Magic Cookie Bars were one of my favorite childhood treats. They were so easy and a perfect dessert for a kid trying to flex her newfound baking muscles. My father called them Hello Dollies, and he adored them. And I could never say no to that buttery graham cracker crust topped with chocolate, nuts, and gooey caramelized condensed milk.
When I went low carb for health concerns, I knew I had to find a way to make sugar-free condensed milk. And once I had mastered that delicious baking ingredient, the next logical step was to make Keto Magic Cookie Bars.
You will be delighted to know that these are just as easy (and just as delicious!) as the high carb version. My keto pie crust makes an excellent substitute for the base. And the topping is just as gooey, sweet, and chockfull of mix-ins as the original.
Whether you call them 7 Layer Bars, Hello Dollies, or Magic Cookie Bars, you’re sure to love this low-carb, gluten-free treat.
The condensed milk is useful in many other wonderful recipes, from Keto Key Lime Pie to Sugar-Free White Chocolate Fudge.
Reader’s Thoughts
“I’ve made these bars so many times and they always turn out great! Helps my blood sugar numbers and satisfies my sweet tooth. thank you!” — Dana
Why makes this recipe special
- Easier condensed milk – this latest version comes together in 30 minutes with a handful of ingredients. And it stores nicely in the fridge for up to 2 weeks!
- Gluten-free crust: Almond flour and other nut meals make a crisp, satisfying base.
- Keto friendly toppings: Some chopped nuts and shredded coconut, along with keto chocolate chips, give these bars the classic look and taste.
- Balanced sweetness: These keto magic cookie bars are less cloying than the original, so the nuts and chocolate shine through.
Ingredient Notes
- Almond flour: Almond flour works best for this crust, for both texture and flavor. Other nut and seed flours will work but may be a bit more crumbly.
- Sweetener: The crust is best made with an erythritol based sweetener, as allulose will make it too soft.
- Butter: For the shortbread crust, nothing beats the flavor and texture that butter offers.
- Salt: A little salt balances with the sweetness in these bars.
- Sugar-free chocolate chips: Your favorite brand should work fine. I used Lily’s.
- Sugar-free peanut butter chips: No one seems to be making the butterscotch chips anymore, so I switched to keto peanut butter chips. You can also simply do more chocolate chips. Lily’s salted caramel chips would be delicious too!
- Coconut: Use unsweetened shredded coconut.
- Nuts: You can use chopped pecans or walnuts.
- Sugar free condensed milk: You will need to make this prior to making the bars.
Overview: How to Make This Recipe
- Make the crust: Combine the dry ingredients, then mix in the melted butter until the mixture clumps together.
- Bake the crust: Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan and bake until the edges start to brown. Remove and cool.
- Assemble the bars: Sprinkle chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, coconut, and nuts over the cooled crust. Pour sweetened condensed milk on top and bake until mixture is bubbly and beginning to brown.
- Cool. Let the bars cool in pan and cut into pieces.
Tips for Success
I recommend using metal pans for this recipe, as it will help the crust firm up properly. Make sure you let it cool completely before adding the toppings.
Keep in mind that erythritol based sweeteners, with no allulose, are the only ones that will produce a crisp crust.
You can also use a 9×9 inch pan, but the bars will cook through faster so keep your eye on them.
Frequently Asked Questions
You don’t purchase keto condensed milk, you make it! But don’t worry, it’s very simple to do and results in a spectacular low carb baking ingredient. I’ve found that I can keep it in the fridge for 10 to 14 days without spoilage. It’s a great way to use up heavy cream that is about to expire.
This keto magic cookie bar recipe has 6.5g of carbs and 3.4g of fiber per serving. That comes to 3.1g net carbs per bar.
Store the bars in a covered container on the counter for up to 4 days or in the fridge for up to a week. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
More keto dessert bars to try
Keto Magic Cookie Bars
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 1/2 cup (165 g) almond flour
- 1/4 cup (45.5 g) granular sweetener, erythritol-based
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup (56.75 g) butter, melted
Filling:
- 1/4 cup (59.15 g) sugar-free chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup (42.5 g) sugar-free peanut butter chips, (or more chocolate chips)
- 1/2 cup (42.5 g) unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup (54.5 g) chopped pecans or walnuts
- 1 recipe keto condensed milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325ºF and lightly grease an 8×8 inch metal baking pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, and salt in the . Add melted butter and mix in until mixture begins to clump together. Press firmly and evenly into the bottom of the pan.
- Bake the crust for 10 minutes, or until just beginning to brown around the edges. Remove and let cool completely.
