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Magic Cookie Bars – Low Carb, Keto, THM S

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If you love this classic treat but want a healthier version you’ve come to the right place. My Magic Cookie Bars are low carb, keto, grain-free, sugar-free, gluten-free, and Trim Healthy Mama friendly.

Magic cookie bars in a glass baking dish placed on a white and red striped towel

Magic Cookie Bars – sugar-free, grain-free, gluten-free, low carb, THM S

A friend brought the regular version of these magic cookie bars to dinner a couple weeks and I couldn’t resist their chocolate coconut yumminess.  I knew I HAD to come up with a healthier version.

a white square plate with 4 Magic Cookie Bars on a red placemat with chocolate chips scattered around

This is such a classic bake sale type recipe.  There are other names for it (hello dollies, seven layer bars? very similar, just with butterscotch chips) and many variations but I stuck to the original.

cooking the sweetened condensed milk for the Magic Cookie Bars

This is what you are looking for when you cook the sweetened condensed milk. It should thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon.

These are so good.  They are very rich (so please don’t eat the whole batch at once) and delicious with a cup of coffee after dinner.

pouring the sweetened condensed milk over the toppings in a square glass baking dish

And if you don’t feel like going through the steps to make the crust simply make my Five Minute Magic Cookies instead. The flavor is very similar but they really only take five minutes to prepare!

A stack of Low Carb, Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Grain Free, Magic Cookie Bars on a white waffle knit towel with a black background.

 

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5 from 8 votes
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Magic Cookie Bars -Low Carb, Keto, THM S
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
35 mins
Total Time
50 mins
 

If you love this classic treat but want a healthier version you've come to the right place. My Magic Cookie Bars are low carb, keto, grain-free, sugar-free, gluten-free, and Trim Healthy Mama friendly.

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 16
Calories: 148 kcal
Author: Taryn
Ingredients
Crust:
Sweetened Condensed Milk:
Toppings:
Instructions
  1. Combine crust ingredients and press into the bottom of a 8×8 baking dish. Bake at 350 for 12 min. or until golden brown.

  2. Meanwhile, you need to make my sugar free condensed milk. Bring the heavy cream, 2 tablespoons butter, and sweetener to a gentle boil and cook stirring frequently until it is light golden brown and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. 

  3. Remove from the heat. Either cool until room temperature before stirring in the egg yolk OR, if you are impatient like me, very slowly pour the liquid over the egg yolk while whisking like crazy. (No one wants scrambled yolk in their magic cookie bars).

  4. Now it is time to assemble. Sprinkle coconut, chocolate chips, and walnuts onto the crust. Drizzle condensed milk over the top. Bake at 350 for 20-25 min. until set and golden brown. Cool completely and chill in the fridge before serving or the crust can crumble.
Nutrition Facts
Magic Cookie Bars -Low Carb, Keto, THM S
Amount Per Serving
Calories 148 Calories from Fat 126
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 14g 22%
Saturated Fat 7g 35%
Cholesterol 28mg 9%
Sodium 46mg 2%
Potassium 88mg 3%
Total Carbohydrates 4g 1%
Dietary Fiber 2g 8%
Protein 2g 4%
Vitamin A 4.1%
Calcium 2.4%
Iron 6.7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
These Magic Cookie Bars taste just like the 'real' ones. No one will ever know they are sugar free, grain free, gluten free, low carb, and a THM S.
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Comments

  1. Magic cookie bars are something I’ve made ever since my daughter has been a little girl so when I saw this recipe and here I was super stoked because this is my first Christmas on keto... I did everything the way it said and it looked like it was going to turn out just fine But I really think sweetener needs to be put in that crust...And the condensed milk hardened up so it just wasn’t that tasty… I did pick up the crust and eat the top portion like candy.
    Reply

    • Hi Lynn, I'm sorry these didn't work out for you. You can definitely add sweetener to the crust if you prefer. Learning to bake keto desserts does have a learning curve. Getting used to the difference in taste from regular recipes takes time too. Did you substitute any ingredients when you made these? They are one of my most popular recipes and normally get very good reviews. If you didn't like the crust you might prefer my Magic Cookies instead. They are just the topping portion.
      Reply

