Classic Magic Bars

This recipe for Magic Bars is an oldie but a goodie and has been in my recipe stash for years. That’s because it’s fast and easy to make and everyone loves them too. I think this recipe first appeared on the cans of Eagle Sweetened Condensed Milk over 30 years ago and were called Magic Cookie Bars. We’ve always called them Magic Bars at our house too, and they do go together almost like magic because you simply layer on the ingredients.

The first layer is crushed graham crackers and melted butter. I’ve always used the shortcut of just melting the butter in the baking pan while the oven is preheating. By the time I’m done crushing the graham crackers, the butter is all melted and ready to go!

(Note: The full recipe is written for a 9×13 pan, however it’s easy to cut in half and I was making a half size batch in an 8×8 pan in the photos below. Notes about this are included in the written recipe too.)

Once you have the graham cracker layer completed, you can just start sprinkling on the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, flaked coconut, and chopped nuts. I’ve got measurements for those ingredients below but after you’ve made this recipe a few times you’ll discover you can probably just eyeball it and all will still be well.

The last ingredient to be added is sweetened condensed milk that’s poured over everything. Sometimes I make my own homemade sweetened condensed milk and that’s what you see in these photos too. Once the sweetened condensed milk is all poured on, it’s ready to go in a 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

And when they come out of the oven all those yummy flavors are baked together in flavorful little bars that are hard to resist.

This recipe can be especially handy for those times when you need a homemade sweet treat but don’t have much time for anything complicated. There’s no stirring and very simple measuring, and if you can make a few layers, you can do it!