Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Special Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Coconut Bars


Special Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Coconut Bars
A tree, and Timon, during the 10 seconds of The Lion King where he's dressed in drag and doing the hula.

Necessity is the mother of invention.


As a mother, who has pulled more things out of her ear at the last minute invented a number of memorable meals based entirely on what's on hand in the fridge or pantry, I get this statement.  It doesn't apply only to food--you want to be a tree for Halloween?  They don't sell tree costumes in the store.  You need a Wilbur Wright costume for social studies tomorrow morning?  Which one is Wilbur anyway?*

The recipe I am posting today is one of those such inventions.  I'd roasted a pie pumpkin merely because I had some in the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve (don't rush to eat all your CSA winter squash--it will keep for a few months in a cool dry place) and I had the oven on already.  Truthfully, I tossed it in the oven after baking some muffins (that will be up in December, when you've got Band Fruit Fundraiser Citrus) and utterly forgot about it for a few hours.  I stuck the very-roasted pumpkin in the fridge until I could decide its fate--then fate stepped in, in the form of an email requesting parents bring a sweet treat for the band concert.

I had a cake mix, and I knew we always have success with Cake Mix Doctor® recipes, so I checked the Cake Mix Doctor® website and found this.  I hesitate to use peanut butter in anything for a school function, in case of allergies, so I swapped in my roasted pumpkin and made Chocolate Pumpkin Bars instead.  Actually, I made the pumpkin part, and I took photos of my tree sapling daughter making the rest.  Check it out!


Special Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Coconut Bars

Special Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Coconut Bars

Special Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Coconut Bars

Special Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Coconut Bars

Special Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Coconut Bars (adapted from Cake Mix Doctor®)

1 stick butter
1 cup roasted pumpkin
2 eggs
1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 bag Special Dark chocolate chips
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and grab your (or your neighbor's) 13 x 9 glass pan.  Melt butter (I used a 4 cup pyrex measuring cup which my daughter later used for the chocolate--use it twice, clean it once).  Combine melted butter, pumpkin, eggs and cake mix in a large bowl.  I used my stand mixer.  Blend for a minute, then save out 1 1/2 cups of this thick batter and spread the rest into the pan.
Set aside.  In that dirty measuring cup or another microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in the microwave on high power in 30 second bursts, stirring in between.  For my daughter, this took 3 intervals of 30 seconds.  Add the vanilla after the chocolate is completely melted.  Spread the chocolate mixture over the thick batter in the pan, and artfully decorate with bits of the reserved batter.  Bake 35-40 minutes, then cool at least half an hour before cutting into bars.

Special Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Coconut Bars

*I currently live sorta near Hawthorn Hill.  The house was designed by both Wilbur and Orville Wright after their success with the airplane, though Wilbur died in 1912 before it was completed.  I'm not sure who was responsible for this amazing shower in the Wright's home--I'm guessing Orville, since it was in his bathroom.  Check it out.  Pretty sweet for 1914, no? (Yeah, I don't have a photo of the finished dessert, I'm just tap dancing at this point.)

This recipe is shared with the Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up, What's Cookin' Wednesday, What's In The BoxFrom The Farm Blog Hop, Clever Chicks Blog HopTasty Tuesdays and Food on Friday.

10 comments:

  1. Great funny read first thing in the morning! This recipe definitely shows the value of having a well-stocked pantry. I'm not much of a baker, yet I always have everything in the photo (except that shriveled up pumpkin) on hand for baking, in case, by some extraordinary chance, I get in the mood for cake or cookies.

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    1. Lydia,
      I am frequently in the mood for cake and cookies, and I think my kids are ALWAYS in the mood, so you're right--a well-stocked pantry is a good thing. Lately, though, my cravings are all about tomatoes (BLTs and everything bagels with lox, cream cheese, red onion, tomato and caper) which I think is my body telling me to get it while the getting is good.
      Glad to make you laugh!

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  2. Dance away my friend. You've got the skills and apparently the shower to prove it. How very cool.

    I have plans to check out my root cellar this weekend when the Hubby is home so I can see about storing my squash. No more counter love for these babies. I want them to last.

    As an aside, do you roast the pumpkin, make a puree and then freeze it? Or do you just stash the whole pumpkin in your reserve until you're ready for use? Teach me Obi Wan. You're my only hope.

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    1. Meghan my young padawan,
      I wish I had that shower, though I'm pretty sure the historical society would frown on me showering in their museum buildings.
      I am assembling the 2013 New and Improved Strategic Winter Storage Area since I'm concerned about the new elderly rescued-as-males wiener dogs and their desire to lay claim to any vertical surface in my house. So far I've got a bookshelf and baskets, and I'm storing squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions and garlic. I'll need to think about a cover to keep the sunlight out (it's in the same corner as last year, but I moved the table that the Reserve was under, so there's nothing to block the sunlight.
      When I roast a pumpkin I usually don't eat it all, so I save 1 cup portions of scooped out (unpureed) pumpkin in bags in the freezer. I don't puree it unless it's going in soup. Perhaps I just roast the heck out of it, as evidenced by the photos above.

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  3. Om, nom, nom. I discovered the beauty of the chocolate/pumpkin/coconut combo last year. LOVE IT!

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    1. Sharlea,
      I will nom right alongside you--it's a yummy combo.
      Thanks!

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  4. These pumpkin bars look amazing! Especially loving that coconut addition, can't wait to make these!

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    1. Pamela,
      I'm glad I didn't have to have a finished photo to show how yummy they are.
      It's a tasty combination indeed. Thanks!

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  5. Love the throwback pic of the kids at halloween. Just perfect!

    Thanks for sharing and linking up. Can't wait to make these bars ASAP :)

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    1. Heather,
      I'm just pleased my kids didn't mind me using it. They are at that age.
      Thanks for hosting!

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