Magic Cookie Layered Bars (Printable format)

Buttery graham crust layered with chocolate, coconut, nuts, and sweetened milk for a chewy treat.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Crust

01 - 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
02 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

→ Layers

03 - 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
04 - 1 cup butterscotch chips (optional; may substitute with white chocolate chips)
05 - 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
06 - 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
07 - 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper or grease lightly.
02 - Combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter in a bowl. Press mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
03 - Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over the graham cracker crust.
04 - Distribute semi-sweet chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, shredded coconut, and chopped nuts evenly over condensed milk.
05 - Gently press down layers with the back of a spatula to compact them.
06 - Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until edges are golden brown and center is set.
07 - Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • They come together in under 10 minutes of actual work, leaving you more time to eat than to bake.
  • Every texture and flavor hits at once—crunchy, chewy, chocolatey, nutty—without a single fancy technique.
  • Your kitchen smells like toasted coconut and caramel for hours afterward, which is basically free therapy.
02 -
  • Don't skip cooling completely—cutting them warm turns them into crumbly chunks instead of neat bars, even though they taste just as good straight from the pan if you have zero self-control.
  • The sweetened condensed milk is the entire reason these work; it's the ingredient that creates that signature chewy texture that distinguishes them from regular brownies or cookie bars.
03 -
  • Use a hot knife to cut these neatly—either dip it in hot water and wipe it dry between cuts, or run it under warm water right before slicing through stubborn layers.
  • If your butterscotch chips are hard to find, brown sugar chips are practically the same thing, or you can use an extra 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips plus a tiny drizzle of caramel sauce mixed into the condensed milk.
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