Have you ever looked for an easy dessert to take along, sturdy enough to survive a picnic but good enough that people ask you for the recipe? These pineapple coconut crumble bars fit the bill exactly. Fifteen minutes of prep, twenty-five in the oven, and you get something that resembles a Breton shortbread crossed with a pineapple cake.
Ingredients :
- Canned crushed pineapple (570 g) — Canned pineapple in natural juice is preferred over fresh here: it’s already tender, its acidity is mellowed, and its juice directly contributes to the filling. Be sure to choose a can labeled “in juice” not “in syrup” to avoid a cloying result. Draining is the most critical step of the recipe: without it, the base will inevitably become soggy.
- Unsweetened shredded coconut — It adds body to the crumble dough, a slight chew, and that characteristic tropical aroma that intensifies during baking. The unsweetened version is essential: using sweetened coconut would make the whole thing too heavy. If you can only find sweetened, reduce the white sugar in the dough by one tablespoon.
- Cooled melted butter — Melted butter, unlike softened butter, creates a crumbly texture rather than a soft one when baked. It must be cooled before adding to the flour, otherwise it melts the sugar prematurely and you lose the lumps that make the crumble. Using salted butter slightly enhances the pineapple flavor compared to unsalted.
- Cornstarch — It absorbs the excess liquid released by the pineapple during baking and turns it into a semi-gelatinous binder that holds the filling together. Without it, the juice migrates down and saturates the base. One tablespoon is enough for an entire can: no need to add more.
