Galley Goodness: Matt’s Cocon-oat Bars

This easy and quick treat is perfect for sharing with friends, new and old, at dock-tails and potlucks. It’s also a great addition to your own teatime festivities!

Quick and Easy Coconut and Oat Bars

Loosely based on Eagle Brand’s Chocolate n’ Oat Bars.

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup oats (quick or old-fashioned)
• 1 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut (harder to find than the sweetened version, but better)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2 tbsp. coconut oil
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat over to 350º.
2. Make the crumble. In a bowl, mix the flour, oats, shredded coconut, and brown sugar. Cut in the butter and coconut oil as if you were making biscuits. You want a crumble texture that sticks together when you squeeze it. (Hint: Pulse it all together in a food processor if you’ve got one.)
3. Grease a 9×9 baking dish, then press 2/3 of the crumble mixture into a crust. Bake the crust for about 10 minutes, until just starting to brown.
4. Remove from oven. Pour the entire can of sweetened condensed milk over the crust, then sprinkle with the chocolate chips. Finally, spread the remaining 1/3 of the crumble mix evenly on the top.
5. Bake again for about 20 minutes until the milk is bubbly and starting to brown at the edges. 

Cocon-oat Bar Chef’s Notes:

• Times are approximate; just don’t let it burn. 
• You could add more coconut-y goodness to this recipe, depending on what you have. For example, I had an open Coco Lopez Coconut Cream and added some to the crumble base. You might also consider adding some coconut milk to the sweetened condensed milk or even trying the vegan sweetened condensed coconut milk. 
• For a vegan option, try replacing the sweetened condensed milk with coconut sweetened condensed and the butter in favor of all coconut oil. Check your sugar and chocolate chips to ensure they’re vegan if desired. 
• You can cook it in any size of bakeware to experiment with thicker or thinner crumbles. Instead of time, use the GBD (golden, brown, and delicious) test to determine doneness. 

Note, this recipe originally appeared on the OG Boat Life Larks blog, circa 2015.