Take your low carb magic cookie bars to new heights with some keto-friendly butterscotch chip. Then top it all off with gooey sugar-free caramel sauce. Heavenly! This post is sponsored by ChocZero.
The world of low carb baking is a little like quicksand, ever shifting and changing. New products come on the market all the time. And sometimes they disappear again or become hard to find. And sometimes brands modify their products, which can affect the outcome of your recipes.
All of which can make it tricky at times to develop keto recipes. So it behooves me to go back to older recipes and give them an update from time to time. It certainly doesn’t hurt when they are gooey, chocolatey, and filled with sugar-free caramel sauce!
This is a recipe I first posted back in 2014, if you can believe it. It’s a delicious twist on the classic Keto Magic Bars. And while the original recipe was good, I think it’s even better now.
These magic cookie bars are off the hook!
Keto butterscotch chips are a good example of a product that came and went… and came again! Lily’s was the first brand to market several years ago, and they were a huge hit. But then they slowly disappeared from store shelves and now they are extremely hard to find.
Thankfully, ChocZero upped the ante and came out with their version just this year. And I decided to test drive them in these Keto Salted Caramel Magic Bars.
Oh. Em. Gee are they ever good! The mixture of butterscotch, chocolate, and caramel is absolutely divine. And with only 3g net carbs per bar, you can enjoy them without worry.
Ingredients you need
- Keto Caramel Sauce: Your first step is to make a full batch of my sugar-free caramel. It’s absolutely delicious and easy to make.
- Almond flour: I prefer almond flour for the crust, but you could also do pecan or walnut flour.
- Sweetener: I usually use Swerve Confectioners for my crust but you could use another erythritol based sweetener. Don’t use allulose, as it will not firm up properly.
- Butter: Melted butter binds the crust and makes it taste like shortbread.
- Shredded coconut: Coconut is standard in Magic Cookie Bars but if you really detest it, you can skip it or add more nuts.
- Pecans: You can also use walnuts in this recipe.
- Sugar-free chocolate chips: I love ChocZero dark chocolate chips in many of my recipes.
- Keto butterscotch chips: If you can’t get your hands on these, use more chocolate chips or use white chocolate chips.
Step-by-step directions
- Prepare the crust: In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, and salt. Stir in the melted butter until the mixture begins to clump together. Press firmly and evenly into the bottom of a 9×9 inch metal baking pan.
- Bake the crust. Bake at 325ºF for 10 to 12 minutes or until just beginning to brown around the edges. Remove and let cool at least 15 minutes to firm up.
- Add the toppings. Sprinkle the cooled crust with the shredded coconut, chopped nuts, chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips.
- Drizzle with caramel: Pour the caramel sauce as evenly over the toppings as you can.
- Bake again. Increase the oven temperature to 350ºF and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until bubbly and browning around the edges. Remove and let cool completely before cutting into bars.
Expert tips
So the thing about keto butterscotch chips is that they don’t melt that well. Keto white chocolate chips are similar. They don’t become gooey and soft during baking, like the regular chocolate.
In these bars, they became hard little lumps. The funny thing is, I actually liked them that way and felt they gave the whole recipe some texture. But I do have an alternative fix for you if you don’t want that.
Similar to the advice for my Keto White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies, you can hold back on the butterscotch chips, or only add some of them. Then the minute the bars come out of the oven, sprinkle the remaining chips on top. They should stay softer that way!
Frequently Asked Questions
This keto salted caramel magic cookie bar recipe has 6.8g of carbs and 3.9g of fiber per serving. That comes to 2.9g net carbs per bar.
You need to proper mix of sweeteners to create a proper sugar-free caramel sauce. Erythritol tends to re-crystallize, but some allulose or xylitol can help offset this and keep it gooey and soft. Caramel sauce also contains butter, cream, and some salt.
Yes! You can make and bake these bars a few days before you need to serve them. Once baked and cooled, place in an airtight container and and refrigerate until you are ready to cut and serve them.
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Keto Salted Caramel Magic Bars
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ½ cups almond flour or other nut flour/meal
- ¼ cup Swerve Confectioners
- ¼ cup butter melted
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Topping
- ½ cup shredded coconut unsweetened
- ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts
- ⅓ cup dark chocolate chips, sugar-free
- ¼ cup keto butterscotch chips
- 1 recipe Sugar-Free Caramel Sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, and salt. Stir in the melted butter until the mixture begins to clump together. Press firmly and evenly into the bottom of a 9×9 inch metal baking pan.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until just beginning to brown around the edges. Remove and let cool at least 15 minutes to firm up.
- Sprinkle the cooled crust with the shredded coconut, chopped nuts, chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips. Pour the caramel sauce as evenly over the toppings as you can.
- Increase the oven temperature to 350ºF and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until bubbly and browning around the edges. Remove and let cool completely before cutting into bars.
Donna Houchins says
Mom would use peanut butter chips in this recipe too. I’m thinking that would work if you couldn’t find the butterscotch chips
Molly Sparkman says
Second time I’m making these! They are so good and as always, your recipes are spot on. Followed the recipe exactly and they turned out exactly perfect.
Nicole says
Wow! These are amazing! Turned out perfect and taste like a Samoa Girl Scout cookie! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Denise says
In the words of Carolyn, “Oh. Em. Gee!”
I enjoy making, baking, and sharing my Keto recipes with family and friends. I saw this recipe last week and knew this was going to be a weekend baking project because it looked so good. The recipe is easy to follow (as most of Carolyn’s recipes are: Her instructions and tips make it seem as if you’re calling your sister or trusted cooking guru). Make the caramel sauce ahead; it doesn’t take long. Then follow the rest of the instructions, and you’ll be enjoying the best-tasting bar! Nobody could tell this was Keto, not even my persnickety 18-year-old son, and that’s quite an achievement. I’ve been asked to bring a dessert to a dinner this weekend; Salted Caramel Magic Bars will be a marvelous ending and a delicious sweet treat!
Penny Reveile says
W. O. W. I made these bars today and my house smells ah-may-zing! Unfortunately I didn’t have the butterscotch chips, but I did have salted caramel chocolate chips by Lily’s, so on I went! They are cooling now (how do you wait!). Can’t wait to jump in fist first!😂
Karen Druga says
I watched your video for the caramel sauce and love the commentary from your kitty!! Great sound effects!! And love the caramel sauce right off the spoon.
debbie says
I will be making these today – the one request is could you please include sugar in the nutrition facts
GB says
In post carb count is higher (4.22) than the nutritional data (2.9), with the later matching a statement in the intro. Is the former a holdover from the older recipe?
Carolyn says
Yes! Thanks for the catch… fixing what it says in the post now. The recipe card is correct.