From the moment I saw these, Almond Joy {four ingredient} Cookies on Pinterest, I knew I needed to try something similar with one of my favorite bar desserts. I love Magic Bars, also known as Hello Dolly Bars, and I just knew I needed to see if I could turn them into Magic Bar Cookies.
I’m happy to say it worked. They only have five ingredients, you don’t need a mixer, and they come together in minutes. Gotta love a quick and easy dessert!
One of the only things I don’t like about traditional Magic Bars is that the graham cracker crust is often crumbly and quite messy. These cookies easily solve that problem. They have all the graham cracker taste but no crumby mess, and they have fewer calories because you aren’t using as much butter as the traditional recipe.
Because there isn’t as much butter in them, like the original bars, they aren’t quite as rich, but they are still very sweet and very chocolaty.
They are the type of cookie that gets even better the second and third day. My husband ate almost all of them. The kids and I were lucky to salvage a few.
Speaking of kids, this is a great recipe for kids who are learning to cook.
So, if you are a fan of Magic Bars, aka Hello Dolly Bars, you’re definitely going to want to give these little guys a shot!
–and if you use gluten-free graham crackers, these can easily be made gluten-free.
More five ingredient recipes
- 2 cups coconut (you can leave it as is or toast it in the microwave before adding to get a little more crunch and more coconut flavor)
- 1¾ cup graham cracker crumbs
- ¾ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- 1½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 (14 ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk
- ¼ cup melted butter
- dash of coarse sea salt (about ⅛-1/4 tsp) optional
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Prepare a cookie sheet by lining it with parchment paper and set it aside.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop dough onto the parchment-lined cookie sheet. Place scoops of dough 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.
- Bake for 14-18 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned.
- Cool on a cooling rack and store in an airtight container or Ziploc bag.
I divided the chips and did a mix of semi sweet, milk, butterscotch and peanut butter. My son Likes that on the traditional bars, so I decided to give it a whirl in th cookies!
Awesome!
The person said they are lower in calories because there is no butter. One of the ingredients is 1/4 cup of butter. I’m confused.
Thanks for catching that Vida. I have fixed the recipe now.
Wondering how these would freeze?
I think they would freeze super well, just make sure to wrap them individually or put them in a very airtight container.