In last week’s Orange Biscotti post, I told you I’d be sharing the recipe for the Almond Joy Bars I took to the annual Anderson family reunion over Fourth of July. I’m keeping my promise.
I also decided to show off my family. Here we all are. Jerry–the head of this big clan is in the middle holding the two newest family members. And then there’s the rest of us–seven siblings and sixty-something spouses, grandkids, and great-grandkids. And there were at least twenty that should have been there but couldn’t make it this year.
As an only child, I love getting lost in my husband David’s big family. If you wander off for a few hours, no one notices you’re gone. And when you turn up again, everyone is so happy to see you. I also love how big families know how to dole out dessert. Coming from a small family, I plopped my biscotti and Almond Joy Bars down as soon as I arrived. They didn’t last long. If everyone had followed my example, we would have been out of dessert the first night.
Instead, David’s family knew better. In the spirit of their late mother, Aldoris, they squirreled theirs away, hiding mystery boxes in the freezer, brown bags in the pantry, coolers in their rooms. Just when you thought all the cookies were gone, someone with a wise grin would pull a container from the closet, and we’d all gush (and gorge) on the next treat–date balls, Oreo Truffles, Ritz Cracker Cookies (one of my new favorites).
Maybe I’ll remember to hold back next year. On the other hand, someone’s gotta go first, and maybe that’s the role of the only child!
- 7 to 8 whole graham crackers
- 6 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 cans sweetened condensed milk
- 1 package (8 ounces) shredded unsweetened coconut (about 2⅔ cup)
- 2 cups sliced almonds
- 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 375° Line the bottom of a 13- by 9-inch baking pan with a 12- by 20-inch sheet of heavy-duty foil so that it overhangs the 2 long sides (which you’ll use as a sling to pull bars from pan). Arrange graham crackers over the foil-lined pan bottom, cutting the final few with a serrated knife to fit. Heat butter and sugar in a small saucepan until sugar dissolves and mixture bubbles. Pour butter mixture over crackers; spread to cover. Bake until golden brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 325°.
- Meanwhile, mix 1½ cans of the condensed milk with the coconut and the remaining ½ can of condensed milk with the almonds. Spread coconut mixture over graham crackers and the almond mixture over the coconut layer. Bake until bars are firm and golden, about 30 minutes.
- While bars bake, microwave chocolate and oil in medium microwave-safe bowl until chocolate has melted; whisk to combine.
- Remove bars from oven and drizzle with chocolate. Rotate pan to evenly distribute chocolate. Refrigerate until chocolate sets. (Can be covered and refrigerated for several days or frozen for a couple of months.) Use foil handles to remove bars from pan. Cut into squares and serve.
Love these bars! I could eat the entire pan!
Good recipe and beautiful family.
I googled Almond Joy Bars yesterday, and you posted this today…and your recipe looks the best. Is that good timing or what!?! 🙂
These look absolutely delicious!!!! One question though, do you always used bittersweet chocolate or have you substituted chocolate chips?
Hey Kathy,
The chocolate is just a taste preference, so chocolate chips would be just fine! Frankly if I were really trying to replicate an Almond Joy Bar, I’d should have called for milk chocolate!
I assume you can make them without the almonds–the won’t fall apart or something, right? And then they’re Mounds Bars!
They’ll be fine without the almonds. They only downside is that you’ll be stuck with half can of condensed milk.
I had to throw mine out because the entire crust stuck to the tin foil. The rest was delicious, but just scoopable. What did I do wrong?
I’m so sorry, Jessica. I can’t say for sure what went wrong. All I know is I make this very crust all of the time for New and Improved Peppermint Bark, and it works perfectly every time for me. You may not want to try the recipe again, but if you do, try spraying the foil with vegetable cooking spray. That should help.
OK, so this has got nothing to do with Almond Joy Bars. My husband and I just had dinner on the screen porch on this beautiful Michigan summer evening. We were eating your Turkey Burgers with Goat Cheese, Caramelized Onion and Cranberry Relish (recipe from USA Weekend, June 2010) for the first time and a salad with your Low-Fat Basic Vinagrette (Losing Weight and Eating Great – our go-to cookbook of all-time) and they were both DELICIOUS and we were in food-heaven and I said, “It’s a two-Pam recipe night” and Dave said “Pam never lets us down.” So we toasted you and I decided to send you a note to say thanks for all the consistently wonderful, doable recipes over the years (even though I know you have heard this about a million times before).
Hey Deb.
You just made my week! Thanks so much for taking the time to share last night’s menu with me.
This is just so delicious and perfect for big gatherings.
Hi Pam, can you please tell me the weight of the Graham crackers? We don’t get them here in Australia so I have to substitute with other biscuits. Cheers, Thanks!
Hey Angela, Weight doesn’t really matter. All you really need are enough biscuits to line the pan, cutting them to fit. Let me know if you need anything else. Good luck! Pam
will the coconut and almond mixture be enough to fill the 9×13 inch pan? will the bard be thin or thicker?
I made these according to the recipe and they were a sloppy mess. Are you sure that TWO cans of sweetened condensed milk is correct? I’ve never seen this ingredient in more than one size, so I doubt that is the issue. I was so hopeful of a great product for the cancer treatment center patient lunch, but this recipe just didn’t measure up to an acceptable quality and I had to come up with something else at the last minute. Help! What did I do wrong?
Hi Frances,
Sorry for your troubles. It sounds like the condensed milk didn’t set up, which means it probably needed to bake a little longer. Different ovens, oven accuracy, altitude, etc. may be an issue, but I assure you the bars in the photo are from the recipe we developed. Take care.
These bars are a truly tasty treat. And, yes, the potential to eat the whole pan is a caution one should take if they make these! 🙂 I’ve shared the bars and everyone has enjoyed them and want the recipe, of course. Something so yummy is even better when it’s so simple. Thank you, again, for yet another great post and recipe.
Pam,
For the unsweetened shredded coconut, do you go to whole foods? I am only finding sweetened shredded coconut.
Thanks,
Karen
Hey Karen,
Yes, I get the unsweetened coconut at Whole Foods, but you can find it at grocery stores that have natural and health food aisles. The unsweetened coconut is dry and really absorbs the condensed milk. I think the sweetened flaked coconut might be too moist.