Magic 7 layer bar recipe

I understand why these are called magic bars. They are truly magical. Each bite is magical, chocolatey, coconut goodness.

They are a perfect weekend treat or addition to a Holiday cookie platter. They are also the perfect treat to make with children.

Magic 7 layer bars

½ cup margarine

1 cup graham crumbs

1 ½ cups chocolate chips

1 ½ cups white chocolate chips

1 ½ cups butterscotch chips

1 ½ cups coconut, flaked

1 can sweetened condensed milk

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Line 9×13 pan with no-stick foil.

Place margarine in 9×13 pan and place in oven until melted.

When melted, remove from oven and sprinkle graham crumbs over margarine.

Next, layer the chips, then the coconut.

Pour on milk as even as you can.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Cool.

Remove by lifting foil out of dish and slice into bars.

Tips:

Replace butterscotch chips with M&M's for a colorful treat. Use Holiday colored M&M's to make them festive for any Holiday.

Just to clarify: some call these magic bars, and others call them seven-layer bars.

If you plan on making these with children, allow them to pour the toppings onto the graham cracker base. They will enjoy it and probably won't make a big mess. Just be sure they do not touch the baking pan because it will be hot from baking the graham crust.

You can use any type of chip for this recipe. For example, you can use chocolate, butterscotch, white chocolate, caramel, peanut butter, or special Holiday chips such as Andes or peppermint chocolate.

If you like nuts in your desserts, you can add a cup of chopped nuts in place of one of the chip varieties.

Drizzle the sweetened condensed milk as evenly as possible over the top of the bars before baking. This is what creates the chewy goodness of the bars.

I cut the bars into two-inch pieces, but you can cut them smaller for a one-bite treat.

For an extra chocolate treat, use chocolate graham crumbs as the base. If you can not find these at the grocery store, you can add a tablespoon or two of cocoa powder to your regular graham crumbs to make them yourself.

To save money on this recipe, because it is one of the more expensive recipes to make, you can use graham crackers and pulse them into crumbs using your food processor. I will often make crumbs out of an entire box of graham crackers and store them in an air-tight container to use later.

Another way to save a few dollars with this recipe is by shopping at stores like Aldi or Lidl for your baking chips. They may not have a wide variety of flavors, but you can make it work. Dollar General or Dollar Tree will have some discounted baking ingredients as well. Clipping coupons will also help save money, and you will notice that more baking coupons come out around the holidays than at any other time of the year.

This recipe can easily be altered to meet your taste. Just be sure to use the exact amount of ingredients that you use. In other words, you can change the flavors, but not the quantities or baking time.

Oven temperatures do vary, so be sure to check for doneness after it bakes for thirty minutes. If it is not cooked through and the center is still watery, put it back in the oven and bake in five-minute increments until it is fully baked all the way through. When the bars are baked, and the filling is set, it will not jiggle when you shake the pan.