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Raspberry Coconut Oat Bars

If you love raspberry bars, just wait until you try these Raspberry Coconut Oat Bars. With their oat and coconut shortbread crust, sweet raspberry filling, and crumb topping, these bars are irresistible!

stack of Raspberry Coconut Oat Bars

Before we moved to New York, we lived in a small town where shopping for non-standard groceries could be a challenge. So, I understand having limited access to ingredients. Case in point: unsweetened coconut.

Most of us are familiar with sweetened coconut. You know, the sticky, sweet stuff. The kind of coconut that most of us have always used for making most of our coconut-filled baked goods. It’s the kind I use the most in baking, but sometimes a certain recipe just needs the unsweetened variety.

Unsweetened coconut is more about the coconut than the sweet. It just tastes like coconut. What a novel idea, huh? It really is worth the search.

sliced Raspberry Coconut Oat Bars on a cutting board

Anyway, that lovely coconut is one of the stars of these bars from one of my favorite bakeries, One Girl Cookies. We begin with a shortbread crust that’s packed with brown sugar and coconut and oats. That’s topped off with raspberry preserves and a little more crust.

There’s a little extra salt in the crust, which instantly make them a sweet & salty winner with me. Plus, raspberries and coconut are always a favorite combination.

This is one of those recipes that I turn to time and again when I need something simple to bake and share. They’re easy to make with ingredients I’m likely to have in my kitchen. Plus, the taste is just wonderful!

Find more bar recipes in the Recipe Index.

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Raspberry Coconut Oat Bars

Yield 24 2-inch bars
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 24 minutes
Total Time 44 minutes

Raspberry Coconut Oat Bars feature layers of buttery shortbread, sweet raspberry preserves, and coconut for a lovely and delicious treat.

stack of Raspberry Coconut Oat Bars

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup (85g) unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1 & 1/4 cups (150g) all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup (150g) packed light brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 12 tablespoons (170g) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
  • 1 & 1/2 cups (148g) old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup raspberry preserves

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Spread the coconut on a baking sheet. Toast 2-3 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
  3. Grease a 9"x 13"x 2" baking pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper.
  4. Using an electric mixer on low speed, mix the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt until combined. Add the butter and continue mixing until the dough begins to come together. Mix in the coconut and oats.
  5. Remove 3/4 cup of the crust dough. Set aside.
  6. Transfer the remaining dough to the prepared pan. Press evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake 14 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. The crust should be golden brown around the edges. Allow the crust to cool for 10 minutes.
  7. Spread the preserves evenly over the crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Crumble the reserved dough over the top of preserves. Bake 7 minutes, or until the preserves are bubbly. Cool completely in pan.
  8. Run a knife around the edges of the bars. Place a baking sheet or cutting board on top of the pan and flip the pan over to release the bars. Remove the parchment paper. Then, place a cutting board on the bars and flip again. Cut into bars using a sharp knife.

Notes

Recipe slightly adapted from One Girl Cookies.

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    27 Comments on “Raspberry Coconut Oat Bars”

  1. Looking forward to trying these. Should the butter be cold or room temp? Thanks!

  2. Raspberry & coconut is definitely a favorite of mine. I’m so excited to bake a batch of these. I bet I will have a difficult time leaving them alone.

    On Monday I made a double batch of the sour cream brownies that you had posted last week. I put the double batch in a 13×9 inch pan. It was the perfect thickness. They honestly were some of the best brownies I have ever made. I slightly undercooked them – which is what I was trying to achieve – so the consistency was definitely fudgy/cakey and perfect. Simply delicious! It’s a recipe that I will make again & again. Thank you for sharing.

  3. This is my kind of dessert!

  4. These look so fabulous! I use unsweetened, finely shredded coconut on an almost daily basis in my oatmeal for just what you said — coconut flavor, not sweetness. I add it into my baking often, as well, whether it’s muffins, cookies, granola bars, etc. Now I don’t know whether to make these or the sour cream brownies first. Decisions are hard.

  5. NRS, the original recipe did not specify softened or room temperature, so I used cold butter for a shortbread-like crust.

  6. I am seriously drooling over these right now. I want to make them and slather PB all over them!!! 🙂

  7. Raspberries are my favorite fruit! Combine them with a shortbread crust with coconut – Wowzers! Love it 🙂

  8. jennifer, did you use a pyrex pan or aluminum pan?

  9. NRS, I used a metal pan. I very rarely bake using Pyrex.

  10. Made these. They are absolutely yum!!!

  11. Used walnuts and sliced almonds and Pecan on top and turned to be fabulous

  12. will the
    GF measure for measure flour work with this oatmeal bar recipe?

  13. Hi
    I can only find dry packed coconut where i live. How should i cook them you rhink ?

  14. Huh, I’ve never heard of sweetened coconut. Anyway, this sounds delicious. Do they freeze well?

    • I’ve not tried freezing them, but I’d guess they’d do fine.

      • I made them, cut them into squares, and froze them. I put them in my kids’ lunchbox and they love them. In fact, I love the pastry so much I’m using it as my apple pie pastry. Thanks for the great recipe.

        • I’m glad they’re a hit for you, Wendy!

        • The flour sugar and butter never formed a dough. Just ressembled breadcrumbs Should I have added an egg maybe? Ended up adding a bit of water to make it a dough consistency. A bit of a disaster for me this recipe 😔

          • I’m sorry you had troubles, Cecile! This is a shortbread crust, so there’s no egg needed but accurate measurements are very important. The mixture may be loose when mixed, but it should hold together when you pinch it. Adding water is a good trick if yours isn’t coming together, but it can also make it tough so be careful.

  15. Hi instead of whole purpose flour what can I use substitute plz 

  16. Hi!  That was my question too –  can I subtstitute coconut flour for the all purpose?  We are not gluten-free people but we have friends who are.  Thanks!

    • Hi, Debbie. I’ve not tried that, but I’d guess it could be done with other modifications. You might check the manufacturer’s recommendations or do a Google search to be sure, but I think you need about 1/4 as much coconut sugar. You may need to cut back the butter or add some other dry ingredient to make up the volume.

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