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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When I made these the bottom dough was all crumbly and fell apart. How can I stop this from happening next time?
More butter.
These would definitely satisfy my almond joy cravings!!! I get them a lot. 🙂
No guilt sweet treat!
Oh, yum!!! These beautiful bars are one of my favorite desserts!!
I just tried to make the sweetened condensed milk recipe and it came out a lovely Carmel color and flavor. I don’t think it will taste like vanilla ice cream. I used Allulose instead of Swerve and I wonder if this is why? I’m thinking about boiling down the cream and milk before adding the sweetener. Any reason why I shouldn’t do that?
It has to be the allulose. And actually…addign the sweetener after cooking down is something I’ve done lately too and it works well.
Hi, do you think this can be done using the slow cooker?
No, I think the slow cooker would trap too much moisture and it wouldn’t firm up properly. But you are welcome to try!
Late to the party, as usual, but do you think fairlife whole milk would work for the sweetened condensed milk? It’s lactose free, with fewer carbs and more protein than regular whole milk. Some people online have called it Frankenmilk, but I’m intrigued by the concept.
I’ve recently become sensitive to lactose, but would love to try to make the SCM. I thought cashew milk might work as well; I’m not a huge fan of the taste of almond milk now that I’ve tried cashew milk.
Thank you in advance!
So excited to try this! What does “all cream” mean in the ingredients, where It says “do not use all cream”…? Does that mean use heavy whipping cream rather than heavy cream?
No…it means make sure you use at least half milk or almond milk because it gets too thick and clumpy if it’s all heavy cream/whipping cream.
Delicious.
Can you sub in xylo-sweet for the sugar sub and stevia sub in the low carb sweet condensed milk? Other sweeteners like stevia have a strange aftertaste for me
I can’t be sure it will thicken properly, since Swerve contains some fiber that helps the consistency. But it’s worth a try.
I’m excited to try this recipe and use it in the vanilla ice cream recipe. However, I have one question. I was a bit confused about your comment about not using all cream. So does the one cup cream and one cup milk make that adjustment? In other words, is this recipe exactly what I should use? I used to make a Lemon Meringue Pie for my husband using sweetened condensed milk. It was soooo good! I’d like to try it using your s.c.m. Thank you so much for your website and all of your wonderful recipes! They are superb.
I added that comment because several readers attempted 2 cups of cream in an effort to lower the carbs and ended up with a gloppy mess. So yes, do 1 cup cream, 1 cup milk.
Carolyn, I made these and they are awesome!!!!!
So, this is the third cookie recepie I have tried from you blog, they have all been good, but this one is by far my favorite! That sweetened condensed milk is amazing. I didn’t know, something sugar free could be this good. I am going to try doing it dairy free next time. I’m thinking almond milk and canned coconut milk. I also used different sweeteners in my recepie. I used 1/4c xylotol and 1/4tsp pure stevia. I used 1c heavy cream, and subbed 1c half and half for the milk, to cut a few more carbs, but not skimp on taste and lastly I subbed 1/2 a vanilla bean pod for the extract. It only took about 30minutes to boil down to the right consistency. But amazing. Its so rich, I only need a tiny piece to curb my sweet tooth. Will be making again… And playing with this one.
Caroyn,…Girl , you saved my life. First I made your graham crackers. Delicious! Then I took the graham crackers and used them for the crust for these Magic Cookie Bars. Yummy in my tummy.. I did as one person said and added a little more xanthum gum to thicken up my condensed milk . Instead of milk in the cookie recipe, because I am lactose intolerant, I used Atkins milk modification which is Heavy cream diluted with water. I did two tablespoons of heavy cream and the rest was water to make 1 cup of modified milk. Fabulous. You are wonderful and thank you so much for your contribution to low carb world. I was stuggling with this whole carb lifestyle but knowing every blue I can have a treat that will not spike my blood sugar levels. You made me believe that I can cook any of my favorite foods with just little bit of tweaking.
So glad I could help, Tina!
I have granulated stevia with erythritol. Will this work? I love sweetened condensed milk, but the carbs instantly go to my hips! I do a primal diet, but prefer to not use honey and maple syrup because of those darn carbs, so I use a lot of granulated stevia to make my rare treat. This looks so good, and hope this will work. Then I can do key lime pie and flan! Yummy!
I think that will work. Is it a mix of the two? What brand is it?
I have a very old, authentic recipe for key lime pie using only 6 egg yolks, a cup of key lime juice and 1 can sweetened condensed milk. Do you suppose I could replace the scm in the original recipe with your sweetened condensed milk recipe? I was planning on making it in a low carb almond pie crust.
Yes, I think you could!