Coconut Oatmeal Fudge Bars

I can't explain why it delights me to dress this girl up every year.  I also can't explain why I spend the $ to buy something that she will wear for exactly 5 minutes.  But delight me to no end it does. Wearing costumes once a year for 5 minutes is how this dog earns her keep and pays me for a year's worth of room, board and puppy treats.  

Yes, this is the look of death I get from Ms. Snarl Tooth  every Halloween. 

And when Brooklyn became the owner of a costume that she hated, I became the owner of PJs that I adore.  Thank you Nick and Nora--Boston Terrier costume goodness and Boston Terrier PJs in one happy Target trip.    Seriously, Boston Terrier Pajamas...can you believe it? Happy Halloween indeed.

So the food part of the post.  

I saw a recipe on pinterest for PB and oatmeal bars made with coconut oil.  It was touted as health food.    I wouldn't go that far, but it was very similar in concept to my Grandma's chocolate coconut oatmeal bars which made me wonder what would happen if I swapped out the butter in my Grandma's recipe.

The warehouses are starting to carry Coconut Oil in bulk...I saw the big tubs in both Costco and Sams.  It seems coconut oil is the current food phenomenon. 

 My grandma made these Coconut Oatmeal Fudge bars EVERY Christmas so this is one of those recipes that has a bazillion memories attached to it.  When my grandma passed on, my mom and my aunts made this every Christmas.  I can't recall a Christmas Eve ever when we didn't have these bars on the cookie tray.    I was a little hesitant to mess with nostalgia, but thought that since it wasn't technically Christmas, it might be okay.

These are a no bake bar so this recipe is really as easy as melting the oil with sugar and cocoa, bringing to a boil and then adding the remaining ingredients.  It takes 10 minutes tops and I truthfully couldn't tell the difference between the butter version and the coconut oil version.  These are definitely not health food given the 1 1/3 cups of sugar, but I loved that coconut oil could easily be subbed for butter.  I don't have the world's biggest sweet tooth so I've adjusted the sugar in these bars.   My grandma's recipe calls for a full 2 cups of sugar.  If you like your sweets, this recipe will work perfectly with 2 cups of sugar as well.



While we always had these for Christmas, these are not the typical Christmas cookies that you can whip up and leave in a Christmas tin throughout the holiday season. These are gooey and soft the first day but the oatmeal quickly begins drawing in all the moisture in the bars and these are pretty dry by day three.  If they last that long---but they never did at our house.

Coconut Oatmeal Fudge Bars

Ingredients
1/2 cup coconut oil

1 1/4 c white sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla 

3 cups regular cooking oats
1 cup coconut plus more for topping

Directions

1. Heat sugar, milk, cocoa powder, vanilla, and coconut oil to gentle boil over medium high heat.
2. Boil for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly 
3. Take pot off stove.
4. Stir in vanilla.  Mix in oats and coconut.
5. Spread in greased 8x8 pan and top with additional coconut
6. Let cool before slicing.