This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our privacy policy for additional information.
Why You’ll Love My Recipe
Crunchy, chewy, and delicious, these Magic Cookie Bars, also known as Hello Dolly Bars, are an easy and delicious snack.
These classic bars are sure to be a crowd favourite. For an equally delicious treat, why not try Nanaimo Bars or Mars Bars Squares? Make a variety for the snack table at your next party. You can even freeze them for later.
Reader Review
My daughter made these today and they were not only scrumptious but easy and will be lovely to serve. Thank you so much for all the extra tips in the instructions. Great recipe. Will definitely make again.
Karlynn’s Recipe Notes
- Skill Level: This is an easy recipe.
- Total Time: These bars take approximately 35 minutes to make.
- Variations: With a couple of modifications, you can turn these into Seven Layer Bars. You can also play around with which type of nuts you use and whether you use sweetened or unsweetened coconut. Try some dark chocolate chips for more bitterness to balance the sweet, or try using chocolate baking crumbs instead of graham cracker crumbs for the crust.
- Tools Needed: For this recipe, you’ll need a 9×13 baking pan, some parchment paper or cooking spray, a small bowl, a spoon, and some measuring cups.
What You’ll Need For Ingredients
Butter: This recipe calls for salted butter, but if you only have unsalted butter that will work too. Just add a pinch of salt to taste. You could also make this work with a plant-based butter alternative, since the main use for the butter in this recipe is to hold the crust together.
Coconut: Flaked coconut will work best for this recipe, but you can use shredded coconut instead. Depending on how chewy you’d like these bars to be, you can use smaller or larger shreds, swetened or unsweetened.
Sweetened Condensed Milk: Sweet and sticky, this is the glue that holds the toppings together and turns these bars into a gooey, caramelized treat.
Chocolate Chips: This recipe calls for semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you can use whichever chocolate chips you prefer.
How to Make Magic Cookie Bars
This is a brief overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (325°F for glass pans).
- Spray 9×13 pan with cooking spray or line with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Combine graham crackers and melted butter. Press mixture into the bottom of the pan.
- Pour sweetened condensed milk over the crust.
- Sprinkle on even layers of the chocolate chips, coconut, and nuts.
- Press down gently with the back of a spoon so that the toppings are settled into the condensed milk but not breaking through the crust.
- Bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove and cool completely before slicing.
Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for Making Magic Cookie Bars
Chocolate Options: Dark chocolate will cut some of the sweetness, while milk chocolate chips will make the bars even sweeter and creamier. White chocolate would probably be overly sugary for this purpose, while peanut butter or butterscotch baking chips will change the flavour profile a bit. Have fun experimenting, maybe even combine a few different types. You could also use chunks instead of chips.
Nutty Choices: Walnuts or pecans are the most common choice for these bars since they get nice and chewy, but feel free to change that up. If you don’t mind a bit of extra crunch, you could try some chopped peanuts or cashews or almonds. Adjust the size of the pieces according to how much chewing you’re eady to do.
Storage Instructions
Room Temperature: You can store these bars in a covered container at room temperature, or in the fridge if you like them cold, for a few days.
Freezer: Cut the magic bars into the size that you want to freeze them. Place the bars onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Freeze them solid then put them into a container and layer them between pieces of parchment paper so that they don’t stick together. Cover the container and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
More Delicious Bar Recipes
Looking for more easy and tasty treats?
Try these Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars for a twist on classic chocolate chip cookies.
Make a pan of Butter Tart Bars for some distinctly Canadian flavours.
Whip up some zesty Lemon Bars.
There you go, everyone. A classic that’s been around for decades and never really got old. Try making these and let me know what you think.
Happy Baking!
Karlynn
Magic Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter, melted
- 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 ⅓ cups flaked coconut
- 1 cup chopped nuts
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 350° F, or to 325 °F if you are using a glass dish.
- Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray, or line with parchment paper and set aside for later.
- Combine the graham cracker crumbs and the salted butter until the graham crumbs are moistened with the butter throughout.
- Press the mixture into the bottom of your prepared prepared pan.
- Pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the graham crumb crust.
- Sprinkle even layers of the chocolate chips, coconut and the nuts, making sure they are mixed on the top evenly. ( you want a little of each all over the place)
- Press these down firmly with the back of a spoon into the condensed milk ( but don’t break through to the crust.!)
- Bake for 25 minutes in your preheated oven or until lightly browned all over. If you notice the top browning too fast you can cover with tinfoil for a few minutes and keep baking. Remove and cool.
- Cool the bars completely before slicing.
- Cut into bars or diamonds.
- Store covered at room temperature or in a closed container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Rita Ryan says
Hello Dollies are a Christmas Must!
Margaret says
I have made these magic bars several times. They are always a hit at bazaars or garage sales. They are addictive so be careful
Angaleta says
I LOVE THESE but……I can never get the bottom layer to stay together. They crumble & are messy. What am I doing wrong? TIA, Angeleta
Terre says
I’ve been looking for the vegan version of this recipe, which I still haven’t found. This recipe is really easy to veganize though. Can’t wait to try them. Thank you!
Lynn says
My daughter made these today and they were not only scrumptious but easy and will be lovely to serve. Thank you so much for all the extra tips in the instructions. Great recipe. Will definitely make again.
Janet says
I think the pan is too large, too thin of a bar. I used dark chips and only half the required amount, family found them too sweet.
Jess M says
I just made these for my husband with semi sweet chips, honey roasted peanuts and Biscoff cookies for the base.
Oh my gosh it’s so delicious, thank you so much for this wonderfully easy recipe!
betcclic.com says
I learn to cooks soup recipes by watching youtube videos
Kay says
I have been making them every Christmas for years, this is the first time I have poured the condensed milk in first. waiting for them to cool the check out the result 🙂
Dori says
I’ve been making these since I was a teenager, back when they were called Hello. Dolly bars. To reply to some of the other comments, I use a 13×9” pan, putting the sweetened condensed milk on top of the graham crackers doesn’t make them more moist, it actually makes them drier, put the sweetened condensed milk on top, makes for a much moister cookie bar. These are my granddaughters favorite, make them for her every Christmas.
Sheila P says
I have never seen this recipe where you pour the sweet condensed milk over the graham crumbs!! All the recipes I’ve seen add it at the end, on top of everything else. This makes so much more sense. This way, the milk bubbles up through everything to hold it together, and doesn’t brown so quickly. Thank you!
Joy Wilson says
can I use unsalted butter. that’s what I have on hand.
Karlynn Johnston says
Yes, just add a sprinkle of salt to the recipe
Candace says
Did you use a 9×9 pan?
Judy says
What size pan?
susan gortva says
i used to really love these. can’t believe all the goodies I ate
Dawn says
We call these Simple Simon’s and have been making them since the 60’s. This was in the church cookbook my mother helped put together. Butterscotch chips were in the recipe and the condensed milk was poured on top of everything. So I guess our Simple Simon’s are the 7 layer bars