Magic Cookie Bars

How much baking I do at Christmas time really depends on what is going on in the world of Meghan. I’ll be heading to my mom’s on Wednesday and told her that I would bake a couple of things to help out. I decided to bake two of my favorite holiday treats which also happen to be favorites of everyone in our family. Today I am sharing a super simple and delicious bar cookie that I feel everyone should add to their holiday baking list – Magic Cookie Bars.

The best thing about these cookies is that there isn’t a lot of prep. You measure the ingredients, layer them in a pan, and bake. That’s it! But don’t be fooled by how easy these are, they are SUPER tasty as well.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Directions
HEAT oven to 350°F. Coat 13 x 9-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.

POUR melted butter into pan and top with graham cracker crumbs.
*So when I went to the store yesterday to get my ingredients they were out of graham cracker crumbs in the baking aisle. I refused to go to another store so I bought graham crackers and made my own crumbs at home. One package of 8 crackers makes the 1 ½ cups that you need for this recipe, so you don’t even have to measure it once you are done. I used my Ninja and it was super easy!

POUR sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture.

LAYER evenly with chocolate chips, coconut and nuts. Press down gently.

BAKE 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Loosen from sides of pan while still warm; cool on wire rack. Cut into bars or diamonds.

If you want to change these up you definitely have some options. Switch out the semi-sweet chips for dark chocolate, peanut butter, or butterscotch (or do a mixture). If you aren’t a nut person, you could always leave them out. I used honey graham crackers but you could use the cinnamon ones to give them a little something extra.

These cookies are great if you need something last minute to take to a party or send to school with the kiddos. They also freeze really well if you want to stash some for later in the year.