Magic Bars

1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs

½ cup butter (1 stick)

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

2 cups (12 oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/3 cups flaked coconut

1 cup nuts (no chopping needed!)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Pull out a 13 x 9 pan.

The first thing you have to know about Magic Bars is that they are easy to make. When people ask you if they are hard to make, you ask them about their skills in opening packages and using scissors. But they are hard to get out of the pan in one piece. To solve this, I make a sling out of aluminum foil to line the pan. Put a sheet of aluminum foil across the long end of the pan with bits sticking up at either end for handles. As foil is wider than 9”, you will either have to tuck the excess into the sides of the pan or fold the foil just to fit the bottom. Then, put a piece of foil across the middle of the pan at a right angle to the other piece with bits sticking up for handles.

Then, throw the stick of butter in the pan and put it in the oven to melt. Watch it carefully so that it doesn’t burn. Then take the pan out of the oven and add the graham cracker crumbs and mix. Press this into the bottom of the pan as evenly as possible with the bottom of the measuring cup you used to measure the crumbs. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with chocolate chips, then with coconut, and finally with the nuts (no need to chop these). Press this entire mixture down firmly with the bottom of the measuring cup.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire rack. Lift foil sling out, and cut into bars. You will need to carefully peel these off of the foil in order to plate them. Best to do this out of the eyes of your prying guests as it is a messy process.

Notes: From the label on sweetened condensed milk with my own tricks of the trade.

Marcia