Scale
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup dried unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup crushed graham cracker crumbs
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup coconut milk
- 1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained well (should yield about 8 packed ounces of pineapple)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter an 11-x-7-inch baking dish. (Alternately, you can use an 8- or 9-inch square baking dish.)
- Toast the coconut: In a dry skillet, toast the coconut on medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until it has browned to a caramelized color (similar to the color of the graham crackers). Remove from heat immediately.
- Make the crust: Mix the toasted coconut, graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Press into the bottom of your prepared pan in an even layer.
- Make the filling: In a large bowl, use electric beaters to mix the cream cheese and butter until well-blended. Mix in the sugar and egg. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the the flour, coconut milk and pineapple until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Pour the cheesecake batter over the crust and spread evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway — the sides of the bars should be firm and the center should jiggle a bit. Cool the bars for 15 minutes in the oven with the door cracked slightly, then remove from the oven and cool completely. Refrigerate overnight (covered loosely) before cutting into bars and serving.
Notes
- Variations: You could add chopped, toasted macadamia nuts to the crust to keep the tropical theme. In the filling, you could add a tablespoon of dark rum (or a teaspoon of rum extract) if you’re into that, or toast up an additional 1/4 cup of coconut and stir it in with the pineapple. You could also top with a pineapple glaze (the one on this cake looks pretty awesome), add a touch of pineapple juice to the traditional sour cream topping (instructions here) or stir in a bit of the crushed pineapple into stiffly whipped cream. You could also keep it simple and top with additional toasted coconut.
- Also, if you have leftover coconut milk: Here’s a great tutorial on making coconut milk whipped cream. Make that and serve it alongside the bars for an extra coconutty kick. (Obvi I didn’t do this since these bars were as much coconut as I could handle … )