- Increase the oven temperature to 350ºF.
- Sprinkle the cooled crust with the chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, coconut and nuts.
- Pour the condensed milk evenly over top and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until the mixture is bubbly and beginning to brown.
- Remove and let cool in pan before cutting into bars.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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I’m planning on making your Copycat Cream Eggs today and made a double batch of the sweetened condensed milk yesterday. I used all cream and left out the xanthan gum, and it turned out perfect! YUM! I made the bars with half of the milk and they are amazing. Dh (not low carb/gluten free) “snuck” a piece while they were cooling and came to find me to tell me how good they are. I can’t wait to see how the eggs turn out.
Have you tried freezing the milk yet? I’d love to make up a larger batch if there was some way to successfully store it for when I needed it.
I just made both of these! Worked perfectly, delicious. I am having so much fun with your site. Thank you for the recipes.
These look delish! Can’t wait to try them. I think I might use low-carb “Angel Coconut” (unsweetened coconut flakes steeped in boiling water and erythritol or DaVinci syrup heated to boiling for 15 minutes). It’s softer, more moist and sweeter –seems tailor-made for this recipe.
Sounds great to me!
Dear Carolyn,
What about using evaporated milk + sweetener to make sweetened condensed milk quickly?
I don’t know that this would be a great option. Evaporated milk has a lot of carbs, even though it’s unsweetened.
Hey, don’t be scared of polydextrose. It’s just a fiber that’s really very useful in low-carb baking. It’s not very sweet, so you still need to use some sucralose or something, but it is really good at mimicking the bulking properties of sugar. It’s the secret to making desserts gooey. It’s the secret to making sugar-free ice cream that is actually scoopable.
Do a little research, maybe buy a bag and play with it a bit. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Feel free to email me if you want to chat about the stuff.
I have some polydextrose for ice cream-making but I don’t know where to start. Do I substitute it for sugar, or simply add it to the mix? How and when? Any help appreciated.
I made the sweetened condensed milk… Then the magic cookie. Bars …Delicious!!!!
Thanks for great recipes!!
Is it possible to use an artificial sweetener instead of erythritol, like splenda??
I think you could try it, but keep in mind that Swerve has some fiber in it, so using Splenda may change the consistency.
Hi Carolyn,
I don’t have stevia extract, what can I substitute with that? Thanks!
About 2 to 3 tbsp more Swerve or preferred sweetener.
Any way to do this in the crock pot?
You mean the condensed milk? Probably…for 4 hours maybe.
Has anyone tried this in the crock pot? I’d love to hear how it turned out!
I have made the Magic Cookie Bars with your condensed milk, and they were fantastic. Tonight, I made Key Lime Pie using Joes Stone Crab Key Lime Pie recipe http://joesstonecrab.com/recipes/keylime.html and made it with your condensed milk and it was INSANE! Made a crust of almond flour, butter, & swerve and whipped cream to serve with it. OH MY! Thanks so much for your awesome recipes! Even the non low carbers at our 4th of July celebration loved it!
Wonderful! I keep meaning to make key lime pie…glad to know the condensed milk works for it!
I had some whipping cream on the last day of best before, and no time to actually stir the mixture while it reduced, so I made the recipe in the microwave so I could let it rip without tending to it. I also did not have granulated erythritol, just powdered, and since I didn’t know the amount for substitution, I used 1 1/2 cups for a double batch of cream/whole milk. After bringing the mixture to the boil on 100% power, I reduced the power to 40%, and cooked in increments, stirring every so often till the liquid reduced to just less than 1/2 and became a lovely light caramel brown colour (the colour of light brown sugar). I then followed the instructions, but felt that the condensed milk was not sweet enough, and added some liquid sucralose drops in addition to the stevia drops, mixed it all thoroughly, and put it in the fridge. By this morning, it had thickened to the point of being firm enough to slice…not what was intended certainly, but it is like REALLY delicious fudge. I am going to make the recipe as written when I can get to the store to buy more cream, but in the meantime we will enjoy eating this by the spoon, and loving every bite! I do wonder if cooking in the microwave caused the mixture to caramelize? If the sweetened condensed milk had turned out, I was going to use half of it to make dulche de leche, but it seemed that what I got looked like that without baking in a water bath.
Actually, I hear a lot of people actually make dulce de leche in the microwave, and quite honestly, what you did sounds delicious so now I am wondering if I should try it!
