I’m not kidding! This really is made without a single bowl. From scratch. Find out how!
I am one of those people who always overcommits. Especially when it comes to anything food related. Then 7 out of 10 times, I find myself in a flurry at the last minute because I promised to bring something sweet for lunch with the girls, or to make something for my friends’ son’s school bake sale because she works full time and doesn’t have the time to bake something.
So it’s super handy to have a few really fast sweet recipes up your sleeve and this is one of mine. The other two standbys I have are my No Bake 5 Ingredient Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars and my friend Helen from Scrummy Lane’s 6 Ingredient Swedish Chocolate Cake (which doubles as a super fast brownie too!).
I know you’re probably wondering how on earth these bars are made without using a bowl at all so I’ll cut straight to the chase!
A picture says a thousand words – well, 12 pictures in this case – so here’s the recipe. You don’t need me to write there recipe out for you, do you? 😉
Basically, this bar is made by creating a biscuit base using melted butter (which I melt in the pan while the oven is heating) then pressing in crushed biscuits. Then it’s topped with desiccated coconut, nuts (your choice!), chocolate chips, then finally topped with condensed milk which is what brings the whole bar together. I reserve some nuts and choc chips to garnish the top with because I think it looks prettier, but that’s optional. 🙂
The end result? These bars are fabulous. The base is like a cheesecake crumb base. The inside is lovely and chewy from the condensed milk and coconut which meld together to almost become like a caramel. Then there’s the soft crunch of nuts and of course, the chocolate. Chocolate makes everything better!
This is one of those recipes that is not a “hack”, but rather an incidental side benefit is that it can be made without dirtying a single bowl. I would make these even if I had to use a bowl to make them!
So keep this one tucked away for one of those days when you’re in a rush and you’ve promised to make a sweet treat for your family or friends!! – Nagi x
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No Bowl Chocolate Nut Bars
Ingredients
- 3.5 oz / 100g unsalted butter , cut into a few pieces
- 1 cup crushed Graham crackers or other plain sweet biscuits (Note 1)
- 1 cup desiccated coconut (unsweetened)
- 1 cup chopped nuts of choice (I used pecans, peanuts, almonds and pistachios)
- 1 1/2 cups (8 oz / 250g) chocolate chips (US - semi sweet will work great)
- 14 oz / 395g can sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
- Grease and line a 23cm / 9" square cake pan. (Note 2)
- Place the butter in the pan. Pop it in the oven for 2 to 3 minutes until just melted, then remove. Don't let it brown!
- Swirl the butter so it is evenly coating the base. Then scatter over the crushed sweet biscuits and press down into the butter.
- Scatter over the coconut, followed by most of the nuts (reserve some for the top), most of the chocolate chips, then drizzle over the condensed milk. Use a rubber spatula to smooth the surface and press down to compress the mixture.
- Top with remaining nuts and chocolate chips.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until the edge of the surface is dark golden brown.
- Allow to cool in the pan for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight. Carefully remove using the overhang of the parchment paper, remove the paper then cut into 16 squares. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Does this freeze well or hold up in transport? I’d like to make some for some relatives but I’d hate to make something that’ll fall apart or turn to mush.
Hi Jess, this holds up well, but if you prefer you can definitely freeze for transport! N x
I put it in the fridge after it cooled and it seemed pretty solid. It fit perfectly in the bottom of a medium flat rate box. I skipped the coconut. I also made your peanut butter cookies (which I had to make into a giant bar bc I think I overmixed it so scooping didn’t work, lol), Mary Berry’s banana bread, and some chocolate MnM bark for a care package for my sister in law’s family who had an uncle pass away recently due to covid. I love your website and how detailed the recipes are. Keep up the great work!
I’ve probably made this five times by now for potlucks and other social gatherings and it’s always a crowd favourite. People keep requesting it and I keep making it because it’s so darn easy! Love it, thank you Nagi!
That’s great to hear Nala, I’m all about easy recipes!
