German Chocolate Cookies Bars have a cake-mix crust that is loaded with decadent caramel, chocolate, coconut, and pecans for a dream dessert!
Chocolaty, gooey, and a little crunchy, German Chocolate Cookie Bars are a simple treat with everyone’s favorite sweets! Mix up a chocolate cake mix to make the crust, layer on soft caramel, sweet chocolate, and coconut, and top with crunchy pecan bits for a delicious dessert that family and friends can’t get enough of!
Dream Bars
I don’t think there’s a more perfect treat out there than German Chocolate Cookie Bars, and while I won’t fight a raccoon for them, I will make batch after batch of them! A simplified and snackable version of a beloved German Chocolate Cake, the chocolate crust is made with cake mix, which is always such a great shortcut, and then topped with layers of mega delicious toppings like caramel, chocolate chips, pecans, and coconut. These bars are so easy to pick up and devour, which is why they don’t last five minutes in our house!
Enjoy more of the magic that is chocolate and coconut with Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons and caramel treats like Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Covered Pretzels!
Other Recipes to Serve with German Chocolate Cookie Bars
- Salted Pretzel & Caramel Fudge has more of the chocolatey caramel flavors you love, with the perfect pop of saltiness to make you say, “Yum!”
- Make everyone’s eyes light up when they set their sights on a Samoa Ice Cream Pie gorgeously topped with caramel, chocolate, coconut, and cookies!
Ingredients
Cake Mix: You will need a regular-sized box of German chocolate cake mix for this recipe, so choose your favorite brand. You do NOT need the ingredients listed on the back of the box. If you can’t find a German chocolate cake mix, regular chocolate cake mix is fine. Just make sure it doesn’t have any pudding in the mix.
Dairy: You will need melted butter and milk. I like 2% or whole for this recipe. For richer bars, you can use half-n-half.
Toppings: Gather your semi-sweet chocolate chips, chopped pecans, and sweetened coconut flakes, and unwrap some soft caramels to make the perfect layered topping for these cookie bars.
How to Make German Chocolate Cookie Bars
STEP ONE: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and spray a 9×13 pan with nonstick spray. Add the cake mix, melted butter, and 1/2 cup of milk to a mixing bowl. Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan using a rubber spatula and bake for 15 minutes.
STEP TWO: While the crust is baking, combine the rest of the milk and the caramels in a bowl, microwave for 1 minute, and then stir. Continue to heat and stir until the caramels are completely melted.
STEP THREE: Once the crust is out of the oven, spread an even layer of melted caramel over the top, followed by a layer of coconut, then pecans, and finally, chocolate chips.
STEP FOUR: Bake the bars for another 15 minutes. Remove the bars from the oven and allow them to cool completely before cutting into bars.
Tips for Success
- Don’t worry about purchasing the ingredients listed on the back of the cake mix box; all you’ll need to make the crust is the mix, milk, and butter. The batter will be sticky, but it’ll turn out thick and chocolaty once baked!
- German Chocolate Cake mix or Devil’s Food Cake mix? Both taste amazing in this recipe! The German Chocolate has a lighter chocolate flavor, while the Devil’s Food is richer. Choose the one you like best!
- Store these cookie bars in an airtight container on the counter for up to a week.
What makes German Chocolate cake different?
German chocolate cake was originally made with rich, sweet baking chocolate, giving the cake a lighter flavor. Nowadays, many people will make German chocolate cake with various chocolate cake recipes or mixes and still top the cake with the famous coconut and pecan topping this cake is known for. German chocolate’s sweeter, lighter chocolate flavor is very noticeable compared to other chocolate cakes, such as Devil’s Food, which has a much darker and more intense chocolate flavor.
Why do they call German chocolate cake German?
This famous cake did not make the long journey from Germany to America; instead, it was created here in the States, specifically Texas, in the 1950s. The chocolate used to create the cake was developed 100 years before by Baker’s Chocolate company but, more importantly, by a man named Sam German, after whom the chocolate was named. Mrs. Clay created the actual cake, originally called German’s Chocolate Cake, because of the type of chocolate used to make it, but the ‘s’ got lost along the way, so we now have German Chocolate Cake!
Yummy Bars to Treat Friends and Family!
- Lemon Bars
- Berry Chocolate Magic Bars
- Buttery Coconut Bars
- Chocolate Cake Mix Bars
- Ultimate Candy Cookie Bars
*This post was originally posted on 09/09/2017.
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounces german chocolate cake mix (1 box)
- ¾ cup butter melted
- 1 cup milk divided
- 11 ounces soft caramels
- 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
- 1 cup pecans chopped
- 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch x 13-inch cake pan with non-stick spray and line with parchment paper. (The paper makes it easy to lift the bars out later.)
- Add the melted butter, 1/2 cup milk, and cake mix to a large mixing bowl. Stir until combined. (The batter will be sticky.) Use a rubber spatula to transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan and spread it into an even layer.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- While the crust is baking, place all of the caramels into a microwave-safe bowl and pour in the remaining 1/2 cup of milk. Heat in 1-minute increments, stirring after each heating until smooth and fully melted (about 2.5 minutes).
- Take the baking pan out of the oven. Pour the caramel evenly over the chocolate cookie crust. Next, sprinkle the coconut, pecans, and chocolate chips evenly over the caramel.
- Bake for another 15 minutes.
- Remove the bars from the oven and cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
- Once cooled, use the parchment paper to lift the bars from the pan. Use a sharp knife to cut the block into 16 bars. Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Kalpana says
Can this dessert be made from scratch without using a boxed cake mix? I prefer baking from scratch.
deb says
I completely agree!
Liz says
Love the concept but this recipe has no German Chocolate in it. I wish you would educate yourself before you create things and call them German Chocolate. I
Staja says
Wow! What a rude comment. If you can’t say something nice………
BTW-She actually did provide the history of German Chocolate. Which now seems to have morphed into anything with chocolate caramel, pecans, and coconut.
Nichole says
Crust? Well I didn’t get a crust result. The cake part either didn’t cook long enough or the caramel made it so gooey that I couldn’t cut this dessert into squares, had to scrape it off to eat. Very tasty but a gooey mess that wasn’t presentable, I followed recipe exactly so not sure if it was just me or how it’s intended to come out.
Joan says
I made this for a church Bingo party for treat trays to be given away as a prize. While cutting it fell apart into a gooey mess. I ended up not taking them and kept them at home for a treat to eat with a spoon.
Sylvie says
Can I replace the coconut with shaved almonds? As I am deathly allergic to coconut
Real Housemoms JK says
I would for sure use the almonds instead Sylvie!