German Chocolate Cookie Bars have a chewy chocolate cookie layer topped with gooey homemade German chocolate coconut frosting.
These German chocolate cookie bars are perfectly chewy with a crunchy, yet gooey coconut frosting topping. They are heavenly! And SO EASY to make! I have probably made these German Chocolate Cookie Bars at least 5 times since the beginning of the year. I love them! I got this recipe from our friends over at Six Sisters Stuff who adapted the recipe from Paula Deen.
These would be a great treat for Easter– just shake up some green food coloring with the coconut before adding it to the recipe and add little mini eggs to the top. You can’t go wrong with these bars. They are a new favorite at our house! They are so gooey and delicious! Oh and did I mention they are super EASY? I almost always have all the ingredients on hand so I make these whenever I have a sweet tooth and I don’t want to make a trip to the store!
UPDATE:
As you will see in the recipe below you can use either a German Chocolate Cake Mix or a Devil’s Food Cake Mix. Originally we started off ALWAYS making it with German chocolate cake mix but when I was craving these and found all I had in the pantry was a Devil’s Food Cake mix I made it with that and haven’t gone back since. They were way more moist and I liked the taste better. Since I made this discovery months after we posted the first time, it was too late to change the name.. so we still call them German Chocolate Cookie bars but really we like them best when they are “Devil’s Food Cake bars with coconut topping”. Both ways are delicious so if you want to keep with the German theme, feel free to stick with it. You really can’t lose.
German Chocolate Cookie Bars
INGREDIENTS
Crust:
- 1 box devil's good cake mix not the kind with pudding added* (see comments above
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 large egg
Filling:
- 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk (fat free works great too)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan (I used non-stick cooking spray).
- In a medium bowl, mix together the cake mix, butter and egg, and press into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- The crust should not come up the sides.
- Bake for 7 minutes and remove from the oven. The crust will not look done.
- While the crust is baking, mix together the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, egg, pecans and coconut.
- Pour evenly over the warm crust.
- Sprinkle evenly with the chocolate chips.
- Bake for 24-30 minutes, until the top is a light golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and cool completely before cutting into squares.
Other Favorite Cookie Bar Recipes
You can’t go wrong with these delicious German Chocolate Cookie Bars but if you are looking for MORE delicious treats like this one, give some (or all) of these a try:
- Caribbean Coconut Fudge Bars: These tasty bars come straight from St. John’s in the Caribbean. Chocolate and coconut is ALWAYS a winning combination! You will love all the delicious layers of these bars!
- Coconut Lime Cheesecake Bars: Craving a taste of the islands but looking for something more on the fruity side? You have GOT to try these coconut lime cheesecake bars. One of the most popular recipes on our site!
- Coconut Pecan Cookie Bars: These cookie bars are SO easy to whip up. No cake mix needed! Only a few easy ingredients and you’ve got yourself dessert in about 30 minutes!
- We have MANY MANY more cookie and bar recipes… check them ALL out HERE!
Denise says
March 18, 2013 at 8:18 pmI’ve made something very similar to these before and they’re super good! Thanks for reminding me of this great recipe!
Elizabeth Resendez says
March 18, 2013 at 9:03 pmMmmmm these look so good, so obsessed with chocolate :/ oh and I still can’t believe I won your iPad mini giveaway, thank you so much.
Emily says
March 18, 2013 at 10:26 pmIt’s on it’s way!!!
Kathy says
March 19, 2013 at 9:20 amWow! These look so good. I love to make cookie bars. They are so easy!
Karen Petersen says
March 21, 2013 at 9:21 amum yes please!
carmamma says
April 4, 2013 at 8:21 amJust came across this image and recipe (taken FROM you) on a Facebook page with no link or mention of where it was taken from.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=535216393195543&set=a.529893487061167.1073741826.529892423727940&type=1
Annette says
August 23, 2013 at 12:45 pmI am not a cook or a baker. I wish the directions stated that the crust needed to be cooled before putting the condensed milk mixture on it. What I thought was going to be a easy delicious desert just landed in the trash. Total disaster.
Erica says
August 25, 2013 at 6:27 pmYou are supposed to put it over the warm crust… it should be slightly undercooked. You don’t cut the bars until they are cooled or they will be too gooey.
kassie says
January 31, 2017 at 12:32 pmHow long do you usually wait until it’s completely cool?
Echo says
February 2, 2017 at 12:33 pmUsually 30-60 minutes. Sometimes I will put them outside on a cold day and they will cool quicker. Thanks for asking!
Bree says
February 16, 2014 at 4:55 pmI am so excited to make these but realized I bought the Devils Food with the pudding mix added. Will it ruin the recipe?
