peanutbutter, brownie and coconut bars

I combined a peanut butter cookie, a brownie and a macaroon and made something totally wonderful, and definitely worth the effort. the bars are almost like fudge, so a little goes a long way. Bonus: this triple- threat dessert smells amazing as it bakes! 

Total Time : 3hrs 30 mins

Prep: 10 mins 

inactive prep: 2 hours 

cook: 1hr 20 minutes 

Yield: about 44 bite- size pieces 

Level: medium

Ingredients: 

FOR THE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE LAYER: 

2 cups smooth peanut butter

1 1/2 cup sugar 

1/2 tsp salt 

2 large eggs 

1 tsp pure vanilla extract 

1/2 cup plain flour. 

FOR THE BROWNIE LAYER: 

1 cup plain flour 

1/4 cup cocoa powder

pinch salt 

6 tbsp unsalted butter 

115g bittersweet chocolate 

1 cup sugar 

3 large eggs 

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

FOR THE MACAROON LAYER: 

3 large egg whites 

400g bag sweetened coconut 

1/4 cup sugar 

1 tsp pure vanilla extract 

pinch of salt

Method: 

position an oven rack in the bottom of the oven and preheat at 180 degrees. line a 9 inch square baking dish with foil, leaving some over hanging on the sides. coat the foil with cooking spray. 

FOR THE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE LAYER: 

beat the peanut butter, sugar and salt in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium- high speed until smooth. beat in the eggs one at a time and then the vanilla. adjust the speed to a medium- love add the flour and then beat until incorporated. press the batter into an even layer into the bottom of the prepared baking dish: set aside

FOR THE BROWNIE LAYER: 

combine the flour, cocoa powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. melt the butter and chopped chocolate in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until smooth, about 4 minutes. remove from the heat; let cool slightly, then stir in the sugar. mix in the eggs until combined. stir in the flour mixture and then the chocolate chips until just combined. pour the brownie batter over the peanut butter layer. 

FOR THE MACAROON LAYER: 

Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until frothy. toss in the coconut, sugar, vanilla and salt together with your hands in another large bowl; add the egg whites, and stir until the coconut mixture is coated. scatter the coconut mixture in an even layer on tip of the brownie layer 

bake until the centre doesn't jiggle when the pan is shaken and the coconut is golden brown. 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes transfer the pan to a rack, and let the bar mixture cool completely, preferably overnight. lift out of the pan and peel off the foil trim the bar mixture to make neat edges and cut into very small squares about the size of fudge.