Coconut Raspberry Bars

 - Danish Family Recipe

Directions:

1. Make the crust and the raspberry jam (if making using this recipe) the day before or at least an hour before so it has time to chill in the fridge. 
2. In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the crust. 
3. Place the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap, cover it up, and press it into a rectangle. 
4. Place it in the fridge overnight or for at least an hour so it can firm up. 
5. Preheat your oven to 400*F (200*C).
6. Take a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. 
7. Take the dough out of the fridge and set on the counter for about 5 minutes. 
8. Heavily flour your work surface, remove the dough from the wrap and place it onto the floured surface and coat the top side generously with flour. 
9. Roll out the dough into a rectangle that fits your pan; if it breaks into pieces you can easily patch it together with your fingers. 
11. Brush off any excess flour. 
12. Fit to your baking pan. 
13. Bake until it shows spots of golden brown but is still a bit pale. 
14. Let cool for a few minutes then coat with a thin but even coat of raspberry jam (link to the homemade recipe) - I use about 350g for a regular size baking sheet. 
15. In a saucepan, pour your ingredients for the topping in and stir well while heating over medium heat for about 5-10 minutes or until it starts to thicken slightly but not create scrambled egg whites. 
16. Pour the coconut topping on top of the jam then spred it out evenly. 
17. Bake for 10 minutes more or until evenly golden brown on top. 
18. Allow to cool, cut, and enjoy!

Notes
- Depending on your oven, it might help to increase the temperature a bit when baking the topping and to raise your oven racks up closer to the top of the oven - this greatly depends on what type of oven you have and where the heat is coming from. 

- You can spray a baking sheet with oil instead of using parchement paper. 

- In an airtight container, the finished raspberry bars can last at room temperature for 3-5 days, up to 2 weeks in the fridge, or up to 3 months in the freezer.