Christmas Magic Cookie Bars
GUEST POST: Christmas Magic Cookie Bars from Love From the Oven
Hi there, I’m Christi and you can usually find me over at my blog, Love From The Oven. I am so happy to be back again for a second year here at In Katrina’s Kitchen “I’ll Bring The Cookies” event. I love Katrina and her blog. Katrina and I both started our blogs at the same time, I think down to the same week, so it’s been fun to watch our blogs grow together.
Today I’m sharing one of my favorite treats- Christmas Magic Cookie Bars
I used Nestle’s Holiday Baking Chips and some Christmas M&M’s, but use whatever you have or what sounds good to you. I also added in some red, green and white sprinkles for extra color and because sprinkles make everything sweeter.
All of your ingredients go into the pan and then you just pop it in the oven. So simple.
In addition to the amazing taste, I love that these bar cookies are so flexible. Whatever baking chips and bits you have in your pantry, you can use them up in these Christmas Magic Cookie Bars
I hope you enjoy this colorful spin on a classic dessert favorite.
Christmas Magic Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter, 1/2 cup
- One 14 oz Can Of Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 1 & 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1 cup Holiday or regular chocolate chips, divided into 1/2 cup portions
- 1 cup chopped nuts, I prefer walnuts
- 1 cup Holiday or regular M&M's, divided into 1/2 cup portions
- 1 & 1/2 cups flaked coconut
Instructions
- Unwrap butter and place in 13" x 9" pan. Place pan, with butter, in the oven and turn the oven on to 350*F. Butter can melt in pan while preheating. Keep an eye on it, checking every few minutes and pulling out of the oven when butter is melted. Please be careful while preparing recipe as pan will be very hot.
- Crush graham crackers in a food processor to create graham cracker crumbs (or buy crumbs).
- When butter is melted, remove pan from oven and carefully sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs over the melted butter. Press in lightly with fork or back of spoon.
- Pour sweetened condensed milk over the crumb layer.
- Sprinkle 1/2 of the chocolate chips, 1/2 of the M&M's & the nuts over the sweetened condensed milk layer. Sprinkle coconut on top, followed by remaining chocolate chips & M&M's.
- Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven. Allow bars to cool completely. Slice, give and enjoy!
Thank you so much to Katrina for inviting me to join in on the cookie party again this year. She is awesome and I hope you enjoy all of the amazing cookie recipes in I’ll Bring The Cookies!
As Christi said we are bloggy buddies and in this thing together. ♥ It’s been fun to share the adventure. She is the queen of all things PEEPS (yes- the marshmallows!) and I hope you check out her blog if you’re not already familiar. It’s a bright and cheery place that is sure to make you smile.
You can connect with Christi on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and on her blog Love From the Oven. Here are some of my favorite cookies that Christi bakes up:
Single Serving Deep Dish Cookie A La Mode
White Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Oatmeal Cookies
Thanks for bringing the cookies, Christi!
28 Comments on “Christmas Magic Cookie Bars”
Very disappointed in this recipe, like many others who have commented here. I have tried the recipe at least half a dozen times and the results are consistently a crumbly mess.
Does not say sweetened or plain coconut
Also do you use salted or unsalted butter
Made a double batch of these for the Christmas season and am a disappointed in the outcome. They are very crumbly and not the 7 layer bars I know and love. I have two recommendations. First, melt the butter and mix in the graham cracker crumbs in a separate bowl then spread in the bottom of the pan. Second, pour the sweetened condensed milk over the top, rather than immediately over the graham cracker layer. I did freeze them as another comment suggested so hopefully they will firm up and be ok.
I am making this recipe for Halloween using halloween colored m&m’s
I made these this weekend for christmas (found on pinterest) and they are delicious I followed the recipe to a T – but found they were very crumbly when I tried to cut them after allowing to cool for over 2 hours. Once I cut them, I had over half the graham cracker crumbles on the bottom of the pan. I put the cut up bars in a container and stored them in the cool basement (no heat down there) and sure enough, they are nice & solid now. I think maybe next time, I will put the pan in the freezer for maybe 30 mins once I think they are cooled on the counter even! Seems the cooler they are, the better they stick together! Just MY observation and wanted to pass it on! 🙂
I agree. I put them in the fridge over night and now they’re solid. It was a mess of crumbs and they were falling apart. Did not look like the picture. I’ll have to watch the ingredients too next time I think the flakes can just be 1cup.
Are you able to freeze these bars to make a ahead of time for Christmas??
Can I make these without coconut? No one in my family cares for that flavor. Any suggestions for substitutes? Thank you
I loved this recipe and made it today. But something went wrong for me! The M&M didn’t stay on the top like yours did. Pooh! I’ll try again but any ideas? Are you supposed to ‘tap’ them down first?
Just wondering if you have made these ahead of time and froze them….any experience on how they turned out?
I have never frozen them.
The would-be senior high school educator attended a party, drank alcohol and had her photo taken.
This forced need for Craigslist PVA is perhaps all IP based (for sections outside of services).
We make these every year however, we call them Hello Dollies. We’ve never made them with M&M’s or colored chocolate chips but I am so doing that this year. It looks so festive and pretty! 🙂
Hello from Iowa! These bars look wonderful 🙂 I have some mini holiday m+ms they would work just as well don’t you think so ?
added ingredients to my list lol
Oooh my goodness, these look heavenly! Thank you for sharing! *_*
I'm so weak when it comes to magic bars and these Christmas-y ones looks absolutely amazing! those holiday M&Ms are dangerous to keep around
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I needed something very festive, colorful and wild.
These have to be it.
Love them!
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Love the giveaway…PLEASE!!!
All these cookies look sooo good. I hope this comment will count toward the givaway, cause it would not let me post anywhere else. A diabolical plot to make me crave cookies even more by making me drool over them longer!!!
I love how festive and Christmasy these are. How fun!!
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I love how festive these are with the sprinkles and holiday M&M's!
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Ooo I totally need to make these with my bag of holiday chocolate chips. I could also add some chopped of holiday oreos
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Thank you so much for having me today! Love ya!
Magic bars are one of my favorite. What can I say, they are just magical! 🙂 These are super festive and fun!
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My mom made these every Christmas, but I LOVE the addition of the red and green Christmas m&m's! So perfect and festive!
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Love these! So festive and delicious!
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Katrina, I am loving your event… all this inspiration in one place… loves it!!
Magic Cookie Bars scream CHRISTMAS! I stalk Christi's site as much as I stalk yours… I am here and there all.the.time. 😀
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