  2. I was looking for a low carb dessert recipes and came across this cookie bar recipe! They look simple to make and very delicious! Thanks for posting this recipe! Looking forward to making these this weekend!
    Reply

  3. This is one of the better low carb/keto dessert recipes that I’ve tried..and I’ve tried many. I used pecans instead of walnuts since that’s what I had. Thank you for the recipe!!
    Reply

  4. What blend of sweetener could I buy at the store? I wanted to make this today, but only have Splenda on hand. Would this work?Thanks.
    Reply

  5. This is my husbands favorite dessert, pre low carb, low sugar diet. When I saw this I made it right away and he was amazed at how good it was. thanks!!
    Reply

  6. Hi Taryn, if you don't mind xylitol, I've been making sweetened condensed milk with 1 can Trader Joes organic evaporated milk plus 3/4 cup xylitol ( erythritol does not work). Simmer at a low rolling boil for 10-15 min, cool down( I usually place my pan in cold water. Tastes great! Blessings Ann
    Reply

  7. I’m making this soon! Can I use THM baking mix for the crust with butter? If so how much? And can I use confectioners swerve? thanks!
    Reply

    • Yes, use a little less baking blend. And yes, but you will need more swerve. It isn't as sweet. 1.5 to 2 times as much.
      Reply

      • So, how much baking blend total would you suggest? And yes, I noticed that Swerve isn't too sweet. Used 1 tablespoon in a choc mug cake and couldn't even taste it! I am also using shredded unsweetened coconut and almonds (toasted a little), I am also omitting the egg it sounds gross (Sorry) hope it comes out good!
        Reply

        • The egg helps the topping firm up but it can be omitted. I would use 1 tablespoon less when using baking blend. If you use the finely shredded coconut you will need to make extra condensed milk or the bars will be dry. The finely shredded coconut absorbs moisture much more than the flakes.
          Reply

  8. I’m in Australia,and I would love to make this recipe,but I don’t know how much sweetener,or what substitutes to use that are available here. I have Natvia,but not sure how much to use.Any help would be appreciated. Thank you Kay Condor
    Reply

    • Hi Kay, I'm not familiar with Natvia. The sweetener I use is twice as sweet as sugar. Do you know how Natvia compares to sugar?
      Reply

      • Thanks for getting back to me. Natvia is 1teaspoon=1 teaspoon of sugar. It is a erythritol,and Steviol blend. Probably would have to double your quantity Do you think.
        Reply

  9. I would make these again, the top was really good - BUT I would omit the flax seed and just use almond and coconut flour with butter. All I could taste is the flax for some reason it overpowered the whole recipe. I cut off the bottom and just ate the top.
    Reply

  10. Thanks so much for this keeper of a recipe! My very picky husband and kids like it a bunch! I added flaxseeds and pumpkin seeds to amp up the fiber bit since they don't do coconut.
    Reply

  11. I made these but made the crust from puréed pecan/almonds and butter and a bit of Swerve. I added in a tiny bit of almond flour to help with the consistency. Your homemade condensed milk is awesome.They are absolutely amazing and do not taste low carb or sugar free. Thank you for the recipe.
    Reply

  12. I just found you website and want to make these ASAP. What exactly is 1/2 cup THM gentle sweet (or my copycat)?Can I use Swerve sweetener instead?I have all the other ingredients, so if I can use the Swerve, then I am good to go tomorrow!
    Reply

    • The Trim Healthy Mama sweetener and my blend are a combo of xylitol, erythritol, and stevia. Swerve should work but you will need more. Swerve measures 1:1 for sugar but my sweetener measures 2:1.
      Reply

  15. These are fantastic! I overcooked the condensed milk, I think, because it seized up but it was STILL good. The hardest part of THM for me is breakfast and sweets. But I have now found my favorite THM snack! Gonna try more of your recipes. I have a bunch pinned and waiting. Thanks!
    Reply

  16. Oh my goodness! I made these for church Sunday and everyone was amazed and loved them. More so that they were sugar free and low carb! Thanks so much. About to make again so I can actually eat some! Again, delicious!
    Reply

