Go Back

Coconut Chocolate Chip Meringue Bars

These bars are surprisingly easy to make and roll a lot of flavor and texture into one generous dessert. We're making them for New Year's Eve, but they are good any time of the year. You'll need 3 fresh eggs; the meringue topping is a great way to show off your girls' handiwork!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 3/4 cup butter or dairy free butter 1 and ½ sticks
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar divided in half
  • 3 eggs separated
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla
  • 2 cups all purpose or GF1-1 flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup of flaked coconut
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 bag of chocolate chips or dairy free chocolate chips

Equipment

  • 13x9 inch baking dish
  • small, medium, and large mixing bowls
  • hand mixer or stand mixer

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease or spray a 9x13 inch baking dish.
  2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, sugar, ½ cup of the brown sugar, eggs yolks, and vanilla. Beat until thoroughly blended.
  4. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir together until fully incorporated. Turn the dough out into a 13x9” baking dish and press across the bottom and slightly up the sides. Sprinkle the chocolate chips, coconut, and pecans all over the top of the dough.
  5. In a medium sized mixing bowl, beat the 3 egg whites until they start to develop soft peaks. Gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup of brown sugar in small amounts as you continue to whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
  6. Spread the meringue as evenly as possible over the chocolate chips, etc. Bake for 35 minutes or until crust and meringue are turning golden brown. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

Notes

If you never quite get the egg whites to firm peaks, even after like 10 minutes of beating, you can still use them at the marshmallow stage. You won't be able to spread them easily, just let them drop off of a spatula in wide ribbons and cover as much as you can. They will still puff and brown nicely in the oven.