Magic Monster Layer Bars

by Sabrina Snyder

Published on

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4.50 from 4 votes
24
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
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Magic Monster Layer Bars are an easy, kid-friendly dessert or snack with a graham cracker crust, chocolate chips, m&m’s and coconut flakes. 

Like Easy Layer Bars, these Monster Layer bars use your pantry ingredients to make a delicious dessert that’s sure to please a crowd. The crunchy, sweet and sticky bars will make it one of your favorite Dessert Recipes.

Magic Monster Layer Bars in stack

MAGIC MONSTER LAYER BARS

These Magic Monster Layer Bars are amazing because they come together quickly and are guaranteed to be delicious. The homemade graham cracker crust forms the base of these bars, and the toppings are all held together by a can of sweetened condensed milk.

The salty-sweet combination of chocolate and peanuts is basically a match made in heaven, and the coconut adds a nice flavor and tang to the bars. If you are a fan of Monster Cookies, you’ll love of these bars. 

Keep Refrigerated

Magic Monster Layer Bars are perfect for your next potluck or holiday dessert. You can make them days ahead of time and they’ll still be gooey and chewy. Make sure you refrigerate them before bringing them to your next summer BBQ to prevent them from getting too sticky or melting.  They are a crowd pleaser, and you won’t be able to leave your next event without someone asking you for the recipe. 

Kid Friendly

Magic Monster Layer bars are great to make with kids. Because the recipe is simple, and mostly involves sprinkling ingredients, it can be a great way for children to learn how to bake. You can make this recipe as your next rainy day activity or as a way to get your kids involved the next time you are cooking for a barbecue or holiday meal.

To make these bars even more amazing, try serving them with Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream or Homemade Whipped Cream.

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Pantry Friendly

These Magic Monster Layer bars are the ultimate pantry recipe, and you can swap out or add in other ingredients that you find in your kitchen, meaning that they won’t require you to make an extra trip to the store. If you don’t have sweetened condensed milk on hand, you can make it easily yourself with milk, sugar and vanilla extract. Making sweetened condensed milk takes about an hour, so make sure you leave enough time.

Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk

  • 2 cups whole milk
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  1. In a medium saucepan, whisk the sugar and milk until combined.
  2. bring the milk mixture to a low simmer over medium heat, whisking often.
  3. Turn down to low heat and simmer until mixture has reduced by half.
  4. Once reduced, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
  5. Cool completely before storing in a glass jar and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

Note: You can use any non-dairy milk (like almond milk!) for vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk.

Magic Monster Layer Bars in baking dish, top-down view

VARIATIONS ON MAGIC MONSTER LAYER BARS

  • Baking Chips: You can add or mix in any type of baking chip. Butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, or a mixture would all work well.
  • Chopped Nuts: You can swap out any chopped nuts you have on hand instead of peanuts. 
  • Crust: Instead of graham crackers, you can use Nutter Butters or any sort of crumbled-up peanut butter cookie for a stronger peanut flavor. 
  • Oats: You can add ¾ of a cup of old fashioned or quick oats for a chewier texture.
  • Pretzels: Add in chopped up pretzels for a salty-sweet crunch.
  • Candies: You can add in other types of candy to this recipe, such as Reese’s pieces, peanut butter cups and toffee bits.  

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HOW TO STORE MAGIC MONSTER LAYER BARS

  • Serve: Magic Monster Layer Bars are best at room temperature. Keep in an airtight container or wrap in plastic wrap for up to 3 days.
  • Store: Keep these bars in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week.
  • Freeze: Cut the bars into single servings and layer in an airtight container with parchment paper between layers. Freeze for up to 3 months. Let them thaw on the counter overnight before serving.

Magic Monster Layer Bars in baking dish, cross-section

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Dinner, then Dessert

Magic Monster Cookie Bars

Magic Monster Layer Bars is an easy, kid-friendly dessert or snack with a graham cracker crust, chocolate chips, M&M's and coconut flakes. 
Yield 24
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Magic Monster Layer Bars in stack
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 1/2 cup butter , melted
  • 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup M&Ms candies
  • 1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
  • 1 cup peanuts , chopped

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Coat 13x9-inch baking pan with baking spray.
  • Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter.
  • Press into bottom of prepared pan.
  • Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture.
  • Layer evenly with chocolate chips, m&ms, coconut and nuts.
  • Press down firmly with a fork.
  • Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned.
  • Cool completely (preferably refrigerate until cold) before cutting and serve at room temperature.

Nutrition

Calories: 262kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 99mg | Potassium: 184mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 185IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 75mg | Iron: 1mg
Keyword: Magic Monster Cookie Bars

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Magic Monster Layer Bars collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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