You asked, here it is

Due to popular demand (okay, about five people, but STILL!) here is my magic bar recipe. Will it get you into GMA? I make no promises. Also: it does not contain actual magic. Unless you count chocolate chips.

Okay, here it is:

MAGIC BARS

1 stick margarine
1.5 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 small bag chocolate chips
1 14 oz can condensed milk
1 c. coconut
2 small bags chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Melt margarine in a saucepan. Add graham cracker crumbs and stir, then pat mixture into a greased 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 pan. (The bigger the pan, the thinner the bars.) Then spread chocolate chips in a layer over the top, followed by layer of coconut, then layer of pecans. Pour condensed milk in a layer over the top. Bake for 30 minutes, then chill in fridge for 1-2 hours. Cut and enjoy!

These are also known as seven layer bars, as well as a lot of other names. You can find a lot of variations online: my babysitter Erika adds Rice Krispies to hers. This is my mom’s recipe, so I’m partial to it. Memories, ya’ll.

Have a good weekend!

18 Responses to You asked, here it is

  1. Alexa Bisson says:

    My grandmother’s recipe has the same exact ingredients but we call them Hello Dollies. Love them so much! I thought when I saw your picture from the five that they looked suspiciously familiar! LOL

  2. Indira Adams says:

    Yumm!! They sound delicious. And if I make them, I’ll be eating exactly what they ate at Good Morning America! Okay, that sounds creepy but… It’s still cool!

  3. Zoha says:

    Wow! Sounds great.
    Thank you for sharing it.

  4. Jessica says:

    Awesome! I was wondering what was in them. And although I’m not a fan of coconut, I’ll give them a shot!

  5. Maddie says:

    YAY THANK YOU SO MUCH! Ever since you first tweeted about them, I have been SO curious about the recipe. And then when I heard that the folks on GMA loved them, I just HAD to know your secret recipe! Thanks so much again for posting it and sharing it with everyone, I absolutely canNOT wait to make them! :)

  6. Katie says:

    YUM! Definetly trying these :) Thanks!

  7. Corbett says:

    I fell in love with these when I went to camp (totally unrelated, I know) and I’ve been drying to find the recipe fooorever. At my camp (Camp Illahee) they were called seven layer bars there but all the recipes I found just didn’t look right (one said to put sour cream in… and I promise I DID look up seven layer BARS not DIP!). This looks pretty darn close though, so thank you. GO HEELS! Kendall Marshall probably isn’t playing though…I have a bad feeling about this.

  8. Emily says:

    Sounds really good! :) :D

  9. melissa ramirez says:

    Hey sarah im a tenage kid from san jose in the book this lullaby you have a comment about remy recieving something from the jehovah witnesses and I know its not my buisness but I was wondering what your connection I
    s with these

  10. Allie says:

    I think i went wrong by using salted butter instead of unsalted

  11. Fan number 1 says:

    Hi Ms. Dessen, my name is Teresina Sandino and I live in Nicaragua, I am your biggest fan and let me tell you that I love your book someone like you and I always cry when I hear about it because it is my all times favorite. I know it’s too late for this and it doesn’t have to do anything with your post but I on behalf of all the girls around the world would like and die if you do a sequel for someone like you, when I finished it I really didn’t want to because like it was so good that I couldn’t, so that would be really nice and I am sure I would be first one to buy it. If you ask for the reasons just blog and I’ll tell you ;) thank you!!

  12. Julie says:

    They looked delicious in your last blog post :) Although I’m allergic to pecans, I’ll have to try it with cashews or peanuts or something. Thanks for the recipe!:) <3

  13. Emilie says:

    My sister and I make these all the time! We love them (my family calls them seven layer bars), and they usually only last a day before they’re all gone! :)

  14. Shannon says:

    Good evening, Ms. Dessen!

    First, let me introduce myself. My name is Shannon Clarke, and I’m from the state of Maine, a freshman in college.

    I’m the midst of this college experience, I am taking Public Speaking. Now, you are probably a little befuddled as to why I’m writing to you, so if you would, please read on.

    My next assignment is to write a persuasive speech. My professor is taking a rather different approach. We each divided into groups of three, and for the next two weeks, we are ‘film producers’ and my professor is a ‘sponsor with an unlimited bank account’. In our persuasive speech, we, as film producers, must take a book that has not yet been made into a movie, and persuade him to sponsor us to make our chosen book into a film.

    In my group, none of us could think of a book that we had all read, never mind a good one. However, Crystal, one of my classmates in my group, mentioned your book, “Along For The Ride”. She described the plot, and immediately had us hooked.

    Since I was going to do a speech on this book, Along For The Ride, I decided to pick it up at the library and give it a try. I picked it up this past Monday after class, and began reading that night.

    You know those books that you just can’t put down? I’m sure you’ve heard this a million times, but yours was one of them. I read it the rest of the evening, finished up my homework and errands on Tuesday, and stuck my nose back in your book as soon as I finished. I read it late into the night, finishing it at 1:38am on Tuesday night, noting the time when I closed the book. I want you to know that I thoroughly enjoyed it! It was so real. Not just your superficial ‘girl meets boy’ book, but had such underlying themes that inspired me… getting a second chance, my quest and how I’ve been going about it, and if people really can change.

    If you’re still reading this, I want to thank you. I think I’ll finally get to my point.

    We chose your book, Along For The Ride, as our book we want made into a film, and I wanted your input. Why would you want your book made into a movie, if you were granted the opportunity?

    I know you are terribly busy, but I again want to thank you for taking your time to read this and considering to respond to my question.

    Thank you again,

    Shannon

  15. Emma says:

    My mom makes these all the time and calls them Magic cookie bars. although there isn’t any “cookie” part in it…..

  16. Olivia says:

    Hi Sarah!

    Definitely keep the blog. Twitter, facebook and tumblr are great, but we get a way better update through this blog. I always get excited when you update.

    Anyway, in other news. I’m from Christchurch, New Zealand.I don’t know if you heard, but last Feb we had a huge earthquake. My family lost their home so we are currently checking out show homes to find something to build on our section. Yesterday we went to a really nice show home and one of the bedrooms was made up as though it was for a teenager. The bedside table had your book ‘Keeping the Moon’ on it! Thought you would be excited to know that you are massive over here too. We love you!

  17. I Believe in Magic says:

    Chocolate chips are magic…. trust me on this one.

  18. Abby says:

    Hi Sarah I love reading your books! I like to write books too, and I would like to write to you about some of my ideas if you could give me an address that I could write to you with that would be awesome!
    Thanks,
    Abby

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