Growing up, I was hungry for anything but mangoes. I would plead to my parents telling them that I simply could not let that orange fruit pass my lips. But then, a couple summers ago, my mom came home with a crate of mangos from the store. Considering my history with this supposedly foul fruit, I don't know what prompted me to reach into the box and pull out a juicy ripe mango. Perhaps I was feeling nostalgic for my days of crying at the dining table. I peeled the mango, sliced it, and was overwhelmed with its flavor after biting into my first mango in over a decade. It was absolutely delectable. I asked myself if I had really allowed my childhood judgment of this heavenly fruit to impede my mango consumption all these years?
Today, I take everyone opportunity to eat a mango to make up for all that lost time. My dreams are made up mangoes and mango swirls. These bars are the dream. The warm spices from the ginger make the sweet mango and coconut flavors dance on your tongue, and the lime zest ties together all the flavors.
TOTAL TIME: 1 hour (plus 4-6 hours of chilling)
YIELD: 18 bars
INGREDIENTS:
Crust
2 cups crushed ginger snap cookies (12 oz. or 340 grams)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
6 tablespoons melted, unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Filling
3 cans full fat coconut milk (solid parts only), refrigerated overnight
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar
Zest of 2 limes
¼ cup lime juice
Mango Swirls
1 cup mango jam
METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 350° F and line a 13x9 pan with parchment.
In a food processor, pulse together the crushed cookies, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon and salt. Stream in the melted butter and olive oil until a crumbly dough that resembles wet sand forms.
Press the crumbly dough into the pan and use the back of a drinking glass or measuring cup to compact the dough. Then, bake for 5-7 minutes.
While the dough bakes, make the filling. Mix together the solid parts of the coconut cream, granulated sugar, brown sugar, lime zest, and lime juice.
Pour the filling on top of the crust and spread it out evenly. Dollop the mango jam all over the top and then use a butter knife to swirl the filing with the coconut cream filling.
Bake for 10-15 minutes until the filling has lightly set. Then, let the bars cool for an hour at room temperature and refrigerate for 4-6 hours before slicing and serving. Top with toasted coconut flakes and lime zest before serving.
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