Coconut Overload Magic Bars

I'm mourning the loss of a great set of photographs! I made some coconut overload magic bars a few months back, and took some much prettier photos than these.  Unfortunately we've just recently started using lightroom on both our macbooks, which was my first mistake! So when I was clearing room on the camera one day I saw the coconut magic bars weren't on my husbands macbook I assumed they were on mine.  I pressed that format button and cleared the whole sd card.  I then grabbed by macbook and opened up lightroom only to scroll to the end of the photos with no coconut bars in sight!! 

It was a heartbreaking moment! The magic bars had long been eaten! The silver lining on my cloud was that they were so amazingly delicious I knew it wouldn't be long before I whipped up another batch! 

This time around though, I was in a massive hurry and well these pictures reflect that! Booo to bad photos, but these treats are just too good not to share!

I have a long standing love affair with coconut, of which I'm sure you are all aware! I also have developed a massive love for magic bars in this past year.  They are probably the bake that has frequented my kitchen most since moving to Canada.  I'm blaming it on the fact you can buy boxes of pre crushed graham cracker crumbs here, which makes throwing these magic bars together even quicker!  The last time I blogged about them I made a peanut butter version and I also made a tasty mint version which never made it to the blog...but this coconut overload version tops any other kind I've made!

Let me start by saying there is a LOT of chocolate involved! 6 layers in fact! and the chocolate I used ended up coming from 3 different countries! so you might not be lucky enough to have all these ingredients at your fingertips but the nice thing about magic bars is pretty much anything goes! So you can swap out and substitute your favourite kinds of chocolate or the kinds that are available near to you.

I'll break down the chocolate involved.  The top left are coconut cream filled hershey's kisses! They came from America, but were a limited edition candy I bought over Easter and I sadly haven't been able to find them anywhere since! Besides the coconut kisses are coconut lindor balls by Lindt! These came from England, and have just been brought out recently over there so when my mom and sister came to visit they made sure they brought my coconut loving self some! I've yet to meet a person who doesn't love lindor balls, so when that creamy melt in your mouth centre is coconut flavoured you just can't get much better than that!

Bottom left is white chocolate filled with shredded coconut by Lindt.  I can get that here in Canada at most supermarkets.  I'm not the hugest white chocolate fan but man I can demolish this whole chocolate bar before you can even say 'bob's your uncle'! which for all those North Americans out there is a funny little phrase that originates from Britain that we had fun introducing to some of our Canadian friends recently!

...and besides that is my fave ALL TIME chocolate! It comes from England but is rare and you can't find it everywhere.  So far I've only come across it in selected Waitrose supermarkets.  It's Lindt milk chocolate filled with creamy coconut, remember when I made brownies with it before?

So you basically take ALL of that chocolate! chop it up, throw in some regular old white choc chips and milk choc chips.  Throw some condensed milk into the mix and finish it all off with mounds of shredded coconut.  Once baked it turns into an ooey gooey mess of deliciousness that you need to have in your life! Give these a try, they will be the most rewarding 10 minute prep time of your life!!

Coconut Overload Magic Bars:

Makes 16

From Cupcake Crazy Gem

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 (14 oz. can) sweetened condensed milk

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup Lindt coconut white chocolate 

1/2 cup Lindt creation coconut milk chocolate

1/2 coconut Hershey's kisses

1/2 cup Lindt coconut lindor balls

1 1/2 cups shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F.

Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking pan.

Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter, mix well.  Press crumb mixture firmly into the bottom of the pan.  Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture.  Layer evenly with the 6 different layers of chocolate.  Sprinkle the shredded coconut over everything.  Press down firmly with fork.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned on top. 

Leave to cool in pans.

Then cut into bars and transfer to cool completely on a wire rack.

Eat and enjoy!

7 Layer Bars

Remember I told you about our upcoming trip across the border, well it happened and it was amazing! I stocked up on tons of yummy ingredients and baking equipment...the week we got home I baked four things in one day for a little party we were having at our house, so I think it's safe to say my baking mojo has returned!

