When I received my assignment for this month’s Blogger C.L.U.E. post I was thrilled–I got Lisa’s blog. If you’ve been visiting me for some time then you’d know what a dear friend Lisa has become. We met through another blogging community nearly five years ago and have since built a friendship beyond visiting each other’s blogs from time to time. Lisa is beautiful, generous, kind, always positive and should be considered the Martha Stewart of the Bay Area. She is a dinner party hostess extraordinaire, her home a beautiful showcase of her decorating talents with tasty food to back it up!
Lisa knows good eats. I always tell people that if Lisa made it or if she recommends any restaurant, dish or wine, it’s guaranteed to be a winner. Each time we’ve gotten together for a meal it’s been an absolute treat. So, yes, selecting “something red” from Authentic Suburban Gourmet for this month’s theme was going to be fun but I also knew that it wouldn’t be easy to select just one recipe.
I would have been happy to randomly select a recipe from Lisa’s archives, fully confident that I would be pleased with the results. If you ever feel like making crostini to serve with wine for a party, she has enough variations to fill a cookbook. And her Fig Balsamic Jam? Well, I highly recommend it.
I must have printed three or four recipes–absolutely convinced that it was the one–before settling on her Raspberry Coconut Bars. Besides meeting the “red” requirement the recipe’s throw-it-all-into-the-bowl-and-stir method really appealed to me. I made substitutions to use what I already had in the pantry, so instead of raspberry preserves I used cherry. And when I realized that I had been hoarding sliced almonds (I had four bags) I replaced the pecans with them. Lastly, I used spelt flour simply because I like to use it whenever I can.
These bars were an instant hit at home. Cherries and almonds go really well together but the coconut takes them to new heights. My husband is neither a cherry preserve nor a coconut fan but when I suggested that he take some of the bars to our dentist during his appointment tomorrow, he flatly said, after tasting them, that they were too good to give away.
I quite liked them, too (Hello, almonds and coconut) but I say spread the love. I saved a few pieces for us to enjoy and I packed up the rest for my husband to take with him to our dentist tomorrow. They’re just too good not to share.
Thank you, Lisa for this recipe!
Please scroll down below for more red-themed eats from the rest of my Blogger C.L.U.E. Society friends.
Cherry Almond Coconut Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup sliced toasted almonds (or other nut, chopped)
- 1 1/2 cups spelt flour or all-purpose
- 1 1/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar lightly packed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut lightly packed
- 1 1/2 sticks 6 ounces unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup cherry preserves or your favorite berry preserves
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350℉. Prepare an 8-inch square baking pan by spraying it with nonstick baking spray and lining the bottom with parchment paper. Store-bought sliced almonds are usually already toasted but if you're using another nut, chop them and toast lightly on the stovetop until just a little colored and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
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In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients--almonds, flour, oats, both sugars, salt, baking powder and coconut. Stir the melted butter into the oat mixture until well-combined.
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Press 2/3 of the mixture onto the bottom of the prepared baking pan then spread the cherry preserves on top. Finish with the remaining oat mixture by pressing lightly on top of the preserves.
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Bake for 35-40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. The top should be golden brown. Cool in the pan on a wire rack and don't slice into bars until everything has set, about three hours. Cut into squares and serve.
Participating Bloggers:
- Bacon & Cheddar Savory Bread Pudding Bites by Lisa from Authentic Suburban Gourmet
- Banana Cranberry White Chocolate Muffins by Aly from Cooking in Stilettos
- Blood Orange Mojito by Anna from annaDishes
- Buffalo Roasted Chickpeas by Janet from Cupcakes to Caviar
- Cherry Almond Coconut Bars by Jean from Lemons and Anchovies
- Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Bark by Ramona from Curry and Comfort
- Garlicky Roasted Tomatoes by Azmina from Lawyer Loves Lunch
- Love Potion #9 w/ Raspberry Chambord Ice Cubes by Christy from Confessions of a Culinary Diva
- Madam Wong’s Pizza Rolls by Kelli from Kelli’s Kitchen
- Negroni by Kate from Kate’s Kitchen
- Paloma Naranjada Cocktail by Stacy from Food Lust People Love
- Pomegranate-Lime Granita by Debra from Eliot’s Eats
- Raspberry Amaretto Bundt Cake by Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Raspberry-Strawberry Puff Pancake by Alice from A Mama, Baby and Shar-pei in the Kitchen
- Red-Hot Currant-Glazed Pork Chops by Stacy from Food Lust People Love
- Red Velvet Cupcakes by Lea Ann from Cooking on the Ranch
- Roasted Asparagus by Kim from Liv Life
- Strawberry Chia Jam w/ Chia Seed Pancakes by Heather from girlichef
- Strawberry Vanilla Scones by Christiane from Taking on Magazines
- Tomato Herb Compound Butter by Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Turkey Joes from annaDishes
A wonderful recipe. Those bars look incredibly tempting.
