and a little bit chewy. But they’re not too much of any one thing or any one flavor. The ingredients blend nicely without any of them dominating.
German Chocolate Bars are super easy to make too. The shortbread crust needs a quick bake in the oven, but the rest of the bar is no-bake. Just melt some caramels with a little half-and-half, mix in coconut and toasted pecans, and pour on top of the shortbread crust. Let it set for a couple of hours, add the chocolate drizzle and you’re done.
And get ready to dig in!
German Chocolate Bars
Ingredients
- 1 (10-ounce) box shortbread cookies,, I used 2 5.6 ounce boxes and ate 1 cookie :
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup butter,, melted
- 1 large egg white,, lightly beaten
- 1 (14-ounce) package individually wrapped caramels,, unwrapped
- 3 tablespoons half-and-half
- 1 1/4 cups sweetened flaked coconut
- 1 1/4 cups chopped toasted pecans
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 ounces chocolate-flavored candy coating,, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom and sides of a 9-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, letting edges overhang a few inches.
- Place cookies and sugar in a food processor and pulse until finely crumbled.
- In a medium bowl, combine cookie crumbs, melted butter, and egg white. Stir well.
- Press into bottom of prepared pan and bake for 13 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool completely.
- Place unwrapped caramels in a microwave-safe bowl and add half-and-half. Microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds. Stir and continue to microwave at 30 second intervals until mixture is smooth. (1 1/2 to 2 minutes total). Let cool slightly.
- Add coconut, pecans, and salt to caramel mixture. Let cool 2 hours.
- Melt candy coating according to package directions and drizzle on top of bars. Let set for 1 hour and then use foil to lift bars from pan. Cut into squares.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Source: Entertain Magazine July/August 2013
Mmm, these look so good. Anything with a shortbread crust is something I know i’d love 🙂 I’m with you about preferring bars over cookies…no rolling and “dropping” the cookies, just one pan that you have to cut in the end. Plus they’re much sturdier. Are these sticky or do they do well travelling?
German Chocolate Bars look really mouthwatering! I would like to try and experiment with various recipes related to these. Meanwhile, try out some Simple recipes that are easy to learn.
This looks incredible! A big glass of milk to wash all that chocolatey goodness down will make my day! YUM! 🙂
I can only imagine how wonderful this makes the kitchen smell. I already have all my Christmas goodies planned, but I’ll be saving this one for later. Thanks for sharing!
I am so ready to dig into these bars. I LOVE german chocolate anything and these bars looks fabulous!
German chocolate and shortbread??? You are totallllly speaking my language!