Lime Frosted Coconut Bars — The tropical flavors of lime and coconut infused both the bars and the frosting! White chocolate chips are studded throughout the bars to add a subtle sweetness to offset the tangy lime.
Tropical Frosted Coconut Lime Bars
If you feel like sending your taste buds on a tropical vacation, you can. Just make these better-than-Starbucks lime frosted coconut bars. (And they’re perfect for Cinco de Mayo, too!)
I glazed the bars with a simple confectioners’ sugar and lime juice glaze, and then topped with coconut. The glaze seeps into the bars and makes them even moister.
The extra bit of lime juice in the glaze really boosts the overall lime flavor, which is pleasantly bold and tart. When it comes to lime or lemon bars, I prefer a prominent zing to muted and subtle.
And by using both lime juice and zest in the batter, and with the lime glaze, there’s plenty of lime pop.
The bars are super soft with ample texture from the coconut and white chocolate chips. They’re dense, rich, and not cakey or crumbly.
The shredded coconut adds texture and a smooth tropical flavor, without being overdone. Coconut can easily dominate a flavor profile, but it’s nicely balanced.
There’s something about the flavor combo of lime and coconut that just makes me crave beach parties, warm weather, and letting the good times roll.
Throw in a little white chocolate and some sweet-and-tangy glaze, and I’m totally set!
Ingredients in Coconut Lime Bars
This is a super straightforward recipe that requires minimal ingredients. To make the lime frosted coconut bars, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Egg
- Light brown sugar
- Lime juice and zest
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Sweetened shredded coconut
- Salt
- White chocolate chips
- Powdered sugar
How to Make Lime Frosted Coconut Bars
The bars loosely follow my trusty blondies recipe that I’ve used in at least 20+ adaptations. I love the base recipe because the batter comes together in one bowl, without a mixer, in 5 minutes.
- Make the bars: In a large, microwave-safe bowl melt the butter.
- Add the egg, brown sugar, lime juice, lime zest, vanilla, and whisk until combined.
- Add the coconut and stir to combine.
- Add the flour, optional salt, and stir until just combined.
- Add the white chocolate chips and stir to combine.
- Turn batter out into a foil-lined 8×8-inch pan. Bake for about 30 minutes.
- Make the glaze: In a medium bowl, add powdered sugar, lime juice, and whisk until smooth.
- Evenly pour glaze over bars, smoothing it lightly with a spatula as necessary.
- Evenly sprinkle about 1 cup coconut over the top before slicing and serving.
FAQs
That probably would be fine, although I haven’t personally tried it so I can’t speak from personal experience. However, you’d need to double the ingredients and bake the bars in a 9×13-inch pan.
I imagine so! Simply swap out the flour for a gluten-free 1:1 baking flour. The bars aren’t meant to rise up tall and fluffy, so the GF alternative should work.
You must use shredded SWEETENED coconut flakes. Do not use unsweetened coconut flakes or the bars will not be sweet enough.
Tips for Making Coconut Lime Bars
- If you plan on freezing some of these bars, I recommend freezing them without the glaze for best results.
- I love the pairing of sweet white chocolate with coconut and lime, but you could use dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips too.
- Be sure to use both lime juice and zest in the bars, as instructed. Lime juice alone won’t provide as powerful of a lime flavor.
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Lime Frosted Coconut Bars
Ingredients
Bars
- ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 stick, melted
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ to ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lime juice, about 1 to 2 medium ripe limes
- 2 tablespoons lime zest
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut flakes, measured loosely
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
Lime Glaze
- about 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- about 2 tablespoons lime juice, or as necessary
- about 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut, sprinkled
Instructions
Bars
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large, microwave-safe bowl melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power.
- Wait momentarily before adding the egg so you don’t scramble it. Add the egg, brown sugar, lime juice (I used closer to 1/3 cup), lime zest, vanilla, and whisk until combined.
- Add the coconut and stir to combine.
- Add the flour, optional salt, and stir until just combined; don’t overmix.
- Add the white chocolate chips and stir to combine.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
- Allow bars to cool in pan for about 30 minutes before glazing.
Lime Glaze
- In a medium bowl, add 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, 2 tablespoons lime juice, and whisk until smooth. As necessary, add additional lime juice (or sugar) to reach desired glaze consistency. Glaze should be fairly thin and easily pourable over the bars.
- Evenly pour glaze over bars, smoothing it lightly with a spatula as necessary.
- Evenly sprinkle about 1 cup coconut over the top before slicing and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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My taste buds need a tropical vacation because spring is not happening. These bars look fantastic. Lime and coconut go so well together.
Hope it warms up for you!!
These look amazing! I love the combo of flavours!
These look and sound incredible! I love the idea if coconut and lime together! Sounds amazing. I make a lemon glaze like this over my shortbread but I’ve got to try it with lime too now!
It’s a great glaze. Just tart, sweet, and so good!
These look so moist..luv the combo of lime and coconut…I think a margarita would be the perfect companion.
Yes to wash it down with, for sure :)
These bars makes me want to jump on a plane, head somewhere sunny, sip margaritas and scoff these bars
You and me both :)
Cinco-de-Mayo perfection, for sure. I love the coconut/lime combo!
You gotta love a good one-bowl recipe. These bars look amazing. I love the bright flavor of limes.
Bright flavors – yes! You’re so right!
it just makes me want to sing, Put a lime in the coconut! LOL! I love these bars of pure goodness! So delicious
mmm! these are like a tropical getaway but in a cake bar. With the weather cooling down in Australia I am looking for recipe that restore some sun shine to the days. That texture is perfect!
While I might be a full on fan of white choc the limes and coconut are enough to sway me to make these.
I hope these are your last hurrah of summer kind of bar. I always forget you guys are opposite of us!
Oh, man these bars look AMAZING. I love tropical flavored desserts any time, but especially this time of year when the weather starts getting warmer and all the citrus fruit is on sale. :D These bars are calling out to me— I love how dense, moist, and non-cakey they look and I’ll bet they have a full-on lime flavor from the bar itself and that lovely lime icing! pinned.
Non-cakey and dense for sure. Full on tropical-ness indeed! Thanks for pinning :)
This makes ME want to jump on a flight to Aruba, too. Coconut+lime is one of my favorite flavor combos. I love the easy factor of these, too!
Easy, the way to go. You know it mama :)
I’ve never had a lime shortbread bar but these look amazing and so creative. I love every element in them and undoubtedly felt a tropical vibe from the title….I can see why they’d make you want to head back to Aruba! I think Jon would like these too–we love our chocolate and PB but something citrusy sounds refreshing.
Make him some margaritas to wash these down with :) After that margarita post, I had so many limes, Paula! They were so cheap. Like 6 or so for about 2 bucks and I was well-stocked :) PB & C is great but now that the weather is warmer, something about fruity is nice!
These bars might just take me on that vaca to Key West I’m been thinking about.
Usually, I just look up sunny vacation pictures in the Caribbean on my computer for that “free” getaway, but coconut and lime seems to have the same effect on me. And making these is much cheaper than the airfare =)
Oh they are so Key West, you’re right! I can hear Jimmy Buffet now :)
These look amazing! I love coconut and I love lime :-) These are pinned!
Thanks for pinning, Chloe!
These look delicious! I love citrus desserts and these look like a must to try!
Thanks for the recipe and your pictures-beautiful as always!!
Thanks for the photo compliments, Janet. I appreciate it!
Yum yum yum! I’m sold. Especially as the recipe seems so easy (I’ve yet to try it so we’ll see how that turns out..!) xxx