Christmas Magic Cookie Bars

I found the Christmas Magic. These Christmas Magic Cookie Bars are a phenomenal treat to make for your Christmas Cookie Exchange this year. They’re so rich and flavorful that you can cut them into small bars and have plenty to serve a crowd. I’m sharing tips on how to make these treats as beautiful as they are delicious.

I love how easy it is to customize these cookie bars.

You can substitute your favorite nuts in place of the pecans.

Or you can use a different holiday-themed candy of your choice.

Disclosure – I may get a small commission for purchases made through affiliate links in this post.

Key to Success #1 – Start with a Graham Cracker Crust

The base for these delicious cookie bars is a simple graham cracker crust.

Start off by finely crushing up your graham crackers.

You’ll need 1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs, which will be about 9 full-sized sheets of graham crackers.

The easiest way to make graham cracker crumbs is by putting the graham crackers into your food processor.

Place the graham crackers into the food processor and pulse on high power a few times until you have fine crumbs and no large chunks.

Pour the graham cracker crumbs into a bowl and stir in the melted butter.

Just toss the crumbs lightly until they are fully coated with the butter.

Finally, press the buttered graham cracker crumbs into the bottom of your greased 9×13-inch baking dish.

Make sure you press the crust firmly into the bottom of the pan.

Otherwise, the crust won’t hold up to all the toppings that we’re going to pile on top.

Key to Success #2 – Pile On The Toppings

Classic Magic Cookie Bars or Seven Layer Bars have a mix of chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut, and nuts.

We’re using semi-sweet chocolate chips for a maximum amount of chocolate flavor.

And we’re going with pecans for our nuts.

But you can substitute different chips or nuts if you prefer.

I always go with sweetened coconut flakes, but you can use unsweetened coconut if that’s what you have on hand.

And we’re adding in plain M&Ms in Christmas colors.

You can go crazy and substitute other varieties of M&Ms or even other Christmas candy.

When you bake these cookie bars, some of the candies may lose their shiny color or crack due to the heat.

For this reason, I add additional M&Ms to the top of the cookie bars immediately when I pull them out of the oven.

The top is still ooey gooey enough for the candy to stick and it adds very nice Christmas colors.

I also like to sprinkle on a little bit of extra shredded coconut just for presentation.

The white flakes of coconut look like fluffy white snow on top of the bars.

Key to Success #3 – Drizzle, Don’t Dump

When it comes to the sweetened condensed milk, drizzle it rather than dumping it.

The sweetened condensed milk will soak into the topping and crust, bringing everything together into one delicious dessert.

Simply drizzle the sweetened condensed milk straight from the can or package.

Try your best to evenly cover the toppings with the milk.

It is not necessary to mix the condensed milk into the toppings.

If some of the toppings are not covered with milk, it’s not a problem.

As it cooks, it will work its way into all of the Christmas Magic Cookie Bars’ nooks and crannies. 

Believe me on this.

Save this Christmas Magic Cookie Bars recipe to your favorite Christmas Cookies board or your Holiday Treats board.

Check out these other related recipes at GraceLikeRainBlog.com

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Magic Caramel Pie

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Nutter Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars