We’ve headed right back into the 1950’s and 60’s with our Keto Magic Cookie Bars, aka 7 Layer Cookies, and Hello Dolly Bars. Whatever you call them, there’s no denying the appeal of these delicious bars. Layers of chocolate, butterscotch, coconut and chopped pecans are smothered with thick gooey finger-linking sweetened condensed milk, traditionally over a graham cracker crumb crust. Brings us right back into our childhood. They’re so easy to make that Mom let us make them all by ourselves.

We’ve been thinking about how to ketoize these bars for some time, but the main ingredient, sweetened condensed milk, has always been out of reach. That is, until recently.

We discovered how to create Keto Sweetened Condensed Milk with the same taste and texture of the original. Now we can make our Keto Key Lime Pie, and these Keto Magic Cookie Bars we’ve been dreaming about, with more yummy desserts to follow.

To make Keto Magic Cookie Bars you’ll need the following ingredients:

Almond Flour

Brown Sugar Substitute – Swerve, truvia, or Sukrin Gold 

Butter – We use salted

Keto Sugar-Free Sweetened Condensed Milk

Lilys Dark Chocolate Baking Chips and Lilys Butterscotch Flavor Baking Chips – If you’re not a fan of butterscotch, replace with more dark chocolate chips. The butterscotch flavor chips are relatively new to the scene. We found ours at Walmart, and Amazon is also carrying them. We read a few reviews from people who did NOT like the flavor, so we were prepared for the worst, however our picky tastebuds found them absolutely delicious – even better tasting than Lilys dark chocolate chips.

Your Favorite Chopped Nuts – We love pecans, but your favorite will work perfectly.

Shredded Coconut – We’ve used Coconut King Shredded Coconut with no added sweeteners,  and later, Birds Eye Fresh Frozen Sweetened Coconut. They both contain the same net carb count – 1 net carb per 2 tablespoons – so either works well in this recipe.

Our suggestion: Make one batch of our Keto Sweetened Condensed Milk first and allow to cool. We usually make a day or two ahead.

The high carb graham cracker crust is replaced by our shortbread crust (we think it tastes even better) using only 3 ingredients. Almond flour and brown sugar replacement are mixed together and drizzled with melted butter. The crumbs are pressed firmly into a 9×13 pan that’s been sprayed with cooking/baking oil and lined with parchment paper for easy removal of the bars. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes, until lightly browned. It’s important you cool the crust completely before continuing. We put ours in the fridge because we’re so impatient. 

The next step is widely debated in the Magic Cookie Bar community. Decades ago, we poured sweetened condensed milk on top of all the layers, however this time we tried pouring the sweetened condensed milk over the crust and then layering the rest of the ingredients on top. We were surprised. We found it not only more aesthetically pleasing, but also that it tasted better.

Pop it back into a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool the bars on a rack or countertop for about an hour, then in the fridge for 3-4 hours. Overnight does wonders for the flavors to meld!  

Using your handy-dandy parchment paper handles, lift the entire slab onto a cutting board. Use a sharp, large knife to divide into 24 bars. If you find an entire bar too much of a great thing, cut into diamond shapes. 

You can store at room temperature for up to 5 days, but we prefer storing in the fridge for a firm and chewy bar. We hope these Keto Magic Cookie Bars bring back some good memories. And with only 3 net carbs per square, they’re guilt-free! Here’s a link to our Keto Sugar-Free Sweetened Condensed Milk recipe used in these Magic Cookie Bars.