Magic Cookie Bars

I basically had to make these magic cookie bars to keep myself from going to hell. Last week my friend Keith posted on facebook that my friend Eric was baking. This was very funny because I'm pretty sure Eric uses his oven as a wine rack. That post was followed by another post about how he used 1/2 pound of butter, instead of 1/2 cup (which is double the amount), which was followed by more of me laughing at Eric.

That was followed by an email from Eric asking me for advice after he made the bars a second time and they came out disgusting. That's when I found out that he was trying to make these bars because his mom always made them at Christmas...but his mom passed away last year, so basically he was trying to capture this food memory that would help him feel comforted and close to her. And that's when I realized if I didn't mail him magic cookie bars immediately that I would rot in hell. Probably not real hell. But some type of cookie hell reserved for people who laugh at other people who are trying to make their dead loved one's holiday baked goods. Either way, it was too risky. So Eric got his magic cookie bars and I escaped the fiery pits* of cookie hell, at least for now.

If I'm not back for a while...Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

*I would totally roast demon s'mores in the fiery pits of cookie hell.

MAGIC COOKIE BARS

Yield: 2 dozen

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

12 oz. (2 cups) bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/3 cups sweetened flaked coconut

1 cup chopped nuts

1.      Heat oven to 350° F. Grease a 13- x 9-inch baking pan with butter or non-stick cooking spray.*

2.      Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter in small bowl. Press into bottom of prepared pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with chocolate chips, coconut and nuts. Press down firmly with fork.

3.      Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Loosen from sides of pan while still warm; cool on wire rack. Cut into bars or diamonds.

*For perfectly cut bars, line entire pan with foil, extending foil over edge of pan. Coat lightly with non-stick cooking spray or butter. After bars have baked and cooled, lift up with edges of foil to remove from pan. Cut into bars.

(slightly reworded) from eaglebrand.com

graham cracker crumbs and 1 stick melted butter

graham cracker crust pressed into the pan

pouring on the sweetened condensed milk

sweetened condensed milk spread over crust

sprinkled with chocolate, pecans and coconut

I think I forgot to press down firmly with
a fork, but they held together anyway.

baked

running a knife along the sides while warm

cut into bars

I didn't mess with foil and they came out easily.

magic cookie bars

I'd also like to add that I thought these bars were sickeningly sweet. But my family loved them. And I have to admit, the extreme sweetness didn't keep me from picking at them every time I walked through the kitchen for the past three days.
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