The first time I made magic bars was last Christmas and I was a convert straight away! Since we arrived in Canada I have made them 3 different times and they've disappeared so quick they've never made it to the photography stage!

What's not to love about a graham cracker crust with a soft moist layer of sweetened condensed milk on top, and layers of toasted coconut, milk choc chips, white choc chips, peanut butter chips and salted peanuts on top! Last time around I made them they weren't 'authentic' 7 layer bars as I had fewer than 7 ingredients so this time I made the real deal!

They are so easy to throw together and I loved the addition of peanuts this time around, it added a fun salty balance against all the sweet! 

These are the pefect bake to whip up for your friends and family with the holidays approaching, as they really don't take very much time and as long as you have a tin of condensed milk in your cupboard you can pretty much go crazy with whatever toppings take your fancy!



7 Layer Bars:
Makes 16
Adapted from Eagle Brand

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 (14 oz. can) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup peanuts
1 1/3 cups shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F.
Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking pan.

Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter, mix well.  Press crumb mixture firmly into the bottom of the pan.  Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture.  Layer evenly with remaining chocolate chips and peanuts.  Sprinkle the shredded coconut over everything.  Press down firmly with fork.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned on top.
Leave to cool in pans.
Then cut into bars and transfer to cool completely on a wire rack.

Magic Bars from the Loveless Cafe, Tennessee

If I ever find myself in Nashville, Tennessee...I know exactly where I'm headed - The Loveless Cafe.

My sister got their amazing recipe book for Christmas and we spent many days paging through recipe after recipe of true Southern dessert deliciousness! It was just too hard to pick one recipe!

In the end we settled on these magic bars, and baked them together - isn't baking so much more fun with two! 

These bars have been around forever, you may have seen them called 7 layer bars or Hello Dolly's but most commonly they are referred to as magic bars, and The Loveless Cafe call them by this name because they say they disappear off the plates so quick that they must be magic! and in our house when we made them the same thing happened! 

We all know about my love of coconut, so in true obsessive style I had to make them over the top with coconut which included using romany creams for the biscuit base.  They are a South African biscuit that is coconut flavour (I had received some in my stocking from Santa and decided they would provide added yumminess to our bars) and then instead of using just regular white chocolate chips I chopped up my last slab of Lindt white chocolate with coconut, and with the toasted shredded coconut it took the dessert to new heights of coconut deliciousness!

You can choose to go coconut crazy too, or you can just follow the standard recipe below - either way they will be a mouth watering treat enjoyed by all.  

Magic Bars:

Makes Sixteen 2 inch bars

From Desserts from the Famous Loveless Cafe

2 cups cookie crumbs (I used coconut romany creams)

1 stick (4oz) plus 1 tbsp unsalted butter melted

1 cup walnut pieces

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup white chocolate chips (I used Lindt white chocolate with coconut)

14oz can sweetened condensed milk

Pre heat oven to 180 degrees C.

 Grease an 8" square baking dish.

In a bowl toss the cookie crumbs and butter together.  Press the mix evenly over the bottom of the baking dish

Place the walnuts, coconut & chocolate chips in a bowl and toss to combine.  Pour in the sweetened condensed milk and mix to combine.  Scrape the mixture over the crumb crust.  Press into an even layer.

Bake for 20 mins or until edges are slightly browned.  Remove and let cool on a rack.  When completely set cut into 2" squares with a sharp knife.

Baking tips: to intensify flavour toast the coconut and walnuts for 7-10 mins until lightly browned and leave to cool before proceeding with recipe.

Also be careful not to let bars darken excessively or they will be dry rather than gooey as they should be...and trust me, you want them gooey!

P.S You may have noticed me experimenting with some Christmas Tree Bokeh in the top picture! I was excited to try it after learning how from Kevin and Amanda - you can learn this cool photography trick by following their easy tutorial as well!