Ingredients
Crust:
- 12 Tablespoons unsalted butter (1½ sticks), cold and cut into cubes
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 package brownie mix (I used an 18 ounce box)
- Water, oil, and eggs called for in the directions on the brownie box
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Coconut Caramel Layer:
- 3 cups sweetened coconut flakes
- 1 (12 ounce) bag of caramels, unwrapped
- 3 tablespoons milk or cream
- ⅓ semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- pinch of salt
- Preheat oven to 300. Cover baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread coconut evenly over baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to make sure coconut browns evenly. Set aside to cool.
- Turn oven up to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 baking dish. Combine all crust ingredients and cut with pastry knife, or mix with mixer or food processor until coarse pea-sized lumps form. Press into prepared baking dish. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare brownie batter according to package directions. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour over shortbread crust and bake according to box directions and toothpick test comes out mostly clean.
- In a small bowl combine caramels and milk. Heat in the microwave in 30 second intervals stirring in between until melted. Place toasted coconut in a large bowl and add the caramel stirring well to combine.
- Pour coconut caramel mixture over brownies and gently spread evenly over the top. It will be thick so you might have to gently press it in an even layer.
- Place chocolate chips into a zip-loc baggie and put into microwave for 20 second intervals. Squish the bag with your fingers to mix and smooth the chocolate between intervals. When melted smooth, snip a tiny piece off of the corner of the bag and drizzle over bars. You can also cool the bars and cut them and then drizzle each one with chocolate for a more finished look.