These healthier Magic Cookie bars are rich, delicious bites of heaven! A shortbread cookie base, gooey caramel, toasty coconut, and chocolate chips will bring a flavor explosion to your tastebuds! These paleo magic cookie bars are a take on classic 7 Layer Bars, but made paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan, and refined sugar-free.
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A treat of many names.. Magic cookie bars, Hello Dollie’s, 7 Layer Magic Bars and my personal childhood favorite. The marriage of a cookie base, with gooey caramel, toasty coconut, and melty chocolate is absolute heaven and chewy texture with firmer edges are to die for.
If you haven’t had the chance to try a magic cookie bar, think of them this way – a chocolate chip cookie meets burnt caramel, meets a Samoa/Caramel Delite Girl Scouts Cookie. The classic bars start with a graham cracker crust and use sweetened condensed milk to hold the bars together. Today we are going to make Magic Cookie Bars without butter, dairy, flour, and refined sugar.
The graham cracker crust will be replaced with a gluten-free, vegan almond flour cookie crust and the sweetened condensed milk will be swapped with a homemade coconut milk caramel. Sure, making homemade coconut milk caramel may take a little more time than opening a can of sweetened condensed milk, but I promise you it’s worth it. This version is just as delicious, but a little more wholesome and perfect for those with gluten-free and dairy-free diets.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- They can be made to fit most diets! Already gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free/vegan, paleo, and refined sugar-free, magic cookie bars can be made so everyone can enjoy.
- They’re versatile! Want to make magic cookie bars without coconut? Leave it out or sub in something else (although coconut really makes these the amazing bites they are!)
- Easy to make! These come together VERY easily in just a few steps.
- Made with more wholesome ingredients.
- Perfect for holidays like the 4th of July, Christmas, Thanksgiving, or for any occasion!
- These magic cookie bars can be made nut-free with simple swaps!
How to make magic cookie bars
Full recipe/measurements are in the recipe card below.
Ingredients
- Almond four: You can sub cashew flour or tiger nut flour as a 1:1 nut-free swap!
- Tapioca flour/starch: Tapioca flours gives the cookie base an amazing texture and helps hold it together. Arrowroot flour should also work!
- Maple syrup or honey: You could also use agave.
- Coconut oil: You can also use vegan butter, ghee, or avocado oil
- Baking staples: vanilla extract, sea salt
- Full-fat canned coconut milk: For these magic cookie bars, we’ll be making a vegan/dairy-free “sweetened condensed milk”. If you cannot have coconut, you can simply use a can of sweetened condensed milk. However, it won’t be refined sugar-free! I haven’t tried it myself, but there is also sweetened condensed oat milk.
- Unsweetened Shredded coconut
- Nuts: I prefer pecans, walnuts, or almonds. However you can also use macadamia nuts, pistachios, or other nuts.
- Chocolate chips: I like to use Hu Kitchen No Sugar Added Chocolate Chips. You can use my code “danishealthyeats” for a discount! You can also use white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, etc.
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Small saucepan: I use all stainless steel & couldn’t recommend Quince pans more! You can use my code “INFP-DANI10” for a discount!
- Spatula
- 8×8 Square baking dish
Instructions
- Make the coconut “sweetened condensed milk”: Add the coconut milk, maple, coconut sugar, vanilla, and sea salt to a small, deep pan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often. Lower heat to simmer and continue cooking until the mixture has reduced by half, being sure to stir often to prevent burning – this can take around 30 minutes, sometimes longer. When it’s done, it should resemble sweetened condensed milk/caramel sauce and will have darkened in color. Remove from heat. You should end up with a little over a cup.
- Make the cookie base: Preheat oven to 350. Combine all of the cookie base ingredients in a large mixing bowl, combining until dough forms. Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper and spread the dough in the bottom evenly. Bake for 12 minutes until lightly golden around the edges. Remove the pan from the oven.
- Assemble the bars: Add the coconut, chopped nuts, and chocolate chips. Then carefully pour the coconut caramel/condensed milk evenly over top (I like to slowly drizzle it all over the top to make sure it’s pretty even). Return to the oven for 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from the oven. Chill in the refrigerator for an hour or two until completely firm, before cutting them into bars.
- Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for 1 week or in the freezer for up to two months. I prefer these straight from the freezer!
Magic cookie bar recipe video
Magic cookie bar variations
- Use different chocolate chips – white chocolate, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, etc.
- Switch up the nuts – use pecans, walnuts, almonds, etc.
- Use pistachios, coconut, and white chocolate chips as toppings and add some cinnamon to the cookie base for a baklava feel!
- Use hazelnuts as the nut for a Nutella vibe!
- Use dried mango, macadamia nuts, coconut, and white chocolate for tropical magic cookie bars.
- Try dried cherries, pistachios, and chocolate chips!
- Use almonds, coconut, and chocolate chip for an almond joy feel.
- Use chopped dates, peanuts, and chocolate chips for Snickers-flavored cookie bars.
FAQ’s, Tips, & Tricks
- Best way to store leftovers: Store bars in an air-tight container for 2 months in the freezer, or a week or two in fridge.
- Coconut condensed milk tips: Be patient! Sometimes it can take longer than 30 minutes to reduce. Don’t turn the heat up to try and speed up the process, as this can cause burning and ruin the mixture. Even if it seems like it won’t thicken up, it will, promise (if you are using the ingredients listed without substitutes!)
- They’re best from the freezer: When they are frozen, the cookie base never gets rock-hard. They just get chewier, denser, and the texture is just amazing. I prefer them this way!
More healthy desserts to try
- Sugar cookie fruit pizza
- Homemade strawberry shortcake ice cream bars
- Healthy, Vegan Snickers Ice Cream Cake
- Snickers almond flour banana bread
- Healthy almond joys
- Homemade Dilly bars
- White chocolate carrot cake truffles
- Caramel Delite Brownies
If you try these and love, it’d mean the world to me if you left a star-rating below and tag me in your creations on Instagram @danishealtyeats! x
Magic Cookie Bars (Gluten-free, vegan)
Ingredients
Base
- 2 cups almond flour
- 2 tbsp tapioca flour
- 1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract & good pinch sea salt
Topping
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts (i like pecans, walnuts, or almonds)
Coconut milk condensed milk
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract & good pinch sea salt
Instructions
Coconut milk codensed milk
- Add the coconut milk, maple, coconut sugar, vanilla, and sea salt to a small, deep pan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often. Lower heat to simmer and continue cooking until the mixture has reduced by half, being sure to stir often to prevent burning – this can take around 30 minutes, sometimes longer.
- When it's done, it should resemble sweetened condensed milk/caramel sauce and will have darkened in color. Remove from heat. You should end up with a little over a cup.
Cookie base
- Preheat oven to 350. Combine all of the cookie base ingredients in a large mixing bowl, combining until dough forms. Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper and spread the dough in the bottom evenly. Bake for 14 minutes until lightly golden around the edges.
- Remove the pan from the oven. Add the coconut, chopped nuts, and chocolate chips. Then carefully pour the coconut caramel/condensed milk evenly over top (I like to slowly drizzle it all over the top to make sure it's pretty even).
- Return to the oven for 22-25 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from the oven. Chill in the refrigerator for an hour or two until completely firm, before cutting them into bars.
- *Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for 1 week or in the freezer for up to two months. I prefer these straight from the freezer!
