Gooey Lemon Coconut Bars — If you like traditional lemon bars, you’ll LOVE this EASY recipe for soft, chewy, and oh-so-gooey lemon bars!! Loaded with white chocolate and coconut!!
Gooey Lemon Bars (with Cake Mix!)
It’s an easy, 6-ingredient recipe that will be a hit with lemon and white chocolate lovers. While you can taste the coconut, it’s not overwhelming, but if you’re truly not a coconut fan you could likely omit it and shorten the baking time by about 5 minutes, but I’m just guessing because I haven’t personally tried.
The lemon base is soft and chewy, there’s coconut and white chocolate chips for extra texture, and sweetened condensed milk keeps them juicy and moist.
What’s in Lemon Coconut Bars?
To make these gooey lemon bars with cake mix, you’ll need:
- Boxed lemon cake mix
- Unsalted butter
- Egg
- Sweetened shredded coconut
- White chocolate chips
- Sweetened condensed milk
How to Make Lemon Coconut Bars
The bars start off with a box of lemon cake mix. If you don’t use cake mix or don’t have cake mix in your area, this may not be the recipe for you.
Don’t follow the directions on the box because you’re not making cake – you’re making gooey bars — so follow my directions below.
Beat the butter until creamy, then mix in the cake mix and egg. Press about half of the mixture into the bottom of a foil-lined 9×9-inch pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and coconut, then drizzle with about 8 oz. of sweetened condensed milk.
Add the rest of the dough on top in 1-inch chunks. Bake until done, then let cool before slicing.
Can I Double This Recipe?
Yes, just double the ingredients and bake in a 9×13-inch baking dish. The bake time should be roughly the same.
Tips for Making Ooey Gooey Lemon Bars
You should add the cake mix to the mixing bowl like a dry ingredient. Do NOT make the cake mix like it instructs on the side of the box.
Because the bars will be loose and gooey as you take them out of the oven, make sure to allow them to cool for a few hours (overnight if you can plan ahead) if you want nice clean squares because they’re incredibly gooey right out of the oven.
If you don’t care about presentation, then dive right in as soon as the heavenly scent of lemon, coconut, and white chocolate is too much to resist.
Lemon Coconut White Chocolate Gooey Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, very soft
- one 16.50-ounce box lemon cake mix
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- about 60% of one 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk, use about 8 ounces, I use fat-free
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a 9×9-inch pan with aluminum foil (strongly recommended for easier cleanup) and spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- To a large bowl, add the butter and beat with a handheld electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy.
- Add the cake mix, egg, and beat on low speed to combine. The batter will be very thick. If it seems crumbly after beating for a few minutes, it will likely come together if you squeeze it with your fingers.
- Add between half and two-thirds of the dough to the prepared pan to form an even, smooth base layer (I used my hands); set remaining dough aside.
- Evenly sprinkle the coconut over the dough.
- Evenly sprinkle the white chocolate chips.
- Evenly drizzle with about 60% of the can (about 8 ounces) of sweetened condensed milk; just eyeball it.
- Add the rest of the dough in approximately 1-inch pieces over the sweetened condensed milk, lightly pressing it down. You won’t have complete coverage; this is okay.
- Bake for about 27 to 30 minutes or until edges are set and the center is mostly set; it’s okay if it’s a little jiggly. I judged the doneness by looking at the edges and as they turned light golden brown, I removed the pan from the oven. Because coconut and white chocolate are prone to burning, keep a close eye on the bars in the final minutes of baking.
- Allow pan to cool on a wire rack for at least 2 to 3 hours (overnight is better) or until bars have firmed up enough to cut.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Perfect spring dessert! We loved these!
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad you loved it!
I made these! Well, okay, I riffed on these. I *thought* I had a lemon cake mix but what I really had was a key lime cake mix. I figured the flavor profile would be similar so I used that. I also left out the coconut due to coconut-haters in my family. Anyway, these are gooey and delicious–but the green tinge may put some people off. Sometime I’ll try the recipe as written. :)
Haha about the green tinge! Funny I have never tried a key lime cake mix but can see that it could and would have a slight green tinge. Glad you enjoyed the gooey deliciousness of the bars!
You KNOW I’m in love with these!!
You are the gooey bar queen and you will always reign supreme!
Oh. My. Goodness. Lemon is my absolute favorite. I’m so happy you came up with a lemon version!!!
Thanks!
Lemon. Coconut. White chocolate. Dear god woman you’ve created my dream dessert. <3
Thanks and happy weekend :)
hey girl- I would sooo love these! yummy!
I’ve made the lemonies before and they are amazing!! These look even better with coconut! Pinned.
Thanks Anna for pinning!
These sound heavenly! I think I may have all the ingredients, too!
Lemon, coconut and white chocolate sounds wonderful together! These look so bright and cheery and I love the gooey factor:)
Thanks and yes bright and cheery this time of the year is the name of the game!