Review of Gluten Free Magic Cookie Bars

My mother passed away when I was only 10 and yet I can still remember her making Magic Bars when I was little. I loved them and I still have a penchant for coconut which I believe is tied to those bars. So when my husband came across a gluten free recipe for them, I was super excited to try them out and share this yummy piece of my childhood with my daughter.

I followed the recipe basically as it was directed, except I didn't have any pecans so I used walnuts instead. I also didn't use the entire can of sweetened condensed milk because it seemed excessive to me, so I used about 3/4 of it.  The consistency of them turned out great. Even my best non-gluten free magic bars will occasionally have issues setting up right so I was pleased with how these set up. However, as much as I like peanut butter I thought that the peanut butter flavor of these bars was too overwhelming for my taste. My daughter on the other hand LOVES peanut butter and could not get enough of them. 

Next time I make these, and there will be a next time, I will probably search high and low for some gluten free graham crackers and then I'll maybe half the peanut butter in the base layer and mix in some crushed graham crackers to lessen the "peanut butter punch" that you get when you bite into them. I'll probably have to give this some thought so as to not make the bottom too dry. Other than that, I don't think I'd do much different. Out of 5 stars I'd give them a 4 and that's only because of my taste buds and the peanut butter - I'm sure my daughter would give them a 4.5 (she thought there was too many nuts).

If anybody else has other ideas, I'd love to hear from you!
-Jackie

(Gluten Free) Magic Cookie Bars

• Prep
  15 m
• Cook
  40 m
• Ready In
  1 h 55 m

Recipe By:Jewels

"I did a combination of two recipes, peanut butter cookies with three ingredients and magic cookie bars. My brother-in-law loves magic cookie bars but is now gluten-free. I have been trying to come up with desserts for him so he doesn't feel left out. This is an amazing dessert and will stay fresh for days...if they last that long in your house! Perfect for Passover - no flour!"

Ingredients

• Cookie Base:
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups peanut butter
• Toppings:
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

 

• 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped raw pecans
• 1/2 cup chopped raw almonds
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 9x13-inch glass baking dish with parchment paper.
2. Mix sugar and eggs together in a bowl until smooth; stir in peanut butter until well blended. Pour peanut butter mixture into the prepared baking dish.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until cookie base is partly cooked, 8 minutes.
4. Layer semisweet chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, pecans, almonds, and coconut onto the cookie base. Slowly pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over the toppings.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until coconut is slightly brown, about 30 minutes.
6. Cool completely before removing cookie bars from pan. Peel away parchment paper and cut into small squares using a sharp knife.

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