I’m feeling super festive this week as I put up my Christmas decorations and listen to upbeat holiday music, so I decided to give some of my favorite recipes a little holiday makeover too.  These Seven Layer Magic Bars are a classic treat that have been around for years, but green and red mini M&M’s easily transform them in to a festive show stopper!

These delicious bars start with a graham cracker crust, then chopped pecans, chocolate chunks, white chocolate chips, coconut, condensed milk and then after they are baked they are sprinkled with Mini Holiday M&M’s (and a few more pecans so anyone with nut allergies know not to eat them.)

I like a slightly thicker base than the original Eagle Brand recipe to hold up to all the toppings and I like to pour the condensed milk over the top of the coconut instead of the graham cracker crust so that it “magically” soaks down through the layers holding them beautifully in place.   I don’t like when the M&M’s colors bleed in to the snowy white coconut, so I add them after baking and gently press down to help them stick.

These Magic Bars are both gorgeous and incredibly yummy.  Even family members who are not fans of coconut love these with all the different textures and flavors.  They make a beautiful addition to any holiday cookie platter!

A couple of tips for this recipe:

• I like to line the baking pan with parchment because it makes it easy to pull them out and slice, but you can totally just spray with non-stick spray if you would rather.
• A full sheet of graham crackers has 4 break-apart crackers.  You will need about 2 full sleeves from the package, which is 16-18 sheets.  This will make about 2 cups of graham cracker crumbs.
• I love Trader Joes semi-sweet chocolate chunks for this recipe – but you can use your favorite semi-sweet chocolate chips if you don’t have access to Trader Joes.
• I do prefer white chocolate chips over vanilla baking chips.  They have a better texture and flavor.
• You can substitute walnuts for the pecans if that is what you have on hand.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper letting it come up the sides so you can pull the sides out after baking.
2. Break the graham crackers up in to the food processor and pulse until completely crushed in to crumbs.
3. Mix the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter until well combined.
4. Press the base in to the prepared baking pan with your hands or an offset spatula
5. Sprinkle 1 cup of the nuts over the top, then the chocolate chunks, then the white chocolate chips.
6. Sprinkle the coconut all over the top.
7. Drizzle the can of condensed milk all over the top of the coconut until completely covered, scraping every little bit out of the can.
8. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes until it just starts to brown around the edges.
9. Remove the pan from the oven and immediately sprinkle with the mini M&M’s and reserved pecans.  Use an offset spatula or a turner/flipper to gently press the M&M’s and pecans in to the coconut.  Cool completely before slicing and serving!