7 Layer Magic Bars without Nuts Recipe

Friends, today I’m re-sharing one of my faaaaavorite recipes, 7 Layer Magic Bars without Nuts! I originally posted it way back when I only had approximately two regular readers (hi Mom & Dad!) and I finally got around to taking some new (and much improved photos) so I wanted to update it. But honestly, these magic bars without nuts are so addictive and delicious and perfect for anyone who has nut allergies that hopefully you won’t mind reading about them twice! Enjoy! 

I had to bring a dessert to a ladies’ night out recently and decided to go with these 7 Layer Magic Bars without Nuts because I haven’t made them in a while. You might be familiar with 7 Layer Bars, right? Also known as Magic Bars?  Once upon a time, this was a Magic Bar recipe.  But after O’s diagnoses with peanut and tree nut allergies, I had to adapt it to be safe and peanut/tree nut free and it became Magic Bars without nuts! Over time I ended up changing some amounts and ingredients so they became a little more coconutty and caramel-y and now they are chewy and addictive.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

(As an aside,because this is a question I get a lot, coconut is NOT a tree nut. There seems to be some disagreement over whether it’s a fruit or a seed but according to my allergist anyway, it is not a nut . BUT to add to the confusion, the FDA DOES classify coconut as a tree nut so sometimes things containing coconut have tree nut warnings on them. If you plan to give these to someone with a nut allergy, just let them know it contains cocounut. As always, if you have food allergies, talk to you doctor if you have questions about any food.)

Anyway, back to 7 Layer Magic Bars without Nuts!

7 Layer Magic Bars without Nuts Ingredient List

• 13 graham crackers
• 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) of butter, melted
• 1 cup of mini semisweet chocolate chips, divided in half (I use Enjoy Life brand which are peanut, tree nut and dairy free)
• 1 1/2 cups of Rice Krispies
• 1 cup of shredded sweetened coconut
• 2 14 oz. cans of sweetened condensed milk
• 1 Tablespoon of vanilla extract

7 Layer Magic Bars without Nuts Instructions

Line a baking sheet with foil and spread out the shredded coconut. Toast at 350 degrees for about ten minutes, stirring frequently and watching carefully until it’s golden brown.

You should probably taste it, you know, just to make sure it tastes ok, right?!

Next prepare an 8″ x 8″ baking dish with a parchment paper sling.  This is so you can get the bars out of the pan later.  Basically you take one long rectangle of parchment a little wider than your baking dish in one direction and lay it down, pushing it into the corners

Then do it again in the opposite direction

Once you have your sling, make sure there are no gaps in the corners and then butter the parchment paper thoroughly.

Next you’ll make the graham cracker crust. (Aside: does it get better than graham cracker crust? I think not!) Break up 13 graham crackers and put them in a food processor.

Pulse until you get fine crumbs.

Drizzle in the melted butter while the food processor is running

Mix until it’s evenly incorporated and starts to stick together.

Pour the crumbs into your baking dish and use a small measuring cup to pat them down into an even layer.

Bake for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

While the crust of your 7 layer magic bars without nuts is cooking, mix your two cans of sweetened condensed milk with 1 Tablespoon of vanilla extract.

As soon as the crust comes out of the oven, sprinkle 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips evenly over the top.

After about five minutes, the chocolate chips will be soft, gently spread them out with a rubber spatula.

Layer 1 1/2 cups of Rice Krispies over the top, sprinkle on the rest of the chocolate chips and then add 1 cup of your toasted coconut over that.

Then pour the sweetened condensed milk/vanilla mixture over the top.

When you put it into the oven (still at 350 degrees) it will look like this:

Bake for about 30 minutes until the top turns golden brown (this is the YUMMY part)

Let the 7 layer magic bars without nuts cool for at least two hours, if they are still warm or not all the way firm, put them in the fridge for a while.  When they feel firm, carefully and slowly lift the bars out of the baking dish using your parchment sling and put them on a cutting board. It may be sticky, just go slowly. Using a big sharp knife, cut into squares.  If it’s too sticky, clean the knife with hot water between cuts.

Then try not to eat them all. Good luck!

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Cassie May

Craft and Knitwear Designer at Little Red Window Design

Welcome to Little Red Window! I’m Cassie, a professional craft and knitwear designer working in the field for more than 10 years. I have a degree in Art History from Northwestern University and a Master's Degree in Architecture and Design from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. I've designed more than 300 separate knitting patterns, hundreds of craft projects, and I love to bring joy to your crafts and knitting with well-designed, easy to understand tutorials and patterns.

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