If you love the coconut-chocolate-caramel combo, these German Chocolate Bars are for you! My favorite cake turned into a simple no-bake cookie recipe, featuring an irresistible combo of chocolate, coconut, caramel and pecans.
Contents
Irresistible No-Bake Chocolate Coconut Cookies
When I was a kid, my mom would let us pick our own birthday cakes every year. Once I tried a German Chocolate Cake, it was my pick almost every year.
Who can resist the combination of chocolate, coconut, caramel and pecans? It’s definitely dessert magic!
When I started baking with dates, and discovered the caramel-like flavor and texture of dates, I thought about my favorite birthday cake.
My first date recipe was this Gluten Free Date Bars recipe. They are not only a personal favorite but one of the top recipes on Sunkissed Kitchen for over a decade.
These German Chocolate Bars are a variation that includes my favorite dessert flavors. To make them even better, they are no bake!
They start with an chocolate-oatmeal cookie base, topped with a caramel and coconut layer, and then have crunchy pecans and a drizzle of dark chocolate to top them off.
Too good not to try!
Plus, they are almost sugar-free – there’s a small amount in the dark chocolate. Thanks to the gooey dates, the chocolate coconut bars are plenty sweet. Even kids will think it’s actually a caramel dessert!
What You’ll Need
- Dark Chocolate
- Coconut Oil
- Dates
- Oatmeal
- Pecans
- Sea Salt
- Unsweetened Coconut
- Lemon Juice
How to Make German Chocolate Bars
Step 1: Line a 9×9 baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
Step 2: Heat dark chocolate and coconut oil in a double boiler over medium heat, stirring to prevent burning. Once chocolate is smooth, remove from heat and set aside.
Step 3: In a food processor bowl, combine the oats and pecans. Process to form a coarse flour.
Step 4: Soak 6 ounces of dates in hot water for 1 minute, then drain excess water. Add the soaked dates to the food processor bowl with the oatmeal mixture. Process to break up dates and form a sticky mixture.
Step 5: Add 2/3 of the melted dark chocolate and coconut oil, along with sea salt. Process until fully mixed.
Step 6: Press the chocolate oatmeal cookie dough into the base of the lined pan. Use wet hands to space it evenly in the pan. A pastry roller helps compact the layer of cookie dough and even the top (wet the pastry roller to prevent the cookie dough from sticking to it!). Tip: Place the baking pan in the freezer while preparing the date layer – it will help set the chocolate so it’s easier to spread the sticky date mixture on top.
Step 7: Soak the remaining 12 ounces of dates in hot water for 1 minute and drain. Add the soaked dates to a food processor bowl and process on high for about 1 minute. Stop the food processor, and scrape the date mixture of the sides of the bowl, and the process for another minute. Repeat until the date mixture is very smooth and caramel-like in texture (be patient with this process!).
Step 8: Add lemon juice, sea salt, and coconut to the date mixture, and process to mix together.
Step 9: Add the date and coconut mixture to the top of the chocolate cookie layer. Use wet hands to spread it out into an even layer, and a wet pastry roller to smooth it out into an even layer.
Step 10: Top the caramel coconut layer with pecans. Wrap the pan in foil, and freeze the cookies for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Step 11: Cut the bars into 16 or 25 pieces.
Step 12: While the bars are still frozen, drizzle with remaining dark chocolate and coconut oil mixture. Drizzling them after they are cut is easier than cutting them (the chocolate will break off).
How to Store German Chocolate Bar Cookies
These cookies are best stored frozen! Once the chocolate has solidified onto the cookies, pack them in an airtight container and freeze up to 6 months.
The date layer becomes extra chewy and caramel-like when it’s frozen, so these are best eaten right out of the freezer!
Variations and Tips for German Chocolate Cookie Bars
Don’t like Coconut? Omit the coconut in this recipe and they will still be delicious! It will be more of a caramel-pecan chocolate cookie bar.
No Pecans? Other nuts work too! Substitute the pecans for walnuts or almonds.
Nut Free Caramel Coconut Cookie Bars: Omit the pecans in the cookie base and sub 1/2 cup additional oats and 1/2 cup coconut. Omit the pecans used for the topping.
Other Medjool Date Recipes
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German Chocolate Bars
Ingredients
Chocolate Cookie Layer
- 1 cup oats gluten free, if necessary
- 1 cup pecans
- 6 ounces dates (about 1 cup packed Medjool dates), pitted
- 3 1/2 ounces dark chocolate *divided
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Date-Coconut Layer
- 12 ounces dates (about 2 cups packed Medjool dates), pitted
- 1/2 cup coconut unsweetened
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Cookie Bars
- 1/2 cup pecans halves for beautiful presentation
Instructions
- Line a 9×9 baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Heat dark chocolate and coconut oil in a double boiler over medium heat, stirring to prevent burning. Once chocolate is smooth, remove from heat and set aside.
- In a food processor bowl, combine the oats and pecans. Process to form a coarse flour.
- Soak 6 ounces of dates in hot water for 1 minute, then drain excess water. Add the soaked dates to the food processor bowl with the oatmeal mixture. Process to break up dates and form a sticky mixture.
- Add 2/3 of the melted dark chocolate and coconut oil, along with sea salt. Process until fully mixed.
- Press the chocolate oatmeal cookie dough into the base of the lined pan. Use wet hands to space it evenly in the pan. A pastry roller helps compact the layer of cookie dough and even the top (wet the pastry roller to prevent the cookie dough from sticking to it!). Tip: Place the baking pan in the freezer while preparing the date layer – it will help set the chocolate so it’s easier to spread the sticky date mixture on top.
- Soak the remaining 12 ounces of dates in hot water for 1 minute and drain. Add the soaked dates to a food processor bowl and process on high for about 1 minute. Stop the food processor, and scrape the date mixture of the sides of the bowl, and the process for another minute. Repeat until the date mixture is very smooth and caramel-like in texture (be patient with this process!).
- Add lemon juice, sea salt, and coconut to the date mixture, and process to mix together.
- Add the date and coconut mixture to the top of the chocolate cookie layer. Use wet hands to spread it out into an even layer, and a wet pastry roller to smooth it out into an even layer.
- Top the caramel coconut layer with pecans. Wrap the pan in foil, and freeze the cookies for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Cut the bars into 16 or 25 pieces.
- While the bars are still frozen, drizzle with remaining dark chocolate and coconut oil mixture. Drizzling them after they are cut is easier than cutting them (the chocolate will break off).
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Is there a way to make this with soaked oats?
If you used soaked oats, you would need to dehydrate them before putting these together– otherwise they would turn out really soggy! Let me know if you try it though!