Piña Colada Bars

These non-alcoholic tropical coconut custard bars have chunks of pineapple and shredded coconut all on top of a crunchy graham cracker crust.

Prep Time15

Bake Time1 15

Total Time1 30

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC).
Line an 8″ x 8″ or 9″ x 9″ baking pan with foil. Leave an overhang on the sides and spray with nonstick spray. Set aside.

Use a food processor or blender to process full graham crackers into a fine crumb.
1 and ½ cups (150g) graham cracker crumbs
Turn the processor or blender off, add the butter and sugar, then pulse a few times until everything is blended well. Alternatively, you can add the graham cracker crumbs to a bowl and mix the butter and sugar in with a large spatula. Mixture will be coarse and sandy.
5 Tablespoons (72g) unsalted butter, ¼ cup (50g) firmly packed light brown sugar
Use your hands to press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Once it is evenly spread into the dish, use your hands or the bottom of a flat measuring cup to make the crust tight and compact in the pan.
Bake the crust for 8-10 minutes then remove from the oven and allow to cool while you prepare the filling.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a medium size bowl with a handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese and granulated sugar on high until smooth.
6 ounces (171g) full fat block cream cheese, ⅔ cup (134g) granulated sugar
Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating after each addition, and scraping down the sides as necessary. Add the coconut milk, vanilla extract, and salt and beat again until everything is combined.
2 large egg yolks, 1-14 ounce can coconut milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract2, ¼ teaspoon salt
Fold in the crushed pineapple and ⅔ cup of the sweetened shredded coconut until evenly dispersed.
1-8 ounce can crushed pineapple, 1 cup (120g) sweetened shredded coconut
Pour the filling into the pre-baked crust, sprinkle remaining shredded coconut on top, and bake for 70-75 minutes. Bars are done when the edges are set, the shredded coconut is lightly toasted, and the middle no longer jiggles. Allow bars to cool to room temperature in the pan on a wire rack. When bars are completely cool, chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
When bars are completely chilled, lift out of the pan using foil overhang and cut into squares. Bars can be stored covered in the refrigerator up to 1 week. Bars freeze well, up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator.

Room temperature coconut milk: at room temperature, coconut milk can still be separated into fat and liquid. Take care opening your can, or, if it's warm enough, you may be able to turn it into a complete liquid by shaking it before adding it to your other ingredients.
Vanilla extract: if you want to add rum to this, I suggest replacing the vanilla extract with rum extract. You can also replace with coconut extract. If you want to use rum extract and coconut extract, you can use 1 teaspoon of each.
Crushed pineapple: while the pineapple should be drained well, it does not have to be pressed or squeezed dry.

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