These cookie bars go by a few names, Hello Dolly Bars, 7 Layer Bars, but I’ve always known them as Magic Bars. I’m guessing they got that name from how they magically disappear off the plate, even when it’s just you alone in the house.
I’ve been wanting to make these for quite awhile but one of the main ingredients is sweetened condensed milk, which very obviously isn’t vegan. I thought about making it myself, as I’ve done for other recipes, by simmering full fat coconut milk and brown sugar together for 40 minutes but that just doesn’t fit with my lazy persona and plus, I often got inconsistent results which is not good for the peculiarities of baking.
It seems though, that the vegan food gods are listening to my wishful dreams because just recently Let’s Do…Organic rolled out a Coconut Sweetened Condensed Milk (ingredients – organic coconut, water & organic cane sugar). Be Still my heart! It’s vegan, gluten free, organic, comes in 7.4 fl oz cans and the kind folks at Let’s Do…Organic sent me a few to sample. And, I’m sending one of these cans of to one of you, sweet readers, to sweeten up your baking and share in the excitement of this awesome product. Instructions on how to enter the contest are at the end of this post – don’t miss your chance to try this for free!
Ok, so the nitty gritty about this miracle in a can. I had read a few reviews before receiving my own samples and a number of people mentioned that when you first open the can (via easy pull tab top), even though it is recommended to shake the can first, the liquid is often separated. Aware of this issue, I shook it well before opening but I did still had some separation (see pics below). It was a bit frustrating and I’m not sure why it does that; I’m thinking it’s like all-natural peanut butter which separates because there are no additives. But happily, in a semi-genius (lol!) moment, I solved the problem in about 5 seconds by dumping the contents in a bowl and microwaving it for about 30 seconds. Perfect creamy liquid consistency.
And then I tasted it and oh my goodness, you almost didn’t end up with this recipe for Magic Bars because I could have sat there with a spoon and indulged all day. It is sweet, of course, but not overpoweringly so, and seductively coconut-y in the best of ways. Of course, if you don’t like coconut, you aren’t going to like this but for the rest of us, this is a creamy coconut dream. Heaven on a spoon, yes, I think that’s about the appropriate description.
It isn’t quite as thick as dairy sweetened condensed milk and whether that makes a difference in any recipes, I have yet to find out. It worked perfectly in these Magic Bars. In fact, I think it even elevated the taste as an extra wondrous dose of coconut in addition to the flaked coconut on top.
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So, tell me ….
What recipe have you been itching to make if you just had some vegan sweetened condensed milk on hand? Poke cakes? Magic Bars? Vietnamese Coffee? Condensed Milk Cookies? Fudge? Caramel?
I received free samples of Let’s Do…Organic Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk mentioned in this post. I received no compensation for writing this review and all opinions are my own.
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (approx 12 crackers)
- ½ cup non-dairy butter or margarine, melted
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- ½ cup chopped peanuts
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (Let's Do...Organic for all things coconut 🙂
- 1 7.4oz can Let's Do...Organic Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8x8 pan with foil or parchment paper.
- Combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter thoroughly and then press evenly into pan.
- Sprinkle nuts on top.
- Sprinkle chocolate chips on top.
- Pour coconut sweetened condensed milk over evenly.
- Sprinkle coconut flakes on top.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Coconut will be lightly golden brown.
- Let cool a minimum of 30 minutes. Bars will be very gooey until completely cooled but you can and should still enjoy them that way :-). Once cooled, they are definitely easier to slice though.
How to Enter the Giveaway
for one 7.4oz can of Let’s Do…Organic Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk:
Click the Rafflecopter link below
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