  17. I made these today to take on a road trip. There will be lots of tempting foods on this trip and I wanted to be prepared with treats that my husband and I can eat with a cup of coffee. I did make a couple of changes. I added a couple of teaspoons of sugar free caramel coffee flavoring syrup in the crust. I used some Sukrin Gold in the condensed milk recipe, which gave it a nice brown sugar flavor. I also toasted coarsely chopped macadamia nuts to use for the nuts. These are fabulous and hope we still have some for the second day of snacking. Thanks for the wonderful recipe. I really think this is the best low carb treats recipe I have made so far.
    Reply

  19. Hi, I absolutely love the look of these. Unfortunately I don't eat nuts so would sub the walnuts for seeds but do you have any advice on what I could sub the almond flour for? Many thanks in advance.
    Reply

  21. Hi! I made these yesterday to take to a BBQ. Must say they were delish. I cooked a little to long (each oven is different) IMO, but I'll adjust that for next time. YES there will be a next time and soon. :D Easy and delicious.
    Reply

  23. These were incredible! My non-THM friends and my picky hubby all LOVED them. Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe!
    Reply

  24. These were great even though I made mistakes! My crust crumbled because I didn't wait for the bars to cool like the recipe instructs. I did not mind scarfing down the toasty deliciousness with a spoon!The bigger problem I had was subbing liquid dropper stevia for the THM in the sweetened condensed milk. This seems to have caused me to not have enough milk. Next time I'll just make more to compensate for the volume lost by using liquid stevia!
    Reply

  25. I tried making these today...my sweetened condensed milk did not turn out. It was looking perfect when I removed the pan from the heat to cool. When I came back to it in about 20 min to add the yolk, it was all crystallized. I added the egg anyway but it wasn't good. Any idea what I did wrong?
    Reply

  26. Any way to make this without the heavy cream? Would cashew cream or coconut cream work? I'm good with the butter, but can't do the heavy cream.
    Reply

  27. Hi! Thank you for the recipe...in the oven now! I only had Lily's Chocolate Chips on hand (55% cocoa). Do you have a brand you use that is 85% dark that you would recommend or is the 55% still okay?
    Reply

  29. Do you think you could maybe add thm protein powder to the crust to make it more of a protein bar type of thing without changing the taste? I absolutely loved it as is (without the coconut) but wondered how protein powder would affect it. Thanks!
    Reply

  30. I made a large batch of thm sweetened condensed milk (SCM) to store and use for holiday baking. How much SCM does this recipe produce? I'd like to use my prepared SCM to make this. I'm assuming it's about 1/2 to 3/4c.
    Reply

    • 2/3 cup. My recipe does have egg yolk though. You may want to add one if you are using a different condensed milk recipe. http://joyfilledeats.com/sweetened-condensed-milk/
      Reply

      • Thanks! I made this with 1/2 cup, and no egg yolk (I was too impatient) and it turned out wonderfully. I'll have to follow your recipe completely next time. The only problem is they were too good, and they are already almost gone!
        Reply

  31. Good Morning Taryn! First let me say MCB are won of my absolute favorite THM desserts, but this makes them dangerous. I'm easily a Turtle if I don't control myself. what is the serving size for this? I can easily stack my fuels and this is dessert is an easy fuel stacker for me. Your recipes are some of my favorite from the THM bloggers world. You seem to have got the knack for combining ingredients and creating dishes that even the Grinchiest THM opposer (we all know one or two ) have to admit, "Mmm thats pretty good." ;) I hope you Christmas is happy and the New Year continues to be "Joy-Filled." Katie in AL
    Reply

    • Hi Katie, Thank you for your kind words :) A good serving for this is 1 piece. They are pretty rich. I cut an 8 x 8 pan into 16 pieces.
      Reply

    • It is a sweetener blend of xylitol, erythritol, and stevia that is twice as sweet as sugar. You might find this chart helpful: http://www.trimhealthymama.com/main-home/sweetener-conversion-chart/
      Reply

  34. Help!! My sweetened condensed milk turned chocolate covered and is still not thickly clinging to back of spoon. Did I add butter too soon? Tastes good though, so I am still going to use.
    Reply

    • Hi Linda, that shouldn't really matter for this recipe. Which sweetener are you using? Do you mean it got dark before it thickened? The heat might have been too high. How long was it cooking for?
      Reply

