Coconut Bars

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These Coconut Bars have a chewy sugar cookie bottom and are topped with a lime zest, coconut, and cream cheese mixture. Loaded with coconut-y island flavor, and perfect for a summer dessert or anytime you’re craving that island vibe. Want more coconut treats in your life? Try my Coconut Cake, Coconut Cookies or add a little chocolate and butterscotch and try my Magic Bars.

stacked coconut bars with bite taken out of one

What are Coconut Bars?

Coconut bars are a type of dessert made with shredded or flaked coconut as one of the main ingredients. My recipe consists of a premade sugar cookie dough base (my little time saving secret!) plus a mixture of cream cheese, sugar, egg, coconut and flavorings that are pressed into a rectangular or square shape and baked until golden brown.

Coconut bars have several variations such as no-bake bars, chocolate-covered bars, or bars that include other ingredients like nuts, dried fruit, or chocolate chips. The choice is yours, but I hope you love mine!

cut coconut-bars on cutting board with parchment paper

How to Make Coconut Bars

These are fairly simple to put together. For full recipe details, including ingredients needed and measurements, scroll down to see the printable recipe card. Here are the step-by-step directions to make these yummy Coconut Bars.

Preheat + Prep

Preheat oven. Spray 9×9 square pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Press Dough Into Pan

Press sugar cookie dough into the bottom of the greased dish and set aside.

woman's hand pressing sugar cookie dough into a baking dish

Combine Remaining Ingredients

In a large bowl, whip cream cheese with sugar and egg. Scrape edges and whip again. Stir in coconut extract and lime zest. Spread mixture over top of cookie dough to form an even layer and top with coconut.

Can I use unsweetened coconut in this recipe? Yes, unsweetened coconut is perfectly fine. The bars won’t be quite as sweet or quite as coconut-y, but it works if that’s what you have on hand.

woman's hand beating cream cheese and sugar

woman's hand adding egg to cream cheese and sugar in a bowl

woman's hand spreading cream cheese mixture on top of sugar cookie dough in baking dish

woman's hand sprinkling coconut over cream cheese mixture in baking dish

Bake

Bake for 20 minutes or until coconut is lightly toasted and cream cheese mixture is set.

Cool + Refrigerate

Cool to room temperature, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until completely chilled. Cut into bars and serve.

Make Ahead + Storing Coconut Bars

If you need to make these ahead of when you want to serve them, no problem! Just place bars in an airtight container and store them in the fridge for up to 4 days. Yes, you do need to refrigerate these bars since they contain cream cheese.

To Freeze: Allow bars to cool completely. Place into an airtight container and into the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge.

woman's hand holding coconut bar with bite taken out

More Coconut Recipes To Try…

Happy Baking! I hope you make these this week! If you do, I’d love it if you would give this recipe a star review and tell us all about it in the comments! The printable recipe card is below. Enjoy, friends! 🙂

Coconut Bars have a sugar cookie bottom and are topped with a lime zest, coconut and cream cheese mixture. Tons of coconut-y island flavor here!