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Christmas Magic Cookie Bars

Christmas Magic Cookie Bars – Classic Magic Cookie Bars all dressed up for Christmas. Layers of graham crackers, chocolate, peanut butter chips, coconut, M&M’s and sweetened condensed milk.

I am pretty sure everyone grew up with the Classic Magic Cookie Bars in their house around the holidays. They go by many different names, in my family they were called One Pan Bars, but Magic Bars or Seven Layer Bars are other common names.

Well these are very similar they are just fun and festive for the holidays. I did make a couple small changes to make them a little different than the original, and I think they might be even better!

christmas magic bars stacked on white plate

 

What Do You Need For Christmas Magic Bars

  • Graham cracker crumbs
  • Melted butter
  • Chocolate chips
  • Peanut butter chips
  • Shredded coconut
  • Sweetened condensed milk
  • M&M’s

See, almost all the same ingredients as the original. I swapped butterscotch for peanut butter and the nuts for M&M’s. So they will be very reminiscent of what you know and love, but with a fun twist!

pouring sweetened condensed milk on pan of magic bars

How To Make Christmas Magic Cookie Bars

  1. In the base of a 13×9 inch baking dish mix together the melted butter and graham cracker crumbs.  Press into the base of the pan. It will be a very thin layer, that is perfectly fine.
  2. Then just start layering.  Sprinkle over the coconut, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and M&M’s.
  3. To finish evenly pour the can of sweetened condensed milk over the bars. 
  4. Bake for about 30 minutes until they are set and then let them cool completely before serving.  

I sprinkled a few mini M&M’s over the top after they were done baking just for looks. You could also pour the sweetened condensed milk on before you put the M&M’s on if you wanted to see the red and green more clearly.

scooping a christmas magic bar out of the pan

Magic Bar Variations

  • You can make these year round. Play around with the colors for different holidays. You can even use different varieties of M&M’s like dark chocolate, peanut butter, caramel etc.
  • Don’t like coconut? Use quick cooking oats.
  • Mix up the chips! I used semi-sweet chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. But you can use white chocolate or butterscotch or use mint chips with peppermint M&M’s to make even more festive!
  • The original version has nuts. If you love nuts, feel free to add them here.

Can You Freeze Christmas Magic Bars

Yes, these freeze really well! Once the bars have cooled completely you can either cover the entire pan and freeze, or slice and freeze that way. When I was a kid my Grandma would slice them and put them in an air tight container in the freezer. We always knew where to look for treats whenever we went to her house!

collage for pinterest of magic bars

More Christmas Cookie Recipes

Yield: 24

Christmas Magic Cookie Bars

magic bars stacked on white plate

Christmas Magic Cookie Bars - Classic Magic Cookie Bars all dressed up for Christmas. Layers of graham crackers, chocolate, peanut butter chips, coconut, M&M's and sweetened condensed milk.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/2 cup shredded coconut
  • 1 cup peanut butter chips
  • 1 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup M&M's
  • 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
    2. In a 13x9 inch baking dish mix together butter and graham cracker crumbs. Press into the base of the pan, it will be a thin layer.
    3. Sprinkle coconut evenly over the graham crackers.
    4. Sprinkle over chocolate chips, then peanut butter chips, then M&M's
    5. Evenly drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over the bars.
    6. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and set.
    7. Remove and let cool completely before slicing.

Notes

I sprinkled a few mini M&M's over the top after they were done baking just for looks. You could also pour the sweetened condensed milk on before you put the M&M's on if you wanted to see the red and green more clearly.

Nutrition Information

Yield

24

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 264Total Fat 14gSaturated Fat 8gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 19mgSodium 108mgCarbohydrates 33gFiber 2gSugar 28gProtein 4g

Nutrition Disclaimer: All information presented on this site is intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information shared on dinnersdishesanddesserts.com should only be used as a general guideline.

Did you make this recipe?

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Cathy

Sunday 31st of December 2023

Ideas what you could substitute the coconut with? Hubby doesn’t like coconut.

Erin S

Tuesday 2nd of January 2024

There are tips in the post for what to use instead of coconut - quick cooking oats is listed

Tammy

Sunday 17th of December 2023

Is there anything that can be used instead of the peanut butter chips?

Erin S

Sunday 17th of December 2023

You can use any flavor "chip you like, any nut, candy, or anything like that

Susie Morris

Saturday 25th of November 2023

So what gives it the thickness I see in the picture? It looks as thought it has cookie dough or something but ingredient list just says peanut butter chips and chocolate chips.

Marlene

Friday 9th of February 2024

@Erin S, i made these and they are great but a little sticky. I looked at photo and saw that a glass dish was used so I did the same. Did not realize that i needed to lower to 325 and they look a little over done on edges but still good. Do i refrigerate after baking?

Erin S

Saturday 25th of November 2023

The bars are pretty thin, you can see the in process pictures in the post. There is no cookie dough type anything, just the graham cracker crust, the layers of "chips" and sweetened condensed milk. There is even a video of the recipe being made in the recipe card.

Peggy

Tuesday 21st of December 2021

Can these be made in a 7 by 11 inch pan ? Would recipe amounts have to be altered ? Thank you.

Erin S

Tuesday 21st of December 2021

Yes you can, I don't know how the amounts would change exactly because I haven't tried that size pan. I would probably just use what is listed, and the bake longer as the bars will be thicker. The only thing that could cause a problem would be the condensed milk, so just pour enough to coat everything, but not have it swimming.

Marla

Friday 17th of December 2021

How to adjust for 8x8 pan?

Erin S

Friday 17th of December 2021

Cut the recipe in half

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