Table of Contents:
- The Origins of Magic Cookie Bars
- How To Make Jodie’s Easy Magic Cookie Bars
- Ingredients
- Step-by-Step Instructions
- How to Bake the Easiest Great Tasting Magic Cookie Bars Right Now
- FAQ
- What if the vanilla wafers are too large for my mini muffin pan?
- What if you don’t like walnuts? Can you substitute?
- What if you don’t like coconut? Can you leave it off?
- Can I substitute ingredients in Magic Cookie Bars?
- Help! My Magic Cookie Bars are Stuck to the Pan
- Do I have to use vanilla wafers?
- You may also enjoy baking:
make the Tastiest magic cookie bars with this Easy shortcut.
How much do we love Magic Cookie Bars? So much! Whether you know them by this name or as 7-Layer Bars, Hello Dolly Bars, Coconut Dream Bars, or Screaming Eagles, you know how tasty and easy they are to make! This classic recipe dates back to the 1960s and other than slight variations due to personal choice, this delicious treat has not changed much in all that time.
We use affiliate links on our blog. Read our full disclosure here.
The Origins of Magic Cookie Bars
We owe the magic of this Magic Cookie Bars recipe to Gail Borden, a food scientist working in the mid-1800s, who became acutely aware of the dangers of cow’s milk for children. He focused his energy and talents on solving this issue and figured out that by boiling and reducing milk and adding sugar, he could stop it from causing serious illness.
No one understood the science as to why at the time, but they knew it worked! He received a patent for his creation in 1856, and his “baby formula” made milk safe for thousands of children.
Thankfully for us, condensed milk did not just stop there!
It slowly began making its way out of baby formula and into the adult world of sweets and the baking aisle at the grocery store, and in the 1960s the first recipe for Magic Cookie Bars appeared (the “magic” key ingredient being the condensed milk that held everything together).
In all the time from then till now the recipe has barely changed.
Until today!
How To Make Jodie’s Easy Magic Cookie Bars
I know these cookies are a simple dessert just as they are, but I have found a couple of ways to make them even easier!
- Instead of baking them in bar form, I tried making them in mini muffin tins for individual sized treats straight out of the oven.
- And instead of the traditional graham cracker crust (which would have been tedious to make in each separate little cup) I decided to use store-bought vanilla wafers as the base layer.
These two steps remove any work for prep and serving.
You can now have these cookies on a plate and ready to serve in basically the same amount of time it takes to bake and cool them.
Other than that, I followed the same recipe exactly so you can be sure you will still love these cookies.
Read on for the ingredients, the instructions, and some often-asked questions about my new twist on this classic bar cookie recipe!
Ingredients
There are no amounts given here, because you’re really just sprinkling everything into your muffin cups until they are full.
Just go with your heart on this one and you can’t go wrong. Remember that you want each cup slightly heaping full, so plan accordingly!
-
- Vanilla Wafers
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Butterscotch chips
- Chopped walnuts
- Unsweetened Coconut
- Sweetened condensed milk (I like Eagle brand for nostalgia purposes)
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Use a non-stick mini muffin tin and generously grease it with either baking spray or butter.
- Add vanilla wafers to the bottoms of your mini muffin cups. (Some wafers are bigger than others. Find the ones that are small enough and fit perfectly at the bottom of your mini muffin pan.)
- Add your chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet chocolate chips), butterscotch chips, and chopped walnuts.
- Sprinkle on the shredded coconut.
- Cover everything in sweetened condensed milk.
- Bake for about 12 minutes, until they start to turn golden brown.
- Let them cool to room temperature before turning them out of the mini muffin cups.
- Enjoy!
Be careful with these, as they are dangerously good! If you do happen to have any leftovers, you can store magic cookie bars in a large airtight container for a few days. But I doubt this will be a problem!
How to Bake the Easiest Great Tasting Magic Cookie Bars Right Now
Equipment
- 1 24 cup mini muffin pan
Ingredients
- 24 Vanilla Wafers
- Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips (to taste)
- Butterscotch Chips (to taste)
- Chopped Walnuts (to taste)
- Shredded Coconut (to taste)
- Sweetened Condensed Milk (to taste)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
- Use a non-stick mini muffin tin and generously grease it with either baking spray or butter
- Add vanilla wafers to the bottoms of your mini muffin cups. (Some wafers are bigger than others. Find the ones that are small enough and fit perfectly at the bottom of your mini muffin pan.)
- Add your chocolate chips (I used semi sweet), butterscotch chips, and chopped walnuts
- Sprinkle on the shredded coconut
- Cover everything in sweetened condensed milk
- Bake for about 12 minutes, until they start to turn golden brown
- Let them cool before turning them out of the mini muffin cups
- Enjoy!
Save for later!
FAQ
What if the vanilla wafers are too large for my mini muffin pan?
If you can’t find wafers the right size for your pan, don’t worry!
Simply place a wafer at the bottom of the cup, and then use something the size of each cup (a shot glass works great!) to press down and crunch the edges a bit so that the remaining wafer sits nicely at the bottom.
It won’t matter that the wafers are a bit broken, because once you add the sweetened condensed milk it will glue everything together anyway and you won’t even notice. You’ve basically created something like the traditional graham cracker mixture, which we all know works!
What if you don’t like walnuts? Can you substitute?
You can definitely substitute the walnuts for another nut! Pecans would be a great second choice. If you don’t like nuts at all, you can leave them out entirely! I like the nuts because they cut down the sweetness of the cookie bars and give some nice texture, but they aren’t necessary.
What if you don’t like coconut? Can you leave it off?
Of course! These are your cookies and if coconut isn’t your thing, you can enjoy your cookie bars without it.
Can I substitute ingredients in Magic Cookie Bars?
Yes! The beauty of this recipe is how easily you can tweak it. Other ingredient suggestions include:
Dark chocolate chips
Milk chocolate chips
Peanut butter chips
White chocolate chips
Sweetened shredded coconut
Help! My Magic Cookie Bars are Stuck to the Pan
It is important to use a non-stick pan coated generously in cooking spray or butter. You also need to make sure you let the cookies cool before taking them out of the pan so they will pop right out with no sticking. If you do both these things you shouldn’t have any trouble!
Do I have to use vanilla wafers?
No! I preferred this ingredient because I felt that making a graham cracker crust in small muffin cups would be too fiddly. If you want to give it a try, I’m sure it would be worth the extra work.
All you need for a delicious buttery graham cracker crust is melted butter, sugar, graham crackers (turned into fine crumbs either with a food processor or a large Ziplock bag and rolling pin), and more patience than I had!
I hope you have fun with this crowd favorite recipe for delicious Magic Cookie Bars! You can do it my way, use the traditional recipe, or come up with your own variation. It is a sure hit at any gathering and might even get your guests telling stories about the good old days, which would be fun too.
jodie & julie
You may also enjoy baking:
Best Ever Coconut Oatmeal Lace Cookies!
This easy coconut oatmeal lace cookie recipe is a family favorite. These cookies are delicately crisp and satisfyingly chewy. The combination of flavors creates the perfect mix of savory oatmeal and sweet coconut. Their gorgeous lacy texture makes them just as special to look at as they are to eat.
Based on 2 Review(s)
