Keto Magic Cookie Bars! One of my all-time favorite treats now comes in a keto and grain-free recipe. Use my easy sugar-free condensed milk to make this classic dessert in a healthy form. This is an updated recipe, now even easier and more delicious!
Oh, my low-carb, non-sugar friends, you are going to love me. Love me! Because I have come up with a great new recipe for sugar-free sweetened condensed milk, perfect for making this low carb, gluten free magic cookie bars recipe.
Be sure to check out the new video in the recipe!
I updated the condensed milk recently and now it’s even easier than ever. No need to stand over the pot, stirring for hours on end to reduce the mixture. The new version comes together in about 30 minutes and uses 3 basic ingredients! So now you can get to these delicious keto cookie bars even faster.
Magic cookie bars were one of my favorite childhood treats. They were so easy to make, perfect for a kid trying to flex her newly found baking muscles. And they were so satisfyingly gooey and delicious. Everyone I knew loved them, but they all had different names for them.
7 Layer Bars was a common one, because the traditional version had 7 ingredients all layered together. My family referred to them as Hello Dollies; I have no idea why but that’s what I grew up calling them. It was only once I moved to the US that I heard them referred to as Magic Cookie Bars.
When I went low carb, I assumed that these wonderful gooey bars were now off limits forever.
Of course they were, for heaven’s sake! They took at least three ingredients that were so very much not low carb or healthy. Graham crackers in the crust, chocolate chips, and sweetened condensed milk. All things that were on the keto no-no list. Unless, of course, you can find leto-friendly alternatives. Dare I even dream that it was possible?
Heck yeah, I dared. I dared greatly. And it was indeed possible!
How to Make Keto Magic Cookie Bars
- The biggest obstacle was coming up with a low carb sweetened condensed milk recipe. Which actually wasn’t that much of an obstacle at all, as it turns out. My old version was great but a little higher carb because it contained whole milk. It also took a lot longer to make, as you had to boil it for over an hour. My new sugar-free condensed milk is faster, easier, and lower carb because it takes only heavy whipping cream.
- The graham crackers obviously had to go too. Thankfully, nut flours and meals make a great substitute for low carb crusts, and taste just as good if not better. A little butter, a little sweetener, a little salt, pressed together into the pan and presto! A keto graham cracker crust.
- Those chocolate chips were a bit of an issue for a while. For a long time, I would use 90% cacao chocolate, which still had a bit of sugar. And the original version of these magic cookie bars had that as part of the recipe. However, since then there have been a few developments. One being my homemade sugar-free chocolate chips, which are perfect in this recipe. The other is that there is some great low carb chocolate on the market now, including Lily’s chocolate chips.
- If you can get a hold of them, be sure to try the new Lily’s Butterscotch chips in this recipe. The conventional magic cookie bars use butterscotch or peanut butter chips in addition to the chocolate chips, and it really takes this keto version over the top.
With all these pieces in place, I was ready to re-create that beloved childhood treat. My old recipe, which I originally published in 2012, was better than I could have hoped. They smelled just like magic cookie bars when baking, they looked just like magic cookie bars when being cut up, and they tasted just like magic cookie bars when eaten. They were less cloyingly sweet than the conventional bars, but that is definitely a good thing.
The updated version is very similar, except that I use my new sugar-free condensed milk. I’ve made the crust a little less crumbly as well, and I used Lily’s chocolate chips or my own homemade chocolate chips in place of the 90% dark chocolate bar. This means they have the same great taste but fewer carbs. Now that’s what I call an improvement!
I am looking forward to playing more with my new low carb condensed milk recipe. I have already made some gorgeous Key Lime Bars that you need to try. And I am pretty sure that this recipe will work just as well in my low carb dulce de leche and coconut flan recipes.
But believe me, the first thing you should make with it is a pan of Low Carb Magic Cookie Bars. Or Seven Layer Bars. Or Hello Dollies. Whatever you want to call them, just get on it!
Try these other delicious low carb bar recipes
Cherry Cream Chocolate Cookie Bars
Keto Magic Cookie Bars
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 ½ cup almond flour
- ¼ cup Swerve Sweetener
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup butter melted
Filling:
- ¼ cup sugar-free chocolate chips
- ¼ cup sugar-free butterscotch chips (or more chocolate chips)
- ½ cup unsweetened flaked coconut
- ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts
- 1 recipe sugar-free sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F.
