I have a shelf in one of my kitchen cabinets devoted entirely to baking supplies. It’s a large shelf, big enough to accommodate multiple bags of flour, four or five kinds of sugar at any given time, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, chopped walnuts, sliced almonds, several types of oatmeal…you get the picture. It’s crowded in there.
This weekend I went on a little cleaning spree and wanted to get rid of a few almost-expired ingredients: graham cracker crumbs and coconut, to name two. I went digging in my grandmother’s recipe box and emerged with a recipe for “Magic Bars” that called for most of the ingredients in my cabinet and since it was written in her shorthand that I am fairly certain even she wouldn’t be able to decipher today if she were still here, I was able to do a good bit of improvising.
I would like to tell you that these are called magic bars because they’re “magically delicious” or some other charming family tale about the recipe’s origin. I’m pretty sure they’re called magic bars because if you forget to grease the bottom of the pan like I did, it’s going to take some magic to dislodge the bars from their cooking vessel once they’ve cooled.
Seven Layer Magic Bars
What You Need:
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter, melted
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup shredded coconut
3/4 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup peanut butter chips
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
How-To:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8×8 baking pan with butter or cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine melted butter with graham cracker crumbs and press onto bottom of pan to form a crust.
Spread shredded coconut on top of graham cracker crust and layer with chocolate and peanut butter chips. Pour condensed milk over top and sprinkle with chopped walnuts.
Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes. When you remove from the oven, the mixture will still appear underbaked (milk layer will look as though it hasn’t set). Place the bars in the refrigerator for 30 minutes up to an hour and remove them to cut. Serve in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to three days (but my guess is that they won’t last that long).
Makes 12-16 bars (you might want to cut them into smaller pieces because they’re so sweet).
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{ 65 comments… read them below or add one }
every time i come here, i see something i would call my “kryptonite” i would destroy. 2 seconds
whooooops. I’ve totally forgotten to grease prior to baking too
They look like they came out pretty gorgeous despite the stick. mmm- what a fun way to use up leftover ingredients
ha ha ha, they do sound like they’d be killers in that pan if you forget, tee hee. These sound make a good contribution to our holiday treat platters.
My college roommates and I were OBSESSED with these. So easy to make, and you can switch out the ingredients for practically anything in your cabinet–we occasionally had varieties with pecans, chocolate chunks, butterscotch chips, mini marshmallows…the list goes on.
ahhhh these would taste great with a starbucks coffee
. i love family recipes!
These are probably my husband’s all time favorite sweet, besides chocolate chip cookies. Always a good choice in our house
Can I say that your bars look gorgeous? I hope I’m not out of line. I guess good things are worth the elbow grease to unlodge them…
these are the best–i have never made these and not had people go crazy over them!!
i looove magic bars! These looks even more magically because of the peanut butter chips. Mmmm!
Yum! These look great!
It is amazing what you can do with condensed milk! These look like candy bars with all the right flavors.
You are evil. That is all.
I just made Eight Layer Magic Bars a few days ago and posted about them!!!
Yours look wonderful!
Oh, how you make me feel better by admitting a mistake.
Now I know even really good cooks mess up every now and then. Those bars still look pretty magical, though!
I’ve been wanting to make magic bars for a while, but haven’t gotten around to it. What a perfect way to use up ingredients in the pantry and de-clutter! I sure wouldn’t mind having these treats laying around my apartment.
Your grandma must be really happy! You made your grandma’s recipe alive.
Oh yes, I can tell this is magically delicious! My pantry has very small portion of baking supplies. LOL. One day I hope it will get bigger and bigger!
YUM. So many delicious things all in one bite.
7 is my fav number .. and this 7 layer my dear friend sure does look magical to me
Yum!! I could use gf crackers and make this!! It’s so rare to find desert recipes that I can easily make gf!!!
This is my favorite dessert EVER! We made these all the time when I was a kid. We always used butterscotch chips and pecans instead of the pb chips and walnuts, but I’d love to try that variation!
This look a bit irresistible. Its fabulous what a little cleaning can do. Next time you do some cleaning, call me! I will take these off your hands. heee
indeed magical…. i want one!
My recipe differs slightly but i know why they’re called “Magic Cookie Bars”. In the recipe I have from my grandmother, you melt the butter in the baking pan, then layer on the rest of the ingredients. They are “magic” because there is no stirring and they are a single-pan dessert.
That’s what I call a fun spring cleaning project. They look great. We have all our sweet stuff for baking in one cabinet too, maybe it’s time to do some cleaning of our own.
