Holiday Magic Bars

These bars are basically a holiday miracle in dessert form. They take about 10 minutes to throw together, and somehow they always turn out perfectly.

The name “magic bars” comes from the fact that you just layer everything on top of each other, pour sweetened condensed milk over the whole thing, and let the oven do the work.

The holiday M&Ms make them look super festive, but honestly, you could use regular M&Ms any time of year and they’d still be a hit.

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs (about 10-11 crackers)
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons sugar

For the topping:

• 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
• 1½ cups holiday M&Ms
• 1 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk chocolate)
• 1½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

How to Make Them

Prep: Heat your oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13 inch pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang on the sides so you can lift the bars out later.

Make the crust: Mix the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar in a bowl until it looks like wet sand. Press this firmly into the bottom of your pan. Really press it down—use the bottom of a measuring cup if that helps.

Layer everything on: Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the crust. Then add the coconut. Then scatter the M&Ms on top. Don’t stress about making it perfect—it all comes together in the end.

The magic part: Pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over everything. Start in the center and work your way out, trying to get a little bit on all the toppings. It won’t cover everything completely, and that’s fine.

Bake: Pop it in the oven for 25-28 minutes. You’re looking for the edges to be golden brown and the condensed milk to look set, not liquidy.

Cool completely: This is the hard part. Let the pan cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours, or even better, stick it in the fridge for an hour. If you try to cut these while they’re warm, you’ll just have a gooey mess (still delicious, but not pretty).

Cut and serve: Use the parchment paper to lift the whole thing out of the pan, then cut into squares. I usually get about 24 bars from a 9×13 pan.

Tips & Tricks

• Use parchment paper. Seriously, don’t skip this. It makes getting the bars out so much easier.
• Press that crust down hard. A firm crust means your bars won’t fall apart.
• Let them cool. I know I already said this, but it’s important. Warm magic bars are a sticky disaster.
• Switch up the add-ins. Try white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, or crushed candy canes for variety.
• Storage: Keep these in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or refrigerate them for up to a week.

The best thing about these bars? Everyone thinks you worked way harder than you actually did. And during the holidays, that’s exactly the kind of recipe you need.

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