My husband, who is a type 2 diabetic, has been eating this creamy “fudge” by the spoonful, and just cannot believe that it is not affecting his blood sugar levels. He has been testing after eating it without any spike, and is amazed that something that tastes exactly like fudge can be essentially guilt free. Of course, it isn’t nutritious like vegetables, nor is it calorie free, but this unexpected result from not following your cooking directions has turned into a real treat for him.
I am so glad! No, you’re right it’s not nutritious but it’s nice to be able to have a treat!
Thank you so much for your hard work and for sharing. The condensed milk is hmmm … wonderful does not describe it 🙂 Now I don’t know if I should make the bars or just keep the bottle of condensed milk in the fridge to have a spoon every now and again, I am so happy that it will last me a whole week
Oh shoot. And I just wanted to make some delicious salted pecan ice cream and will have to try it when I have time to make the other two recipes involved (grin).
Off to search your other ice cream recipes for my new ice cream machine.
Hi Carolyn, I made the sweetened condensed milk and it tasted incredible, but after cooling to room temperature it got extremely thick, more like icing, and the Swerve crystallized again. I had the head too low for the first 90 minutes so turned it up a bit and it thickened up beautifully after another 20 minutes. Maybe it was cooked a fraction too long? The butter incorporated well, I probably didn’t need the xanthan gum. I added the vanilla when it was still warm, didn’t read the recipe right and didn’t have the stevia. Anything here that you think would crystallize the Swerve? I ended up having to heat up the milk in order to pour it over the squares, and it didn’t sink under the ingredients, so it’s like loose toppings trapped between the crust and a layer of icing. Tastes great, but would like to get it right, I love sweetened condensed milk! Oh and I only had about 1/3 cup of milk left so I used water and whipping cream for the rest and it was fine.
There are so many variables here that you had to change, it’s really hard to pinpoint what could be the problem. I think possibly turning up the heat made the Swerve crystallize…I find when it’s heated a lot in a liquidy thing, it’s more likely to do that. Also the combination of the cream and water had to play a role in changing the consistency. The recipe is best when the ratio of cream and milk are right. And perhaps you should skip xanthan next time, if your butter is incorporating properly. Then it won’t be quit so thick.
Hi Carolyn, I made this again today, kept to your recipe and it worked out great! I made a quadruple batch as I have big plans involving dulce de leche pecan ice cream (once I get an ice cream maker, hopefully tomorrow!) and Nanaimo bars. Yum!! And eating it straight out of the pot of course! I did find again that it didn’t reduce on low, so apparently my stove needs to be on 3 to keep a simmer that will reduce it enough. I ended up with slightly more than 4 cups but I like the consistency. So thanks again, another great recipe!!!
Wow, I can’t wait to hear how it all turns out!
So I ended up with 4 1/3 cups of it, turned 2 cups into dulce de leche for the ice cream (SO GOOD), made a double batch of your coconut cranberry almond macaroons (without the chocolate dip) and a double recipe of your Nanaimo bar tart, which I put in an 11 x 13 pan to make squares. The filling is a bit soft so I’m going to freeze them for an hour before I cut them with a sharp knife (not your fault, I changed your filling receipe because I didn’t want to use the vanilla pudding powder or the Bird’s custard due to dietary issues). The filling tastes wonderful though, not too sweet. I don’t usually like Nanaimo bars because the filling layer is too sweet, but these ones are great! I used the same amount of cream cheese, whipping cream and vanilla as recommended, did not use the almond milk and substituted 1/2 cup of the sweetened condensed milk instead of the almond milk/pudding powder. I whipped the cream cheese and whipping cream for quite a while, until it was really fluffy, before adding the condensed milk and whipping again.
I may have to try your variation so we can do away with the yucky sugar free pudding powder. Maybe for Canada Day! 🙂
Hi, made these and became an instant celebrity! So glad I found this site.
Two questions for the experts here though: 1) the unsweetened coconut seems quite dry, did I maybe get an old bag; and 2) in the unlikely event there are leftovers, do they require refrigeration?
Thank you!
Hmmm, not sure about the coconut but yes, probably not a great brand or bag of it! These can be stored on your counter for 2 or 3 days.
Figured it out Carolyn! I condensed the milk too far. It was too thick to saturate the coconut flakes. Delicious all the same but will be better next time.
PS: This blog is FANTASTIC! Thank you so much for the effort; you’ve made a difference in my family’s life.
What’s the shelf-life of the low carb sweetened condensed milk?
I’ve recently discovered you through pinterest and boy, am I happy I did. Your site has been a great resource (uplift) for my sometimes low carb boredom blues.
Hi Alberta…I’ve actually managed to keep my condensed milk in the fridge for slightly more than a week, with no souring or spoiling. Yippee!