It's so yummy, I'm gonna die!!!

Okay maybe not die, but boy oh boy is this good!  Yes, my friends, you all have been waiting and now is the big reveal!

Wait...maybe I should preface with a little backstory...

This dessert was a favorite of mine before I went gluten free :)  After transitioning to gluten free living it went on the back burner as I discovered new things to try.  THEN I made the mistake of buying Corn Flake crumbs to use as bread crumbs...Kellogs Corn Flakes are NOT gluten free!  (Malt is a big No No!)  So I have a perfectly good box of crumbs sitting on my counter if anyone wants it? (Those of you who are not GF of course!)  Anyway, on the back was the long forgotten recipe!  I wanted to try it SO bad, but I didn't know where to find gluten free corn flakes...enter Erewhon (and dairy free and organic WIN!) corn flakes which my Twitter friend Annelies at Attune Foods introduced me to!  Woohoo!  It was on!

Into the food processor the corn flakes went...til I had some nice crumbs...  Then I add some melted margarine and sugar, mixed and pressed them into a pan to make a crust.

Now it's important to note - The original recipe was NOT gluten free and NOT dairy free...so I had a bit of a challenge in front of me.  In particular the recipe called for condensed milk.  I was at a loss for a minute as to what to substitute, but then came up with the bright idea to try canned coconut milk!  Canned coconut milk has guar gum added to it that makes it a similar consistency to condensed milk.

After the crust was pressed in...I added more good stuff :)  Chocolate chips, shredded coconut, crushed walnuts (the recipe also called for butterscotch chips but I never used them before because I found it to be TOO much!)  Finally after layering up the goodness, I topped it all off with the coconut milk.

Now it doesn't look that good before it goes in the oven, but trust me ;)  By the way, I always get to this point and realize that I haven't pre-heated the oven...this is why I will never have my own cooking show!  Or maybe I will, "The Accidental Chef" tm (Haha)!  Once the oven reached 350 degrees, in the goopy stuff went!  The recipe called for 25 mins, but it took about 3-5 mins longer because of the coconut milk.  I pulled them out when they were golden brown around the edges.

It was painful to wait for them to cool... just saying... I finally caved and cut into them while they were still warm!  But I would recommend to let it chill or set over night for the best results when cutting it into bars.  I didn't need it to be pretty to shove EVERY last crumb of the crumbling piece I cut into my awaiting mouth : D  I did leave the rest in the pan to chill over night, hense the pretty picture!

Trust me, they taste as good as they look!  Now that you're dying to try these bad boys, here is the recipe for my GF/DF version of the 5 Layer Bars:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees :)
1 1/2 cups Erewhon GF corn flakes, crushed into crumbs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup melted margarine
1 cup Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, Gluten, Dairy & Soy Free, 10-Ounce Bags (Pack of 6)
1 1/3 cups coconut flakes
1/2 cup crushed walnuts
1 can of coconut milk

Stir together the corn flakes, sugar and margarine, press into a crust in a 9 x 13 pan.  (I would slightly grease the pan to make sure that none of it sticks even though you're using margarine for the crust.  I didn't and mine stuck on one side slightly!)  Layer the chocolate chips, coconut and walnuts evenly.  I layered them twice to make sure it came out nicely blended at the end!  Pour the coconut milk over the top, covering it evenly.  Bake for 25 minutes or until browned on the edges.  Cool, cut into bars and serve!  Just a thought, freezing these would be an awesome summer dessert for after the bbq! ;)  The best part, you can get creative.  Add/subtract, etc whatever your little heart desires!  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear from you.