The Story:
I always see beautiful bar cookies and brownies and other cut treats online. But in my college apartment, I don’t have any good knives. So guess what, mine never turn out pretty. And it’s sort of hard to post with ugly photos, because I doubt anyone would take me seriously if my desserts looked bad. But, I made these cookie bars when I was home, with my mother’s sharp knives. Yay for grown-ups with good knives and food processors!

Almond Joy Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter melted
- 1 ½ cups crushed Oreos
- 2 cups chocolate chips
- 1 cup flaked coconut
- 1 cup almonds slivered or sliced
- 1 can 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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2. Prepare a 9 X 13 by cutting a piece of parchment to fit at the bottom and greasing the sides.
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3. If your almonds are raw and not toasted, toast the almonds on a pan in the oven for about 5 minutes (I just stuck them in the oven while the oven preheated.)
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4. In a small bowl, combine the melted butter and crushed Oreos.
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5. Pour the mixture evenly into the prepared pan and press firmly to create your crust.
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6. Spread the chocolate chips and toasted almonds and then put the coconut over the top.
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7. Open your can of sweetened condensed milk, give the can a stir, and pour evenly over your coconut.
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8. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top starts to brown.
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9. Let it rest in the pan for at least 30 minutes then cut!

I'm going to make these today!
I made these this morning and they are absolutely incredible. My cookie crumbs wouldn't spread far enough in a 9×13 so I used a 9×9 instead.
Yes, I had a tricky time spreading mine thin enough. Glad they worked out well!
My husband would love these! I can't wait to try them!
Hi, Lizzy,
Get one of the metal scrapers – they work better than knives for cutting bar cookies. Also, always line the pan with foil or parchment paper. Cut the bars when warm – not hot or cold. Aunt Kathy
This looks yummy! And totally worth the calories 🙂
I’m not wild about the Oreo cookie filling. Would the recipe work with dark chocolate cookies or just the cookie part of the Oreos – or do you need the filling to keep the crust together?
I mostly only used the cookie part of the Oreo. You can use graham crackers or any cookie, good luck!
AMAZING! Everyone loved them!!! I think my man only keeps me around sometimes because of all the goodies I make off your website 🙂
Keep up the awesome work!
I am happy to keep couples together!
Super post! You have a really cool site here!
Glad, or maybe not, that I found you! I’ll bet Teddy Grahams would work well with this…….
That’s a fabulous idea!
These look totally scrumptious and worth going off the diet!! 🙂
Has anyone tried this receipe without the nuts? If so how did it turn out?
Yummy! I am old, and still haven’t ever bought decent knives. My food photos are so bad that I laugh while posting, but the taste is what counts. At least I tell myself that.
Chocolate wafer cookies instead of Oreos for crust. Yum!
I made this for dessert tonight and they are delicious. Yours look much prettier than mine. My chocolate chips melted into an ooey gooey mess, but it was a delicious mess! Even my husband (who doesn’t care for almonds or coconut) loved them. I used dark chocolate and they are so rich! Thanks for this amazing recipe.
Lizzy, these are amazing! Made them today and added butterscotch chips! Thanks for the recipe-I can’t wait to try more!
Do you use just flaked coconut, or the sweetened flaked coconut (the stuff that’s more readily available in the baking aisle?) These look great – can’t wait to try them!
I used the sweetened kind because of just that, it’s the only stuff I can ever find!
My husband absolutely loved these and told me to keep the recipe for sure! 😉 I love that the bars are so easy to make, too!
Totally fabulous! Glad I removed the cream centers of the Oreos as suggested. Definitely line the pan with parchment and lift out to cut. It’s hard to wait, but I recommend letting them cool completely before cutting. Will definitely be making these again!
How do you store and for how long?