High Altitude Coconut Cashew Cookie Bars

Soft and moist sugar cookie bars, loaded with sweet and crunchy coconut flakes, and nutty cashews.

All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.

5 from 1 vote

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 40

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings18

1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 ⅓ cups granulated sugar (up to half the granulated sugar can be substituted with light brown sugar)
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1 ¼ tsp baking powder
1 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
½ cup unsalted cashews, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 350F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Lightly spray a 9x9 inch baking pan with non-stick baking spray.
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a bowl and hand-held electric mixer), beat the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add the vanilla and eggs, mixing on low until combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients, the coconut and the chopped cashews, and mix the dough on low, just until moistened. The dough will be very thick.
Pile the dough into the prepared pan. Since the dough is so thick and sticky, it can be a little tricky to spread it out. The best way is to butter your hands or a spatula and spread the dough out as evenly as you can.
Bake the cookie bars for about 28-30 minutes, just until the edges are set and every so slightly browned, but the center still looks a little underdone. Be careful not to over-bake these bars, or they will end up dry. They will continue to bake and set in the hot pan after you take them out of the oven. It's normal for the center of the bars to settle and sink down a little as it cools.
Set the pan on a cooling rack and cool completely before cutting, if you want to cut neat squares. These are also fabulous enjoyed warm, with a scoop of ice cream.

Leftover sugar cookie bars should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or wrapped well and frozen for 3-6 months.

Keyword Cashew, Coconut, Cookie Bars, High Altitude, Sugar Cookies