Cheers,
Rosa
These sound and look great. Thank you and have a great day.
Oh Jean – I am SOOOOO happy you had my blog for this month’s challenge! Love that you dug into the archives for this recipe – I now need to make it with cherry jam and almonds. Thank you for the kind words. It has been an absolute pleasure to call you my friend and love getting together to dish about food, blogs and life! Cheers to you!!!
Fabulous choice. I adore everything in these. Wish I could reach through the screen and grab one.
I think I have everything on hand to make these… today! Mmm…
I love everything about these!
These bars look so delicious. What a great combo with the cherries, almonds and coconut. Yum! I’m with your husband, too good to share. 😉
Yay! I’m so glad you were paired with Lisa! It’s such fun to be a part of Blogger CLUE with “real life” blog friends. Aaaaaaaand, I second all the nice things you said about her, her home and cooking. I love jam in bars and am excited to try these soon!
What stunning photos! The bars sound simply scrumptious! 🙂
These look like MY kind of bars! I think these would be magnificent with any jam or nuts! I’m so glad you got to bake from your dear friend, Lisa’s blog—such fun!!
Liz, you are absolutely right. I think these bars would work with any jam or nuts. So happy for this recipe from Lisa…and for the CLUE group for encouraging me to find it. 🙂
These look amazing, Jean! I absolutely love the combo of flavors here, as well as your gorgeous photos!
Janet, thank you so much! It’s so fun to take photos of food that turns out this good. Very happy to have found Lisa’s recipe. 🙂
I love these kinds of bars! They looks so yummy!
Cherries and almonds are one of my favorite combos. I would have a heyday with these bars in my kitchen – brilliant!
This looks absolutely delicious! Definitely something I would make for myself. I love that you were able to form a true friendship with another blogger in this way!
These look so tasty – and healthy! I have all the ingredients in my kitchen so I need to try them right away because I know the people in my house will just love them!
I’ve been excited about this recipe since seeing the preview last night! LOVE every single thing about it, right down the the fact that Lisa made them originally. Beautiful photos Jean!
Kim, I have no doubt that you and Liv (and your boys) would love this. They were so easy that I can’t wait to make them again. I was so happy to find these bars in Lisa’s archives. 🙂
I can totally see why all your other options disappeared when you saw these bars. They look absolutely amazing. I love the combination of cherry and almond, of course, but the coconut would definitely give it that extra pop of flavor.
These look so great!
That is the absolute truth about Lisa, she has amazing taste and her kindness and generosity really shines. I may have to hit the gym a little harder this week and splurge on these bars, I think I may have one lone jar of cherry jam hiding in the pantry. Such a pleasure seeing you last month, my husband loved your cookies. Hope you have the best Valentine’s Day and that I see you again soon.
-Gina-
I love one bowl dishes like this. Pinning!
I love that you were paired with Lisa! Jean, I wish I could reach through my computer screen right now and have one of these amazing looking bars. I love the coconut and cherry combination. A must-try recipe for sure! Looking foward to setting our next lunch date soon!
-Lisa
Oooh, these sound lovely and look scrumptious! Great flavor combo. I have to make these soon!
these look fantastic!! im all about bars and these are no exception! great choice for Feb!
These look and sound soooooooo delicious. Definitely going on my to make list.
Wow…you had me at cherry…almond…and coconut! Favorite things…. These would be amazing!
You probably know this already, but Lisa’s blog is my go-to for appetizers. Such fabulous bruschetta!! Now, i’m going to need to remember her for desserts too. This looks fabulous!!!
I’ve never tried making streusel bars but these look amazing!
These look really fantastic. What a great friend you have in your fellow blogger Lisa!
I’ve never met a good crumb bar I didn’t like, these look scrumptious!