Coconut Chocolate Chip Blondies

 
While I enjoy making cookies, sometimes I am too lazy to shape the cookies. That's why bar cookies are a great option on a lazy baking day. There are various types of bar cookies and one of my favorites are blondies, which is essentially a brownie without the cocoa. Blondies tend to a have a higher content of brown sugar to create a rich toffee flavor. Although a standard blondie recipe taste great on it's own, it is even better with mix-ins. This version incorporates coconut and chocolate chips. The final product was reminiscent of a seven layer bar. I found this recipe on Brown Eye Baker, which described these cookies to be similar to a Girl Scout Samoas cookie. As I sunk my teeth into these blondies, I could taste the flavors of a Samoas cookie. The blondies were chewy like the samoas cookie and the brown sugar helped to give the cookies an almost caramel flavor like the famous Girl Scout cookies. The coconut gives the blondies a greater than average chewiness which makes the blondies that more delicious. I have a weakness for anything with a chewy texture and this definitely satisfies my chewy obsession!

Coconut Chocolate Chip Blondies
compliments of Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 ounces unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup chocolate chips or chunks

Topping
1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon butter

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour an 8-inch square baking pan.
2. Combine the flour and salt; set aside.
3. Stir together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla extract until well blended.
4. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until blended, then stir in the coconut and chocolate chips.
5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth even with a rubber spatula.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until set in the center but still soft. Do not overbake. Let the bars cool slightly before drizzling with chocolate, then cool completely before cutting into squares.
7. For the topping, combine the chocolate and butter in a small bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals until melted and smooth. Using a spoon, drizzle over the bars.