Pina Colada Bars

I haven’t spent much time in the kitchen lately…I’ve been too busy going to fun places like Margaritaville!

If you’ve never heard of Margaritaville, you need to get your hands on some Jimmy Buffet music asap. His music is the perfect summer soundtrack and instantly transports you to a breezy island shore land. And for me, it usually transports me to my childhood. Because thanks to my dad, Jimmy Buffet music was also the soundtrack of my childhood. We always had Jimmy’s tropical songs about boats, beaches and “island time” drifting through our house. My dad even played Jimmy Buffet during my soccer practices…so all my friends from grade school know all about Jimmy and his classic “Fins.” So I’m sure you can understand my excitement when Jimmy Buffet himself came to Detroit for one of his fantastic summer concerts and we got tickets. But his concerts are a bit more than a few hours of great music. Jimmy Buffet fans, or “Parrot Heads” camp out for a full day of tropical tailgating before the concert. So what do you bring to a tropical tailgate? This dessert. Chock full of coconut, pineapple & lime, these Pina Colada bars are the perfect summer dessert. The bars are incredibly moist and decadent with a sweet and tangy pineapple glaze. I would suggest you whip these bars up, make yourself a boat drink and turn up the Buffet tunes, and soon you’ll be a Parrot Head too.

Ingredients: Makes 9 bars

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons coconut extract
• 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• lime zest from 1 lime
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Glaze:

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons pineapple juice

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy
2. Beat in eggs, one at a time
3. Beat in coconut extract, lime juice & zest
4. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder & salt
5. Slowly add dry ingredients into butter mixture and beat until well combined
6. Stir coconut and white chocolate chips into batter
7. Spread batter into a greased 9 x 9 baking dish
8. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes
9. For the glaze, whisk powdered sugar and pineapple juice together
10. Drizzle glaze over cooled bars