- For the crust, whisk together almond flour, sweetener, and salt in the bottom of a 9x9 inch baking pan. Add melted butter and mix in until mixture begins to clump together. Press firmly and evenly into the bottom of the pan.
- Bake crust for 10 minutes, or until just beginning to brown around the edges. Remove and let cool.
- Increase oven temperature to 350F.
- Sprinkle cooled crust with chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut and nuts. Pour sweetened condensed milk over top and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until mixture is bubbly and beginning to brown.
- Let cool in pan and cut into 16 bars.
Video
ANGELA says
Awesomely yummy!!! So nice to have a sweet treat without worrying about sugar spiking. Thanks so much for your recipes!!
Emma Shipp says
These are my and my husband’s favorite keto treat. I like to use them as breakfast bars. They are absolutely delicious and don’t taste low carb at all!
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Marian Morgan says
So glad you’re still posting. I made these this week including the chocolate chips from scratch. It was outstanding. My question is can other sugar substitutes be used such as Lacanto Monk fruit Or Z sweet and would there be a difference?
Carolyn says
You mean in place of the Bocha Sweet? No, as both of these are erythritol based sweeteners.
Sabrina says
I am so happy to see you adapted this to fit into my diet. I have been craving these and now I can have them! Yay!!
Becky Hardin says
These cookie bars looks so delicious. A must try for sure!
Toni says
These cookie bars are absolutely amazing! They were a huge hit!
Steph says
These cookies were so good and I love that they are low carb!
Anna says
These bars are so rich and decadent! Everyone loved them!
Wendy says
Thanks Carolyn! I made these at Christmas and they were wonderful! I’m sure I will make them again. Thank you!
Carolyn says
Glad to hear it!
Heather Kendrick says
Thanks so much for this recipe. Hello Dollies are a family favourite where I come from [Canada]. I switched to keto this year and am so glad to find a comparable recipe.
Carolyn says
I am also Canadian and grew up calling them Hello Dollies.
Lisa Gonzalez says
These should be called OMG bars because that’s what I said when I ate my first one!!! Love your recipes and all of the info you have on here. Keep up the awesome work!
Carolyn says
Hooray! thanks!.
Karin in Savannah says
OMG these were sooooooo good! Just like the ones I remember as a kid. My family wolfed them down, although my husband (who is non-keto) did give me grief that they didn’t have the butterscotch chips in them. LOL
Chuck Jones says
I didn’t have heavy whipping cream on hand, so I used two cans of evaporated coconut milk. I wanted to make a double batch 🙂
It turned out really well.
Marla Berry says
How do you think using gelatin would work instead of xantham? I have not had a lot of luck with xantham. It always seems to create a slimy texture to me.
Carolyn says
No, absolutely not in this recipe. You don’t want it to gel, you want it to be thick and viscous.
Renee says
I accidentally baked the crust part for 20 minutes instead of 10….should I throw it out and start over? Or do you think it will be okay? I still have to add the toppings and bake another 20-25 minutes. Help! ????
Carolyn says
It should probably be okay. The toppings do help protect the crust. The edges may get overdone, though.
Ashley says
I lilly chocolate is a little to pricey for my budget, do you happen to have any other recommendations?
Carolyn says
To be frank, any decent sugar free chocolate that isn’t made with yucky ingredients like sucralose or maltitol is on the pricy side. It’s expensive to make. You can, however, get some 90% or 85% Lindt chocolate and chop that up. I’ve done that before. It does contain some sugar but it won’t really raise the carb count much.
Jennifer Blake says
Yum and so simple!
gerry speirs says
Gooey scrumptiousness!!
Jennifer Farley says
How yummy! I’m going to whip up a batch!
Taylor @ Food Faith Fitness says
I am a sucker for magic cookie bars! These look AMAZING!
Gayle S. says
OMGoodness…these are to DIE for good! I was hesitant to try these, cause I normally don’t like many recipes with almond flour, but oh my, these were PERFECT! They were so sweet that I ended up cutting them into smaller bars….I got 36 tiny squares, and I think that size is just right, at least for me.
And, just to contribute, these really taste like my sister’s “Better Than Sex” bars (very high carb)…just sayin…;)
Thanks SO MUCH for all that you do!! 🙂