I recently shared with you guys what I thought of those super-hard-to-find new limited-edition Candy Corn Oreos. Word on the street from most people I’ve talked is that they agree. The cookies are good but nothing super spectacular. In other words… Hey, Nabisco! Next time give it WAY more candy corn flavor!
What did surprise me, though, was that I was flooded with questions from my readers and friends asking me for the recipe to those super nummy Magic Cookie Bars. My mom’s made these cookies for me since I was a kid, and they’ve always been my favorite.
The original recipe (which mom points out was from Borden Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk magazine ad) included walnuts and coconut. Over the past few years, mom has made some alterations to the recipe since my oldest son Jason has nut allergies.
Her latest change is to subsitute caramel chips for the shredded coconut and HOLY COW are they even more amazing now. While you can eat these bad boys right out of the oven, I actually prefer them frozen. It’s like eating a frozen Snickers or Milky Way bar, that combination of chocolate, graham crackers and other gooey goodness just works wonders in a frozen state.
Anyways, I asked mom if it’s okay to post the recipe on her and she gave her sugary sweet blessing. Thanks, mom! Love you and love these cookies!
Ellen Kardon’s Magic Cookie Bars
INGREDIENTS
1/2 c butter
1 package honey graham crackers crushed
1 can sweetened fat free or regular sweetened condensed milk
1 package chocolate chips
1/2 bag Kraft caramel bits (Walmart seems to be the only place currently carrying them)
1-1 1/2 cups chopped pretzels
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Melt butter in 9×13 inch glass dish ( I like glass so I can see how it’s browning)
Sprinkle crumbs over butter
Pour condensed milk as evenly as possible over crumbs
Sprinkle caramel bits
Sprinkle chocolate chips
Sprinkle pretzels
Bake 25-30 minutes until lightly browned
Cool thoroughly (takes a long time as it will be VERY soft)
Cut into squares.
Eat or freeze. Delicious frozen
Andrew my mother-in-law is going to be one happy woman when I make this for her next week! Looks lovely!
sounds wonderful, now I will have to go out tomorrow and get the stuff to make!
These sound ridiculously delicious, salty and caramel and chocolate? Trifecta of yum.
This looks absolutely delicious! Thank you so much. I know what I am making this weekend!
I enjoy my Snickers frozen too. I’ll have to try a batch of magic cookie bars and throw a few in the freezer. Thanks for posting.
So funny, I just commented on a post about my addiction to carbs and sugar! lol these look fabulous and will definitely be pinned under my recipes. 🙂
After I get to my house in Georgia, my plan is to take all the cookie/cake/muffin/bread recipes I have found and pinned, and de-gluten them. This one is going to be first!
Hey, Karen!!! Awesome. Good luck and I can’t wait to see how these turn out!
Cool recipe! Definitely easy enough to make. I love eating pretzels so this recipe is perfect! Thanks for sharing!
My niece (Amber Adams on Facebook, check her out) and I are each making a batch this weekend #foodlab #tastetest #postsushi
Thank you SO much for posting this recipe. You RAWK, Andrew!
Well, technically my mom’s the one behind these. So she RAWKs. 😉
And I definitely want some photos of you and your niece making these!
Those look fantastic! I love the changes your mom has made, I think I will try this out! It’s going on my Pinterest board, hope that’s okay!!!
Yay! Not a prob at all to put on the Pinterest board, Jennifer! I hope it gets pinned like wildfire! Let me know how yours come out!
Mom was trying to figure out what to make for meals when you all come up. I told her to
just make magic cookie bars and linzer tarts and we’ll all be happy.
And here I thought I was the brains of the family… 😉 Great idea!
Oh wow this sounds good! I love the sweet and salty blend!
This looks so good! I cant wait to try it, thanks for the recipe.
As a vanilla lover, these cookies are amazing! The caramel and the gooeyness of the condensed milk make it a truly remarkable and totally worth going off your diet dessert! I am heading to Walmart now….:)
I have been seeing a lot of recipes lately with using the pretzels in the deserts. This looks and sounds great. I hate coconut so glad to see this was substituted.
Those look delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
These look amazing. I know I would LOVE them, and so would my husband.
Explain to me why this isn’t a #Giveaway? 😉
Hah! Shipping would be a nightmare!
Thanks, Andrew!! Can’t wait to try them!! I was just in Wal-Mart today, and saw the caramel chips, picked up the bag, thought ,”these look good,” then put the bag back. So funny!
I am so impressed you knew how to respond 🙂
YAY! I’ve been waiting for this for what feels like forever! Can’t wait to give em a go!
This looks like a delicious recipe!
Oh my, I suddenly realized I need chocolate. Thanks a heap. : )
I’ve LOVED these things for more than 20 years! Surprisingly, they’re even better frozen. But I’ve got to say, as a MCB purist, there needs to be some coconut in here.
I hear ya, man. But trust me… the caramel bits will knock you on your butt! And I’m not even a caramel fan!
Is this , or was this I should say a secret family recipe?
Nope.
i have everything but the caramel, wonder if i can get to the store today 🙂
Try looking at Walmart for the caramel chips. That’s where my mom said she found them. Then again, those might be the only kind that are “nut free,” so you may get lucky at other stores. Let me know how they turn out!