A soft, chewy coconut oat cookie bar base topped with sweet, fluffy lime buttercream frosting makes this Lime Frosted Coconut Oat Bars recipe completely irresistible!
Citrus fruits and coconut are some of my favorite combinations to enjoy. Whether I’m looking to get a taste of something tropical when it’s freezing out or wanting to enjoy it as a refreshing flavor in the summer, it doesn’t disappoint.
So when Starbucks came out with a lime frosted coconut bar, I was intrigued.
Until I saw the unnatural shade of green of the frosting and the oil splotch left in the brown bag.
After one bite, my husband turned to me and said, “It’s not bad, but you could do so much better.”
Later that week I headed into the kitchen to attempt just that.
I took the base of our Almond Joy Blondies and the frosting of our Frosted Lemon Sour Cream Cookie Bars and turned them into these soft, chewy Lime Frosted Coconut Oat Bars!
Swapping out the chocolate chips and sliced almonds for some oats to give a hint of nuttiness and baking the bars just until the edges turn golden to get the perfect chewy texture (without the excess oil!) makes these cookie bars irresistible!
For the frosting we used fresh lime juice and fresh lime zest in place of the lemon for the sweet, but not overly so, frosting. We also left out any odd colors and let the lime zest give the frosting a sprinkling of green.
The result was a chewy coconut oat cookie bar topped with a soft, fluffy lime buttercream frosting (that made it impossible to pass the pan without grabbing one!)! Super easy to make, and you don’t have to take a trip to the coffee shop to get one!
How to Make Coconut Oat Blondies with Lime Buttercream Frosting
Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Spray a 9×9 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray or line it with parchment paper.
The bars pictured were made in a 9×9 inch baking dish. You can use an 8×8 inch baking dish if you prefer a thicker bar and thicker layer of frosting. Just bake them a couple minutes longer.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, quick cooking oats, baking powder, and salt. Set the bowl aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, or with an electric hand mixer, cream together your softened butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract, and beat until creamy.
Add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients, and beat until combined. Stir in flaked coconut until combined.
Spread the dough into the bottom of your prepared baking dish. I like to use an off-set spatula to get the batter nice and even.
Baked for 20-25 minutes, or until edges just start to turn golden brown. Do not over-bake if you want a more chewy bar.
If you want a more cake-like bar, bake for the entire time.
Carefully remove pan to a wire rack to allow the bars to cool completely.
While bars are cooling, prepare frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or with an electric hand mixer, cream together butter and 1 1/4 Cups confectioner’s sugar.
Add in lime juice, lime zest, 1 teaspoon half and half and remaining 1/4 Cup confectioner’s sugar. Beat until fluffy.
Add more confectioner’s sugar or half and half, as needed, to reach desired consistency.
Spread frosting over cooled bars. Top with toasted flaked coconut and more lime zest, if desired. Cut into pieces, and serve.
Store remaining bars in an airtight container.
Tips for Making Lime Frosted Coconut Oat Bars
- You can use unsweetened or sweetened coconut. Just know that using sweetened coconut will make the cookie a lot more chewy (and not necessarily in a good way!) than if you use an unsweetened variety.
- If you are using unsweetened coconut flakes that have some really big pieces, you will want to give it a quick chop to break up those large pieces. You won’t want to take a bite of your cookie bars and have a big piece of coconut to chew through. (I used Trader Joe’s unsweetened coconut flakes and had to chop them up for this recipe.)
- Fresh lime juice will give a much better flavor than the lime juice that comes in the green bottle. If you can get fresh limes, go for those!
- Bake the bars just until the edges turn golden to get a chewy cookie texture.
Love cookie bar recipes? More dessert bar recipes to try!
- Strawberry Lemonade Frosted Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars
- Salted Dark Chocolate Pistachio Cookie Bars
- Peanut Butter Overload Cookie Bars
Lime Frosted Coconut Oat Bars
A soft, chewy coconut oat cookie bar base topped with sweet, fluffy lime buttercream frosting makes this Lime Frosted Coconut Oat Bars recipe completely irresistible!
Ingredients
For the Bars
- 1 Cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 Cup quick cooking oats
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 Cup butter, softened
- 3/4 Cup brown sugar
- 1/4 Cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 Cup flaked coconut, sweetened or unsweetened depending on preference
For the Frosting
- 1/4 Cup butter, softened
- 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 Cups confectioner's sugar
- 1/2 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1/2 Tablespoon fresh lime zest
- 1-2 teaspoons half and half
- 2 Tablespoons toasted flaked coconut for topping, optional
- additional lime zest for topping, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly spray a 9x9 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, quick cooking oats, baking powder, and salt . Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or with an electric hand mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Add in eggs and vanilla extract, and beat until creamy.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, and beat until combined. Stir in flaked coconut. Dough will be thick. Depending on the strength of your mixer, you may need to stir in the coconut with a sturdy spoon.
- Spread dough into the bottom of a prepared baking dish. Baked for 20-25 minutes, or edges just start to turn golden brown. Do not over-bake if you want a more chewy bar. If you want a more cake-like bar, bake for the entire time.
- Remove pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
- While bars are cooling, prepare frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or with an electric hand mixer, cream together butter and 1 1/4 Cups confectioner's sugar. Add in lime juice, lime zest, 1 teaspoon half and half and remaining 1/4 Cup confectioner's sugar. Beat until fluffy. Add more confectioner's sugar or half and half, as needed, to reach desired consistency.
- Spread frosting over cooled bars. Top with toasted flaked coconut and additional lime zest, if desired. Cut into pieces, and serve.
- Store remaining bars in an airtight container.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 223Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 131mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 1gSugar: 24gProtein: 2g
Nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online calculator and may not always be accurate. Nutrition values can vary greatly based on brand used. It should not be considered a substitute for a medical professional’s advice.
