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These Pineapple Coconut Bars are made with a shortbread crust and a super easy pineapple coconut filling. They’re full of flavor and so good, it’s hard to eat just one!
Why You’ll Love These Pineapple Coconut Bars
You can’t help but feel like you’re on vacation when eating these tropical dessert bars. I can’t wait for you to try them!
- Easy to make. Bars are such a great thing to make when you want something simple or are short on time. These come together SO quickly!
- Shortbread crust. They start with a buttery shortbread crust that stays nice and firm when it’s baked. Shortbread is nice and easy things to make, and it’s the perfect base for these bars.
- Lots of flavor. The bulk of the filling, aside from sugar and eggs, is the pineapple and coconut, so they provide a ton of flavor in these bars. Plus, the pineapple is full of moisture.
- Grandma’s recipe. One thing you should know about these bars is that they’re from my grandmother’s cookbook, so they’re special! Her cookbook is actually a little spiral notebook full of clippings from newspapers, family recipes and all kinds of little treasures like her handwriting and baking tips.
- Prize winning. This recipe comes from a newspaper clipping she saved. It was sent in to the West Virginia Black Walnut Festival Cook-Off by a Mrs. Gladys Carper of Lefthand, West Virginia. These bars took first place. How fun is that?! While the original recipe included walnuts, I did leave them out.
What You’ll Need
Before you start making this recipe, check out my ingredient tips and substitutions. You can find full ingredient amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Shortbread Crust
- Butter – The original recipe called for margarine, but I think butter gives the crust the best flavor and texture. I use unsalted butter, but you can use salted butter. Just leave out the salt, if you do.
- Flour
- Sugar
Pineapple Coconut Filling and Toppings
- Sugar
- Flour – Helps the filling to thicken and set properly.
- Baking powder – Helps the filling to rise just a little.
- Salt – Enhances the flavors. Without it, the bars would be bland.
- Eggs – You’ll need 2 large eggs (not medium or extra large).
- Vanilla extract – For flavor!
- Flaked coconut – I used sweetened flaked coconut, but you could also use unsweetened, if desired.
- Crushed pineapple – Pineapple preserves were actually used in the original recipe. I wanted to use something a little more easy to find and I didn’t want to end up with a half used jar of pineapple preserves in my fridge. So I swapped it out for drained crushed pineapple, which spreads throughout the filling better than pineapple chunks or another variety.
How to Make Pineapple Coconut Bars
Learn how to make these bars by familiarizing yourself with these easy step-by-step directions. More comprehensive directions can be found in the recipe card.
Make the Crust
- Prepare to bake. Line the bottom of a 9×9 pan with parchment paper that sticks up above the edges on two sides. Grease the other sides. Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Mix crust ingredients. Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter and vanilla and stir together until it forms a dough.
- Press dough in pan. Press the shortbread dough evenly into the bottom of the pan.
- Pre-bake crust. Pre-bake the crust at 350°F for 10-15 minutes. Set aside.
Make the Filling and Bake
- Whisk together dry ingredients. Whisk together sugar, flour, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl.
- Add eggs and vanilla. Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
- Add fruit. Stir in coconut and pineapple until fully incorporated.
- Top crust with filling. Spread filling evenly over crust.
- Bake. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until edges are golden.
- Cool. Allow to cool completely on the counter and then in the fridge until cold and firm.
- Slice and serve!
Tips for Success
- Use parchment paper. If using parchment paper to line your pan (which I recommend), allow some to come up and over the sides of the 9×9 pan. This will help you lift the bars from the pan in a mess-free way and make it easier to slice them.
- Measure accurately. I always recommend a food scale, but the spoon and level method also works. This is particularly important for your flour, so you have a dry, hard crust.
- Don’t over mix. Just mix the crust ingredients until everything comes together. Mixing it too much could give you a tough, overly firm crust.
- Let them cool. Give the bars time to cool completely before attempting to cut them so that the filling has time to set and is cool enough. Otherwise, they won’t be firm enough to handle.
How to Store Them
- Fridge. These dessert bars should always be stored in the fridge; the fruit might spoil if kept on the counter. Keep them in an airtight container and enjoy within 4-5 days. If you’re stacking the bars, place a sheet of parchment paper between each layer to help keep them from sticking together.
- Freezer. Pineapple Coconut Bars are freezer friendly. First, flash-freeze the bars on a baking sheet for 30 minutes to an hour. Then, transfer them to a freezer-safe container between layers of parchment paper if being stacked. Thaw frozen bars in the fridge before serving.
Variations
- Change the type of pineapple. I liked the taste and texture of crushed pineapple for these bars because it spreads better throughout the filling. However, if you like having bigger chunks of fruit, pineapple tidbits would work, too. You could also try pineapple preserves if you happen to have any on hand. Just omit the pineapple and add in 1/2 cup of pineapple preserves. The preserves would be spread on top of the crust before adding the coconut mixture.
- Add walnuts. If you’d like to add walnuts (as the original recipe did), you can add between 1/2 to 1 cup, depending on how nutty you want it.
More Recipes with Pineapple
- Pineapple Upside Down Trifles
- Pina Colada Layer Cake
- Pina Colada Cookie Cups
- Pina Colada Pie
- Pineapple Layer Cake
- Pineapple Upside Down Cake
This recipe was updated slightly on 8/7/2024. For the original version, download this PDF.
Print
Pineapple Coconut Bars
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 16-20 Bars
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Pineapple Coconut Bars are made with a shortbread crust and a super easy pineapple coconut filling. They’re full of flavor and so good, it’s hard to eat just one!
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust
- 1 cup (130g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (104g) sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
Filling
- 1 cup (207g) sugar
- 2 tbsp (16g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (113g) sweetened flaked coconut
- 20 oz can crushed pineapple, drained
Instructions
Make the Crust
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray the bottom and sides of a 9×9 pan with baking spray, then line it with parchment paper that sticks up above the edge on two sides of the pan, so that you can remove the bars later for easy cutting. Set pan aside.
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To make the crust, combine the flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl.
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Add the melted butter and vanilla extract and stir together until it forms a dough.
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Crumble and distribute evenly over the bottom of the pan and press into the bottom of the pan.
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Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the edges are just getting lightly browned. Remove from oven and set aside.
Make the Filling
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To make the filling, whisk together the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl.
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Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until well combined, then stir in the shredded coconut and pineapple.
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Spread the mixture evenly over the crust and bake for 20-25 minutes, until edges are golden.
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Allow to cool at room temperature for an hour, then refrigerate until cold and firm. Cut into squares and serve. Store bars in an air-tight container in the fridge. Best if eaten within 4-5 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Bar
- Calories: 166
- Sugar: 18.3 g
- Sodium: 84.6 mg
- Fat: 6.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 24.8 g
- Protein: 1.7 g
- Cholesterol: 30.8 mg
Can you use fresh or the refrigerated jarred pineapple instead of canned in this recipe. Thanks!
I haven’t ever tested fresh or jarred pineapple, but I’d think it’d be fine.
Can this baked be check in the normal manner in the oven to insure its fully baked using a cake tester or is it too moist for that?
A cake tester won’t really work in this case.
Do you still have the photo of this recipe from the notebook? It has Mrs. Carper’s great recipe for preserving children on the same page. I saw it recently on Facebook but couldn’t find your original image on your Facebook page.
You can find that image here.