Erica says
February 17, 2014 at 2:50 amNo, that is totally fine. It will still be great! 🙂
Caroline says
May 28, 2014 at 10:32 pmHey I am planning to make these soon, they look absolutely amazing! I have one question when I mix the cake mix with butter and eggs, do I use a mixer, or do I use a spoon
Erica says
May 29, 2014 at 11:43 amYou can use either…. but a mixer would be much easier!
Barbara says
October 7, 2014 at 7:57 amI made these today for my daughter to take to school for a party in her German class. I omitted the nuts due to obvious reasons (never knowing if their is a nut allergy in the bunch). Went together really quick and are baking now.
K says
January 19, 2015 at 7:17 ammay I substitute German chocolate mix for Devils food? Tx.
Echo says
January 20, 2015 at 7:47 amYes, you can use either one and it will turn out great!
Debbie Timmons says
March 28, 2015 at 8:10 pmdo these bars need to be stored in refrigerator or room temperature ?
Echo says
March 30, 2015 at 4:39 pmThey don’t need to be stored in the refrigerator unless you prefer to serve them cold. I think they taste best at room temperature. Thanks for asking!
Crystal Smith says
September 8, 2015 at 10:08 pmI am making these at 10:00 pm. They smell so good right now. Thanks for the recipe. Mine are taking a bit longer to cook as I used homemade sweetened condensed milk which was a bit thinner.
Patricia says
December 19, 2015 at 6:29 pmAfter reading all comments, I am going try this. Making cookies, fudge, etc for Christmas gifts. This will be a good addition
Shirley Willard says
April 1, 2016 at 7:27 pmWhere is the German chocolate? Why call them German Chocolate Bars when there isn’t any German chocolate?
Bernadette says
April 29, 2016 at 11:54 amI used German Chocolate pudding cake and it turn out a little more than golden brown and a little burnt around the edges, otherwise it was still very good. Very easy to make.
Debra Weir says
June 3, 2016 at 9:50 amI forgot to buy stick butter can I use crock butter?
Erica says
June 3, 2016 at 9:08 pmIf it is “real” butter, than sure, crock butter should be ok!
Debbie says
June 3, 2016 at 6:24 pmThey are delicious!! I will be making them again.
Pat Barnes says
June 7, 2016 at 8:21 amI made these yesterday with a German chocolate cake mix and an entire 12 oz. package of milk chocolate chips on top. WOWZA! They are GREAT. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Erica says
June 8, 2016 at 7:07 pmSo glad you liked them! 😀
Kathy says
June 17, 2016 at 12:53 pmIs it supposed to look under baked when you take it out after the 30 min bake time?
Erica says
June 22, 2016 at 12:26 amYou may want to keep it in a little longer and keep checking every few minutes
Nichole says
March 31, 2017 at 12:44 amThis is not GERMAN Chocolate Bars this is Deviled Food Bars. German Chocolate cake is a type of chocolate named for a man whose last name is German. So you would need to use a GERMAN Chocolate cake mix for this to fall under that category!
Sally says
April 4, 2017 at 4:25 pmGerman chocolate is a fairly common colloquialism for desserts that have chocolate, coconut and nuts. If it makes you feel better, just buy the cake mix that says German chocolate on the label. Amazing what people find to grouse about these days . . .
Vicky says
June 17, 2017 at 5:53 amSeriously? SMH.
Vicky says
June 17, 2017 at 5:50 amMy kind of baking! I used to love scratch baking when I was younger, but not so much these days. Thanks and pinned.
Laura says
July 23, 2017 at 12:16 pmHas anyone tried making these using gluten free cake mix?
Patty says
September 6, 2018 at 6:10 amLooks yummy can these be frozen ?
Favorite Family Recipes says
September 10, 2018 at 9:15 amYes, you should be able to freeze these just fine. 🙂
Barb says
December 20, 2018 at 10:38 amJust finished baking these delicious cookie bars. Moist, rich, and chocolatey. I have a new addition to our yearly Christmas cookie platter. Yummy!!!
Favorite Family Recipes says
December 21, 2018 at 11:51 amSo glad you liked them! Thank you for the 5 stars! Merry Christmas!
Crissie Joyce says
February 24, 2019 at 2:02 pmThey are in the oven now!!!
I am taking them to Birthday
Social at church tonight and
Can’t wait to try them.😊😊
Favorite Family Recipes says
February 26, 2019 at 9:03 amOooh yum! I hope they were a hit!
Lisa says
April 16, 2019 at 3:48 pmJust took these out if the oven…they smell great! Can’t wait till ypthey cool enough to have one!
Erica says
April 17, 2019 at 10:00 amOoh let us know how you liked them! Thanks for the 5-stars!