Magic Cookie Bars

How does it feel when your teeth digs into something that has several layers of goodness and deliciousness in it? That is exactly what I felt when I bit into one slice of these heavenly Magic Cookie Bars. When you bite in, you won’t believe how simple this dessert was. A lot of crushing and chopping, sprinkling and then baking gets you something that is totally irresistible. I don’t know how else to describe these squares of yumminess…

For this month’s Shh Cooking Secretly Challenge, the theme is “Chocolate” and it was suggested by none other than our hostess, Mayuriji. If it is something that is very close to my heart, I don’t think twice before jumping in. 😉 I was paired with Archanaji, with whom I am coordinating for this challenge for the first time. We are already connected through the Blogging Marathon posts, however our interactions were limited to commenting on blog posts. It was nice to chat with her and get to know her slightly more, though with the way life is now, we just don’t have the leisure to getting to know anyone in detail, thanks to the amount of tasks waiting to be completed with absolutely no help. But I can surely tell you she is a very fun person. Just reading through her introduction will make you break into a smile. Maybe I will give a glimpse of her sense of humor as we go forward… There are so many tempting recipes on her blog, like this Samosa Chaat and this Pecan Pie that she calls utterly delicious… I do not want to influence your decision in exploring her blog. 🙂 The secret ingredients she gave me were coconut and biscuits, and I did a happy dance since both these ingredients are a part of these incredible bars.

Do you want me to tell you what is my favorite part of this recipe? The ingredients are to be layered one on top of the other without any mixing. After baking and waiting unabated to cool down, you will be surprised by the end result! I must say that the inspiration for baking these should go to my friend Reshma’s kids whose YouTube video made me want to bake it as soon as I can. So when the challenge went up and the ingredients were declared, it became perfect foil to bake immediately.

This recipe is quite forgiving – like you can use your choice of cookies. I used Marie biscuits I had ordered but nobody wanted to even dip in their tea. Digestive biscuits are always the best, but then who asks, just use what you want. Most of the recipes online use pecans or walnuts as the nut layer, but I went for a mix of whatever I had in my pantry. I have used fresh coconut, but go ahead and use dessicated coconut or dehydrated coconut shreds that you get in packs, if that is what is available for you. I used chopped chocolate chunks, since I had cooking chocolate in my pantry, but feel free to use chocolate chips.

By the way, I realized how therapeutic cutting through chocolate can be while working on this recipe. I didn’t realize it much when I made these chocolate chunk cookies, maybe because I was rushing through my motions. But this time, I totally loved how it felt when you run down your knife through the bars to cut them into shapes that your maths class didn’t teach you. If I have intrigued you, then I tell you to please try doing it. You can thank me later for that moment of serenity… 😉

The ingredients I gave Archanaji were caramel and salt. She cooked up this beautiful tart, that you can go over her place and have a peak. During our discussion in between on the month, she hinted that her tart was having a facial and she was hoping she could get the cooking and the posting done on time. I am just trying to imagine how it would look for the tart to have a facial. 😉 I was literally giggling imagining the crust getting a hot air blow. Hehe… Meanwhile, go ahead, have a look at the recipe and if you have everything in your pantry, I urge you to make it and enjoy it, slowly, nicely, lovingly…

5 from 14 votes

Magic Cookie Bars

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 8 -12

Author Rafeeda

Ingredients

• 50 gm melted butter
• 120 gm cookies powdered
• 1/2 cup grated coconut
• 1/2 cup mixed nuts crushed (I used almonds, cashews and walnuts)
• 100 gm chocolate chopped
• 1/2 can condensed milk

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Line an 8 inch brownie pan with foil or parchment paper. Rub some butter on it.
• Pour the melted butter on the prepared pan. Sprinkle the cookie powder all over it equally. Gently pat down.
• Now sprinkle the coconut, crushed nuts and chocolate all over the top. Drizzle the condensed milk over it and gently tap the pan.
• Bake for 30 minutes. Take out and allow to cool completely in the pan.
• Transfer the pan into the refrigerator and let it set for around two hours.
• Cut into 9-16 slices and enjoy!

Notes

I used Marie biscuits and powdered them in the grinder. You can use digestive biscuits.
Usually pecan is used in this recipe. But I have used mixed nuts.
If you don't have freshly grated coconut, you can use desiccated coconut.
You can substitute the chopped chocolate with chocolate chips.
Double the quantities exactly for making a 13x9 inch pan.