Mrs. Rocca’s Hawaiin Pineapple Squares

These squares are similar to the ones Rocca's (my former bball teammate at McMaster) mother used to bring to our basketball games. After our home games the parents used to put on a big dinner for players, family and super fans. These pineapple squares were one of my favorite treats. Mrs. Rocca told me how to make them and I have had the instructions written in my recipe book for years but haven’t made them until now. She told me that the recipe is one she learned back in high school. The reason I didn’t follow her recipe exactly is because she told it to me off the top of her head and I didn't think to ask about a few details including how much pineapple to use, crushed pineapple or in pieces and what size of pan. So I looked up pineapple coconut square recipes online for some help.

Ingredients

Base

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

½ tsp fresh vanilla

½ tsp vanilla extract (liquid)

2 cans (8 oz each) unsweetened crushed pineapple, drained

   

Topping

½ cup butter, melted

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

2 cup flaked coconut

1. Cream butter, brown sugar, vanilla. Mix in flour and press into bottom of the 9 inch pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.
2. Spread drained pineapple over crust.
3. For topping, beat sugar, melted butter, egg, vanilla and coconut. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. 
4. Enjoy!

* The downside to these bars is that I found them difficult to cut. If you are making them to bring somewhere expect to have a few broken ones to eat at home. (This is sometimes a good thing though:))