Ahhh, these remind me of my childhood! I LOVE all of these ingredients! Magic indeed
I think I remember these from one of my mom’s church cookbooks (the ones where everyone contributes a recipe). They look very yum.
Ahahaha, I love your reason for the name. So funny! I’ve had something like these bars before, and they are so yummy! So many good things in them.
fun recipe and thanks for sharing the lemon cake recipe to your mum hope she likes it
These look intensely delicious. Awesome way to sugar overload! Yum!
This renews memories for an old recipe Maris! My mom used to make these too.
Oh! sorry they stuck to the pan..but it looks like you have some serious magical powers because you go them out and they look heavenly
I have never made a magic bar before and looks like I am missing alot
These look scrumptious!!! I’m sure they get gobbled up fast!!! I love the story behind the name of the bars!
I haven’t made these in YEARS
I haven’t made these in YEARS and when I did I don’t think they ever looked as delicious as yours.
Your baking shelf sounds just like mine! I never know what lurks there-in!
These bars look great, and I think your reason for the name is hysterical.
Magic indeed! You are like a houdini! These look incredible, rich, decadent and they are screaming my name to try them. Okay, I will take a dozen please!
Dangerous recipe, Maris, and I don’t mean the sticking in an ungreased pan, either.
(Didn’t the refrigeration make things easier?)
I bet this is like candy…one bite is not enough.
That sounds like one dangerous shelf to have around. I can’t keep chips of any kind sitting here otherwise I grab a handful every time I pass them.
Awesome bars though! Totally worth buying peanut butter chips for.
What a great combo – no wonder they are called Magic bars. Looks like you created a little bit of magic with your pantry extras!
Do you think you have enough layers in there? :p Looks extremely yummy (I would say that 7 times over but it might get a bit repetitive!
Those look devilishly scrumptious! I am a bar addict.
Cheers,
Rosa
These look really delicious!!! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I love these! It also reminds me of the movie “Dick” with Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams – they make these for President Nixon, haha!
OMG I make magic bars all the time and these look amazing!
)
So glad I foundyour site!
Oh my gosh, my mother-in-law and husband’s grandmother used to make the same bars and we always enjoyed them. Magically delicious is right!
Oh you brought back some good memories with these bars! When I was growing up my one aunt made these all the time! They were always included on her cookie tray! Being Italian these really stood out as they were so sweet and different from all the typical Italian cookies all the other aunts and my mother would make. I always think of her when I see them. I really don’t know why I just don’t make them myself… and now I have the recipe!!
Ohh yum! I love recipes like this where no matter what goodies you have on hand, if you add them in, it comes out great!
I love these magic bars! You can literally put anything in them and they still turn out great. And I love that you have your grandmother’s handwritten recipe. Even though they’re hard to read, there’s something so special about it!
Oh, I shouldn’t have looked!!!! I love Magic cookie bars…and now I have a huge craving for their wonderful goodness! So delish!
My grandmother had “Magic Bars” in her recipe box as well. I now have her box and now and then peruse through it, looking for gems like these. Very similar recipe and they really are delicious.
Yum–those look great! I’ve made another variation of Magic Bars before, but I’ll have to try it this way!
These look delish! I know what I’ll be making this weekend!
I have a similar recipe from my mother-in-law (well, future) – they are so good! Maybe because I love all of the ingredients.
Wow, these bars definitely bring back fond memories. Magic bars were among one of my first culinary feats as a kid. My 3 older brothers would go wild when I made them and I felt like a total rockstar when they would ooh and ahh over them. Yours look delicious and decadent!
I really love this simple version of magic bars! I too have an over-crowded shelf (or maybe 2 shelves…) full of baking supplies. I don’t think I have any peanut butter chips though. I’ll have to buy some on my next trip to the store.
Omg, these look dangerous! I could literally eat the own pan! Great photo’s too! You always take great food pics!
These look fantastic! I’ve seen six layer bars, but of course everything good needs to be made better
Great job, Maris!
Oh yes, I’ve made these magically delicious bars a time or two myself, and they are fabulous! They can be a bear to get out of the pan though, so I line mine with parchment.
This sounds a killer recipe- coconut, nuts & chocolate all in one- truly magical!
Cleaning out one’s pantry never looked so good! 7 layers of heaven!
Oh my gosh, I love these!!!! Must try these soon!!!
My favorite cookie of all-time!
I’ve got to try these.
yum Yum YUM!! These sound delicous and are perfect for a potluck
The bars look so yummy! I don’t think I have ever made this kind of bar recipe, thank you for sharing.
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