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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More Easy Coconut Desserts:
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Pineapple Coconut Bars — Eat your piña colada rather than drinking one with these fast, EASY, no-mixer bars that taste TROPICAL!! Pineapple, coconut, white chocolate, and cherries!!
“Impossible” Coconut Pie — A one-bowl, no-mixer pie with a short ingredients list that is SO easy to make and forms three different LAYERS while it bakes!! Mindlessly easy, goof-proof, and coconut lovers will go crazy for this MAGIC pie!!
Chocolate Coconut Brownies — Like eating a Mounds candy bar that’s on top of rich, fudgy brownies!! Easy and oh so good!!
Wow!, looks very delicious, making me feel hungry. Surely, it’s delicious with my all-time favorite “shredded coconut” ingredient on it!
I made these last week, they were AMAZING – so easy to make and very zingy, thanks!
I’m so glad to hear that you loved them! Zingy indeed :) Thanks for trying the recipe!
I’m loving all of these lime recipes from you! Especially this one. Coconut, lime, and white chocolate are divine together!! :) Pinned!
You know I don’t usually like white chocolate….but when I do its with coconut and something tart like limes ;) This is the perfect dessert that just brings all those things together
Seriously where is everyone finding these limes?! It’s like GA is the only State with a shortage or something! Rock hard and $1.50 each! It’s practically a crime….
Especially when you post something as delicious as coconut lime bars…it’s just too cruel! These looks delicious and as soon as I get my hands on some limes that cost a small fortune, I’ll be making it!!
ps- I posted your cream cheese chocolate chip cookie recipe today. I hope you got the link back but sometimes it doesn’t work. silly internet. Anyways, they were TO DIE FOR. I now want to put cream cheese in everything!
Never got that ping but off to see it now :) Glad you loved them!
And others have written about these pricey limes. Mine are 49 cents each at TJs and sometimes I can get 3 for a buck at the reg. groc store. If they are more than that, I wouldn’t buy them! $1.50 each for non-juicy limes sounds like highway robbery! ugh!
I love that you get to go to Aruba and make amazing desserts like this. Keep the lime recipes coming – I love them!
Oh if only coconut were really so easy. I have so many coconut haters in my life it saddens me. Thanks for the coconut fix while they weren’t looking. GREG
I know, there are total coconut haters out there. They’re crazy :)
These look so summery and luscious, Averie! I’d love to bake up a batch for my upcoming BBQ!
These bars look incredible! I am totally obsessed with coconut and love lime anything so this combo sounds perfect to me! I can’t wait to try it – thanks for sharing another stellar recipe Averie :) Pinned!
Thanks for pinning, Kelly!
Love these photos – so pretty! And love this combo too!
Wow, these look amazing! I love anything with coconut!
I’ll take one of these with one of those margaritas you shared the other day. What a great recipe. I’m totally digging these bars. Pinned!
Thanks for pinning, Julie!
Now these bars certainly are a vacation!! Pinned :)
Thanks for pinning and I wish we were on vacation somewhere with lime and coconut and tropical breezes :)
I really thought that slab in the first picture was one serving … don’t burst my bubble and tell me otherwise :) I am loving this white chocolate/citrus combo! I need to try it asap. Love the coconut, too! Three of my favorites all in one bar!
I’m totally loving your lime recipe kick! I tend to think of lemons and oranges when it comes to citrus, but rarely lime… The pairing with white chocolate and coconut sounds so tropical and absolutely irresistible! And your plates are so pretty. Where do you find them all??
These plates are in my house in Aruba. When I’m there, I find plates at the most random places. Usually Asian markets and they’re super cheap. Like 2 bucks each. When I’m in San Diego, thrift stores, Anthropologie, ebay, etsy, all over :)
I wish plates were that cheap here! I need to go thrift store shopping more often, but there just aren’t very many where I live. Aka, umm, 1 that I know of. That’s what I get for living in a college town; everything is dominated by Target and Walmart instead!
This must be delicious! Pinned it:)
Thanks for pinning!