Macaroon Madness bars are a coconut lover sweet treat, with a shortbread base topped with a delicious coconut mixture. Finished with a chocolate drizzle for a pretty presentation.
- A coconut lovers sweet holiday treat.
- These bars keep well and freeze well.
- Based on the M&M bars that were a Canadian favourite!
Ingredients and Substitutions
Corn Syrup – corn syrup has gotten a bad rap in recent years, but a lot of that is based on confusing it with high fructose corn syrup, which is much different from regular corn syrup. Regular corn syrup is a glucose syrup, so it’s basically a sugar syrup and perfectly fine to use in moderation, like all sugars. Corn syrup is also an invert sugar, so that it prevents crystallization when baking.
All that said, if you prefer, you could substitute golden syrup, agave syrup or maple syrup, though the flavour profile will be changed to some extent. I haven’t tested any of these alternatives myself.
Coconut – sweetened shredded coconut would be the recommended coconut for these bars. Flaked coconut would also work. I haven’t ever tried these with unsweetened coconut.
Chocolate Topping – you can use both white and dark chocolate or one or the other. You could also omit the chocolate topping if you like.
Step-by-Step Photos
- Combine the flour, powdered sugar and butter (you don’t need to use a mixer to do this).
- Mix until you have an even, coarse mixture.
- Pour the base mixture into a parchment-lined pan.
- Press base mixture into pan and bake for about 8 minutes to set.
- While the base is baking, stir together the topping mixture.
- Pour topping over the par-baked base and bake for another 20 minutes or so.
Recipe Tips
- Don’t overdo the chocolate topping. If you add too much, it will over-power the topping flavours.
- You can reduce the amount of coconut slightly if you prefer a gooey-er bar.
- If using white chocolate chips, which don’t always melt nicely, add a bit of heavy cream to the chips to loosen them up.
- Use a fork to drizzle the chocolate over the cooled bars. It performs better than a spoon.
- These bars will keep up to a week in the fridge or up to 2 months in the freezer.
- If you want more, double up the recipe and bake in a 9×13-inch pan.
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Ingredients
Crust:
- 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup icing/confectioners' sugar
- 1 cup all purpose flour
Topping:
- 1 1/2 large eggs, beaten *see Note 1 below
- 6 Tablespoons corn syrup, or see Note 2 for alternatives
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons white granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch salt
- 1 cup sweetened coconut, shredded or flaked
Garnish:
- 1/4 cup semi sweet or milk chocolate chips, melted
- 1/4 cup white chocolate chips
- 1-2 teaspoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (regular bake/not fan assisted). *Reduce to 325F if using a glass pan. Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- Make the crust by mixing together the butter, powdered sugar and flour until you have a crumbly mixture with pea-sized butter pieces. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan and press into the bottom of the pan evenly.
- Bake the crust in preheated oven for 8 minutes.
- While crust is baking, make the filling by mixing together all the filling ingredients.
- When crust has par-baked, removed from oven. Pour filling over-top of the crust, then return to the oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until the topping is starting to colour a bit and the filling looks set. The filling should not be jiggly.
- Allow to cool in the pan, then cover pan with aluminum foil and pop into the fridge for at least a couple of hours (or more) to set before adding chocolate and slicing.
- Melt dark chocolate chips by microwaving in 20-second intervals, stirring well between and until melted and smooth. Use a fork to drizzle a bit over-top of the cooled bars in the pan. *You don't need to add a lot of chocolate and you may not use it all. Less is more, as too much chocolate can over-power the filling. Return to the fridge to set the chocolate, the melt the white chocolate chips with the heavy cream. Remove the bars from the fridge and drizzle a bit of white chocolate over-top. Return to the fridge to set the chocolate.
- Cut the bars: Lift the bars out of the pan by the parchment paper. For large triangle bars (as shown), first cut the bars into 4 squares, then cut each squares on the diagonal. (Make an + cut, then a X cut). This will make 8 large bars. Otherwise, cut into 16 smaller 2-inch squares, cutting 4 rows by 4 rows in the 8×8 pan.
- Store cut pieces in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can enjoy cold or let them come to room temperature for serving. The squares also freeze well for up to 2 months.
Notes
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Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Is golden syrup common?  I don’t recall seeing it on the supermarket shelf (US)
Hi Donna, it’s very common in Canada. The brand here is Lyle’s Golden Syrup and it is traditionally sold in little green cans. If you know a Grocer who stocks British things, you’re sure to find it there :)