      • I used Gentle Sweet and the heat was on 2 (5 is medium) but it is a stainless steel pot. I thought it cooked for a very long time (45 minutes) but didn't cling thickly to the spoon when cooking. Now that I let cool before adding egg yolk, it is consistency of caramel. LOL. So maybe when you said "cling to back of spoon" it is just a thin film that drops off?
        Reply

        • You should just be able to draw a line on your spoon with your finger and have it stay there. There is a photo in the post that demonstrates that. I normally only cook this for 10-15 minutes so yes, you did make caramel. Still delicious :) You just reduced it more than necessary.
          Reply

  35. Any suggestions on where to buy ground golden flax in store?Also what is the gentle sweet copycat? I am new to this site. Thank you!
    Reply

    • Hi Marissa, most stores have golden flax. Or you can order it online. I've ordered it from Amazon, iherb, and jet.com. I have a sweetener that measures just like gentle sweet that you can make to save a bit. It is a mix of xylitol, erythritol, and stevia. www.joyfilledeats.com/sweetener
      Reply

  36. I barely ever have heavy cream in the house but we always have half/half... Do you think i could get away with using that instead or should i really make an effort to acquire the heavy cream? Thanks!Lazygirlhere
    Reply

  37. When the sweetened condensed milk cools (before you whisk in the eggs) have you noticed if it's gotten granular? And when i liked the spoon it's like it cooled my mouth off.I used Truvia.
    Reply

    • Hi Jessica,I have not used Truvia in this recipe so I'm not sure why it's getting granular that quickly. My sweetener does get granular but it takes at least a few hours, more often days. The cooling sensation is typical of erythritol though. That is why I prefer using a blend of xylitol, erythritol, and stevia. Stevia can be bitter, xylitol has calories, and erythritol has that weird cooling effect. Combined it minimizes the negatives of each sweetener and makes a great choice.
      Reply

      • I tried making it using pyure and mine never thickened until it cooled then it just got solid as a rock. Any suggestions? Can it be used with pyure? Please tell me it can bc I NEED these in my life!
        Reply

        • Sorry for the delay! I asked on my Facebook and got this response, "The granular pyure does harden like a rock after melted. Use a few drops of the small bottle of the liquid pyure." I hope that helps!
          Reply

  39. This is a great recipe! Took it to a cookout, and people devoured it. I am allergic to eggs, esp the whites. So, I left them out, and they still tasted incredible! Will make again and often! Thanks you for making a favorite THM!
    Reply

  40. I just took my batch out of the oven...it's 11pm and I Have been up since 4:30am. They are going to take a while to cool, and I can't wait up. Looks like an S breakfast for me! :) Also, my husband has been (gently) threatened that I better not wake up to an empty pan! Thanks for the recipe! Can't wait to try them!!
    Reply

    • Did you chill them before cutting? The crust for this is a little crumbly. I thought about adding an egg but that would make it more cake like.
      Reply

  42. Hi Taryn, have you ever used your sweetened condensed milk to make a key lime pie? If so, do you have a recipe? If not, do you think it would work?
    Reply

    • It will vary based on the chocolate chips you use. Here is an easy calculator to figure it out: https://www.caloriecount.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
      Reply

    • The big question would be if it would melt. It needs to melt to make the sweetened condensed milk. You could put a small amount in a pan and heat it to see what happens. And there is a conversion chart here: http://www.trimhealthymama.com/main-home/sweetener-conversion-chart/
      Reply

    • Hi Kellie, I haven't tried it, sorry. I don't know if it would melt. I think so. I would just substitute based on the chart on the Trim Healthy Mama website. If you do try it let me know how it turns out :-)
      Reply

  50. If we have an egg allergy in our family, do you have any tips on how you think we could sub out the egg yolk? Thanks for sharing. Trying to figure out this THM stuff and work around my daughters allergies is a little confusing. :)
    Reply

    • Regular magic bars don't call for egg but I was afraid without refined sugar these would be too crumbly. You could just try without the egg and see what happens. The chocolate might melt enough to help hold them together.
      Reply

  51. How many servings would this be? I have trouble when I freestyle it and feel like I do better know the serving size. Thanks!
    Reply

  53. Just wanted to let you know that this recipe is amazing. Definite game changer at my house. My kids love these. Thank you so much for the recipe. I also love that it uses the local baking blend as I have not been able to order the THM version yet. Thanks
    Reply

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