Magic Coconut Bars

makes 24 very rich little bars

These vegan magic coconut bars are the stuff childhood dreams are made of. A buttery graham cracker crust, a rich coconut milk base, chocolate chips, toasted coconut, and walnuts or pecans. Nutty, chocolatey, ultra-sweet, and as irresistible as a kitten. In cookie form. 

You might know these as Hello Dollies, Seven Layer Bars, or Magic Bars. Whatever your family called them, these are those. The traditional version is made with sweetened condensed milk, which we’ve replaced with coconut milk cooked down with brown sugar. It brings in even more coconut flavor than the original and might honestly be an improvement. The vegan secret weapon strikes again.

What makes this recipe so great is how simple it is. You’re looking at a handful of ingredients, no mixer, no special equipment, and a recipe that basically layers itself. The hardest part is waiting. These need a good overnight chill before slicing and that is genuinely the most difficult thing about making them. Set aside your patience and you will be rewarded.

This Magic Coconut Bars recipe is from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar and we’ve gotten a lot of feedback over the years. People have eaten them straight out of the oven with a fork, molten chocolate and all. Someone in the UK made them with digestive biscuits and reported back that it worked beautifully. One person simply said “nobel prize in coconut,” which we feel is accurate.

A note on the coconut: use sweetened, fluffy white flaked coconut here. Save the natural shredded stuff for a curry.

Look how easy the whole process it!

VEGAN MAGIC COCONUT BARS FAQ

What are Magic Bars? Magic Bars go by a lot of names depending on where you grew up — Hello Dollies, Seven Layer Bars, Magic Cookie Bars. They’re all basically the same thing: a graham cracker crust topped with chocolate chips, coconut, nuts, and a sweet binding layer, baked until golden and gooey. This is the vegan version and it’s better than you remember.

What makes these vegan? The traditional recipe uses sweetened condensed milk. We replace it with full fat coconut milk cooked down with brown sugar. It creates a rich, sticky, deeply coconutty base that is arguably better than the original.

Can I use a different cookie instead of graham crackers? For sure. Graham crackers are classic but the crust is very flexible. Digestive biscuits are a great swap and a reader confirmed they work beautifully. Shortbread cookies give you a richer, butterier base. Gingersnaps add a spiced warmth that plays really nicely with the coconut and chocolate. Oreos work if you want to go full chocolate. Just crush them up and use the same amount. If your cookie is on the sweeter side you can skip the tablespoon of sugar in the crust.

Can I use different nuts? For sure. Walnuts and pecans are both great here. Macadamia nuts would also be excellent. Just avoid anything too finely chopped or they’ll disappear into the bars.

Do I really have to chill them overnight? You really do, or at least 4 hours. They need time to firm up before slicing or you’ll have a delicious mess. That said, one reader ate them straight out of the oven with a fork, molten chocolate and all, and had zero regrets.

Can I make these gluten free? Yup yup yup. The only thing that needs swapping is the graham crackers. Use any plain-ish gluten free cookie you like crushed up. Everything else in the recipe is naturally gluten free.

How did I end up here? You were probably searching for “vegan magic bars,” “vegan seven layer bars,” or “vegan hello dolly bars.” Maybe “magic cookie bars vegan” or “vegan coconut cookie bars.” Welcome, you found the best recipe!

Magic Coconut Bars

The classic magic bar, vegan style. A buttery graham cracker crust topped with a rich coconut milk base, chocolate chips, sweetened flaked coconut, and walnuts or pecans. Also known as Hello Dollies or Seven Layer Bars.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Chill time (overnight is great) 4 hours hrs

Total Time 5 hours hrs

Course Bar, Cookie, Dessert

Servings 24 very rich little bars

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 14 oz can coconut milk
• 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 cups vegan graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup melted vegan butter cooled
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
• 2 cups flaked, sweetened coconut
• 1 cups walnuts or pecans chopped

Instructions

 

• In a large saucepan whisk together coconut milk and brown sugar over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Mixture may form a thin skin on the surface; just stir it back into the liquid. Remove from heat and let cool while preparing the crust.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl combine graham cracker crumbs, melted vegan butter and sugar; mix well to moisten crumbs completely. Firmly press mixture into prepared pan, pressing evenly from center to sides of pan.
• Pour warm coconut milk mixture evenly over crumb base. Top with an even layer of chocolate chips, flaked coconut and nuts, in that order. Firmly pat everything down until coconut milk mixture soaks upward into the toppings.
• Bake for 28 to 30 minutes or until coconut is deeply golden and filling is bubbling, remove from oven and let entire pan cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
• Transfer pan to the refrigerator to completely cool and firm up for at least 4 hours, even better overnight or until very firm. Use a sharp, heavy knife to run along the edges of bars, slide bars on parchment paper out of pan onto a cutting board then to slice into 24 squares.
• Store in a covered container in the refrigerator. These also freeze well, tightly wrapped and allowed to thaw for 20 minutes before serving.

Keyword vegan seven layer bars, vegan hello dolly bars, magic cookie bars vegan, vegan coconut cookie bars, magic bars recipe, vegan graham cracker bars, gluten free magic bars

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