Hi Nagi, I am wondering if this calls for dark chocolate chips or milk choc? thank you
Hi Svetlana, I use dark, but you could use either – N x
Hi Nagi,
Will this freeze ok?
Hi Nagi, I found your blog a couple of months ago and have since made a couple of the recipes. The No Bowl Chocolate Nut Bars and the Peanut Butter Chocolate are my absolutely faves. My son has Coeliac Disease so its fantastic to come across a truly delicious treat I can cook for him. I substitute the biscuits for a plain Gluten Free biscuit and it works brilliantly. He just loves them!
I’m on morning tea at work tomorrow so I’m definitely going to make them both to bring in.
Again, Thanks so much.
That’s so wonderful MaryAnn! Thank you for letting me know! My friend has a wonderful food blog focussed on recipes for Coeliacs – http://www.noshtastic.com it’s fabulous!
I’ll check it out. BTW the slices were a big hit at work!!! I doubt I’ll have any to bring home!!
I can it orally relate with over committing to recipes! Haha
These look great!
BA HA HA!!! I know, right?? I just did it again this weekend!!!
Sitting here wishing I could have condensed milk, but I’m lactose intolerant 🙁
These look sooo amazing though!
Awww, thanks Giselle! I wish a knew a suitable sub but I don’t! 🙁
Sweetened condensed coconut milk is available at Woolies.
Miam… Decadent!
Thank you!
I’m so glad you loved it! Thanks Cathy!!
Nagi, I can’t tell you how happy I am to have found your blog. So far I’ve made carnitas, baked chicken wings, fish piccata, chicken & vegetable orzo, and now these bars. I’m neither a baker nor a cook. And when I started this recipe, my seven-month old was playing quietly by himself. A few minutes in, however, once I’d reached a point of no return (the butter was melting in the oven), my son decided it was time to have a meltdown of his own. So I completed the bulk of the recipe while simultaneously trying to comfort a crying baby and keep him from grabbing the bottom of the hot oven door. I basically had to just dump everything in. And yet, it turned out amazing. My wife and I absolutely loved them. Your blog has made me a better cook than I ever even aspired to be!
Hi Howard! I’m so flattered that you have tried so many of my recipes!! I absolutely adore that these worked out even though you threw this together with a crying baby. 🙂 Brilliant multi tasking! So glad you loved them! N x
Thats one hell of a good idea Nagi. they look perfect.
Thanks so much Tania! Quite a compliment coming from you! 🙂
I’m writing from Michigan. What is the American equivalent of “biscuits”? In America, a biscuit is a dinner roll, i.e. white bread! Can you give me another word for this ingredient? The recipe looks amazing otherwise!
Hi Joy! Gosh, I do know that, I should have written the ingredients better! Graham crackers are perfect for these 🙂 I’ve updated the recipe to make that clear!
Graham Crackers would be just awesome in this recipe. Thanks for the interpretation, Nagi!!
Oh goodness! These are amazing. Love that you baked them all in one pan. x
Hi Sneh! Lovely to see you here, thanks for visiting! 🙂
This is genius! I am such a messy cook, and the kitchen usually looks like a post-hurricane site after I finish making something. My husband – and helper! lol – would love if I made more stuff like this! hahaha
So have you got the system down pat where you cook and he cleans? 😉
These bars look incredibly yummy! And can I say that I’m even more impressed with the fact that I don’t have to dirty a gazillion dishes to make this. Love it!
These bars ARE yum, swear! 🙂
Nagi, these look amazing and they remind me of something that my mom used to make as part of her Christmas baking routine. I guarantee you though she didn’t do it without a bowl! I really like how you showed the steps in the 12 pictures – very cool. I’m definitely going to make these once I get through my post-vacation detox ( I use that word detox lightly but always put a few extra lbs on when I’m not the one cooking the food) as I doubt I’d be able to stop at just one piece.
I love that it reminds you of your mother’s baking! 🙂 Detox? I’m constantly telling myself I should be detoxing. Sigh!