This year when looking for desserts to make for our Christmas party, I made these raspberry layer bars. They are the perfect holiday treats. The tart flavor of the raspberry preserves, sweet taste of coconut/milk layer, and chocolate drizzle combine to form a delicious bar that tastes and looks great. It was perfect for the holidays!
I’m not quite sure where I originally found the inspiration behind this recipe, but I believe I came across it many years back in the newspaper.
I have not tried making a vegan version of this dessert yet, but hope to have an update soon.
To make this dessert gluten-free, I can imagine you can take any gluten-free cookie similar to graham crackers and make the crumbs to use as the base of the bar. All other ingredients can be found gluten-free.
Raspberry Coconut Layer Bars
INGREDIENTS
- 1 2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs , for vegan graham cracker brand, see notes below
- 1/2 cup vegan butter , unsalted, melted
- 2 2/3 cup coconut , shredded
- 14 oz. sweetened condensed coconut milk , see notes below
- 1 cup raspberry preserves
- 1/3 cup walnuts , chopped
- 1/2 cup vegan dark chocolate chips , and/or vegan white chocolate chips
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs and butter. Spread evenly on a 9x13 inch pan.
- Sprinkle coconut evenly over the crust.
- Pour the condensed coconut milk evenly on top of the coconut layer.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes and cool.
- Spread the raspberry preserves over the layer and chill in the fridge for 3-4 hours.
- Sprinkle with walnuts and drizzle melted chocolate over the top.
- Chill in the fridge until the chocolate is solidified and cut into squares.
Vaishalee
I think we were living together when you first made these. I’ve made them a numbers of times for events and they’re always a HUGE hit.
anjali
Thank you! YES I made these when we were living together! They are one of my all-time favorites! Try making one of the new bark recipes on my site! The dark chocolate/peanut butter almond one is one of my favorites as well. They were a huge hit at our last christmas party.
Radha
This dessert was a hit at a recent party and so pretty to look at! Thank you for sharing. We originally cut it into brownie size pieces, but I think that was too much sugar to eat it in one sitting.
anjali
Glad you enjoyed the bars! They are one of my favorites. But I agree…lots of flavor packed into a small bite. I end up making small bite size pieces as well.