Christmas Magic Cookie Bars Recipe
Christmas Magic Cookie Bars are a classic Christmas dessert recipe. We have been making this sweet treat in my family for many years. Only six ingredients.
Bar cookies are great for taking to a potluck or holiday party. You can cut them into your desired serving size. Plus they make the table look pretty!
Also see our Easter Magic Cookie Bars
Cookie Bars are the way to go when holiday baking desserts everyone will love! Bar cookies are easy to transport to a potluck and you can cut them in advance for sharing. They are easier and less time-consuming than making cookies, not that cookies are a bad thing because they sure are not!
But look how pretty and festive these cookie bars are! It makes me want to eat them now!
Christmas Magic Cookie Bars are so easy to make even the children and make these! Only six ingredients and no mixer or bowl needed! These don’t even make a big mess.
I first started making this recipe sometime back in the 1980s. The good folks at Borden published a small recipe booklet full of easy-to-make desserts. I picked up a copy at my grocery store for $1. Their original recipe uses coconut but we skip that since my hubby isn’t a fan.
Scroll Down for the Printable Recipe
There are a few variations of this easy recipe for Magic Cookie Bars around the internet. You can make these for any season if you are using M&M’s. Get the Easter pastel candies or the summer red, white, and blue candies, and even the Harvest yellow and orange M&M’s!
Christmas Magic Cookie Bars Recipe
A simple and easy Christmas dessert for parties or gifts from the kitchen. Magic Cookie Bars have only six ingredients and are ready in about 35 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 (12 oz.) pkg. milk chocolate morsels
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup of Christmas M&M's
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° (325° for glass dish)
- Place the butter into a glass baking dish (9x13) and melt in preheated oven.
- Remove the dish with melted butter from the oven.
- Sprinkle the Graham Cracker Crumbs evenly over the melted butter. Then press down and even out using a spatula.
- Pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly on top of the crumbs.
- Now sprinkle the milk chocolate morsels on top.
- The chopped pecans go on next on top of the milk chocolate morsels.
- Last sprinkle the M&M's on top.
- Using a spatula, press the top layer down all across the surface.
- Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes. (Oven temperatures vary)
- Cool completely then cut into about 24 squares.
- Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition Information
Yield 24 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 145Total Fat 10gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 12mgSodium 33mgCarbohydrates 13gFiber 1gSugar 9gProtein 1g
Nutrition information is estimated and may not be exact based on uncontrolled variables in home kitchens used by each individual cook.
Other variations include:
- Dried Fruits such as Apricots can be substituted instead the chocolate morsels.
- Butterscotch lovers can substitute Butterscotch morsels for chocolate morsels.
- Peanut Butter Chips can be added along with the Chocolate Chip morsels.
- Wheat Germ can be substituted for the Graham Cracker Crumbs.
- Raisins or Dried Cranberries instead of Chocolate morsels.
- Mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cups can be added instead of or along with the Chocolate morsels
You get the picture, make this recipe personalized to the flavors your family enjoys!
More Christmas Cookie Recipes
- Pecan Snowball Cookies
- Triple Nut Bar Cookies Easy Recipe
- Peanut Butter Chip Chocolate Cookies
- Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars Recipe
- Grinch Blossom Cookies Recipe
- 12 Best Christmas Cookie Recipes
I’ve never made these before. I’ll have to add them to my list of recipes to try.
Magic cookie bars really are magic… they disappear instantly!
I love magic cookie bars and these look extra festive. What a perfect addition to a Christmas cookie tray!
They look so festive and sound delicious! I’m with your husband re: the coconut. Love how easy they are to make too! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Excuse me while I wipe up my drool. These look so delicious. I have a feeling my family will devour them in minutes when I make them this weekend. Thank you for the recipe!
So since it has magic in the title, is it calorie free? This looks so amazing! my family would love these. I wish I had one now.
I haven’t made these in a long time because, like your husband, mine doesn’t like coconut. Neither does Gloria. So, I stopped making them. I never even thought of making them without the coconut. These are going on my to make list.
This is the one recipe I make every year, or I should say variations of it. They go fast because they are so good. I know I can’t stop eating them.
These are so addictive! I love all the variations to this easy recipe. My favorite part is the no big mess to make. I just melt the butter in the baking dish and start piling it all on from there! So easy.