Coconut Brookies

I almost didn't do anything for Barba John and Auntie Paldina. At one point in December I got an email from Nonni saying the three of them had decided that they wouldn't get Christmas presents for the others' grandkids. In other words, for example, I wouldn't be getting gifts from John and Paldina. Understandable. I still felt I should make them something at least this year, to kind of even things out from the past. So I searched for a chocolate coconut dessert for Barba John. I eventually settled on Coconut Brookies from Crazy for Crust.

Coconut Brookies (source)

Ingredients

For the Brownies (for the sake of time, I used a brownie mix instead.)

• 2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate coarsely chopped
• 2 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate coarsely chopped
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

For the Cookies

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13” pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
2. Make the brownies: Place the two baking chocolates and butter in a large, microwave safe bowl. Heat on HIGH power for 2-3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until chocolate is smooth. Stir in sugar. Add eggs, vanilla, and cocoa and stir well. Add flour and stir carefully.
3. Make the cookies: Cream together butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl using a hand mixer. Mix in egg, extracts, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Stir in flour, then stir in coconut.
4. Spread brownie batter in prepared pan. Scoop tablespoons of cookie dough, flatten slightly with your hands and then lay over the top of the brownies. It’ll be hard to spread because it’s thicker than the brownie batter, so it’s best to drop flattened tablespoons evenly over the batter and then press lightly with your fingers to adhere them to each other. (I used my ice cream scoop to do this. Just scooped out some dough, flattened it between my hands, and placed each piece over the batter.)
5. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the tops are dark golden. If you test them with a toothpick the brownies won’t be totally done, so just take them out once the tops are dark golden in color. The brownies will cook more as they cool but they will be super fudgy! (I baked them based on the directions on the brownie mix box as my oven has been a little unpredictable lately.)
6. Cool completely before cutting into small bars.

They were a bit messy as I cut them. I ended up wasting about half because the two layers were coming apart as I cut the bars. Still, I think he liked them. I didn't really see him open them.