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5 Ingredient Magic Cookies. Made with coconut, roasted cashews, sweet chocolate chips, quick-cooking oats, and a can of sweetened condensed milk. Just mix, scoop, and bake. Simple as that! These cookies take only a few minutes to prep. Then bake these up, and kind of like magic, you’ll have delicious cookies!
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I think any of you from the Midwest are likely familiar with 7-layer bars. Everyone’s mom or grandma had their own recipe. Some looked the same, and others had slight variations. Either way, they always turned out so yummy!
My mom used to make them all the time. Only she didn’t use graham crackers, which tend to be traditional. She’d use a layer of oats, but no graham crackers. We loved them. These are the cookie version, using just five ingredients.
I was so happy with how these turned out. I think they’re even more delicious than 7-layer bars. A bit chewier and saltier with lots and lots of chocolate chips!
I baked up yet another (double) batch of these just last night for my family to take with them this weekend to Aspen. Everyone is staying together in the same house, and I’m sure these will get eaten right up!
I’ve been making these on repeat!
Here are the details
Ingredients
- unsweetened fine shredded coconut – I like the Bob’s Red Mill brand
- roasted cashews – make sure these are dry roast with nothing else other than salt. You don’t want any weird oils on the nuts!
- semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
- quick cooking rolled oats – this is what my mom used growing up, but I imagine regular oats probably work fine too
- sweetened condensed milk – the magic ingredient
Special Tools
You need just a mixing bowl and a cookie sheet for these cookies.
Steps
Step 1: mix the cookie dough
Do this in a mixing bowl. The order the ingredients that go in doesn’t matter. Just make sure the sweet milk evenly coats all the ingredients. It will be sticky.
Step 2: scoop and bake
Take a spoon or use a cookie scoop, and scoop out mounds of the dough. I do nine cookies per baking sheet, but this will vary depending on the size of your cookie sheet.
If any of the mounds look too loose, push them together with your hands. These do not need to be perfect or uniformly shaped, so don’t stress!
Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes. I like around 12 minutes, then I let the cookies set and finish cooking on the cookie sheet. Your cookies will come out looking a little puffed, but once they settle and set, they’ll look perfect.
Step 3: time to enjoy!
I found my cookies to be absolutely delicious while warm, but they’re also yummy once cooled.
You can also add a sprinkle of flaked sea salt if you like. I’m sure that’s so delicious!
Some Tips!
These are honestly so easy, you can’t mess them up! I will say that if your dough feels too wet and sticky, you can add up to 1/2 cup of additional oats. The more oats you add, the drier the cookie, as the oats soak up the condensed milk more than the other ingredients.
And then, lastly, if you want your chocolate chips to look more like mine, add a few directly on top of each cookie just after you pull the cookies out of the oven. The chips will get melty on top! YUM!
Looking for other winter dessert recipes? Here are my favorites:
Chocolate Dipped Sesame Oatmeal Bars
5 Ingredient Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies
Healthier Homemade Nutter Butter Cookies
Healthy…ish Homemade Samoas Cookies
Tahini Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Salted Tahini Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Lastly, if you make these 5 Ingredient Magic Cookies be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
5 Ingredient Magic Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 1/2 cups roasted cashews
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup quick cooking rolled oats
- 1 can (14 ounce) sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.2. Mix all ingredients in a bowl until combined. Scoop out mounds of dough (3 tablespoons or a scant 1/4 cup) onto the prepared baking sheet. Use your hands to push any loose dough back into dough mounds.3. Bake 12-15 minutes, until golden on top. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes to fully set. Enjoy warm or room temperature! Delish either way!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Yummy, easy, a great snack or breakfast
Hey Carla,
Awesome! I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, so glad it was enjoyed!
My friend made these the other day and she just shared the recipe with me. These were freaking unbelievably delicious. Seriously they were like crack.🤣 I couldn’t quit eating them.
Hey Dianne,
Amazing!! I am so thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed, I appreciate you choosing to make it. Have a wonderful week!
These have become my go-to cookie because they’re so easy and delicious! I’ve decided I either like to use milk chocolate chips with the unsweetened coconut OR semi-sweet chips with sweetened coconut. The “dough” scoops nicely with an ice cream scoop (I get a full 2 dozen+) and I’ve never had an issue with a ring of milk around the base. At least not to the degree that some have. Have also tried using a blend of chips: chocolate, white chocolate, and butterscotch. All yummy!
Hey Sarah,
Thanks so much! I appreciate you making these cookies so often and taking the time to comment. So glad they are always enjoyed!
didnt turn out even close to pics. follwoed recipe to a T.
Hey Chelsea,
So sorry to hear this! Did they taste okay? Please let me know if there is anything that I can help with!
Can I substitute peanuts for the cashews?
Hi Marpy,
Sure, I bet that would work nicely for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try!
Can you make a head and bake later? I want to make these for a friend for her to bake at home as my oven is not working right now.
Hey Jennifer,
Sure, that would be okay for you to do. Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Easy and delicious. Added the chips on top as you suggested. Condensed milk gives it a richness that makes it taste like way more than just 5 ingredients. Will definitely make again!
Hey Belkys,
Big thanks for making this recipe and sharing back. So glad it hit the spot!
Hi,
How should I store these cookies, and for how long can I keep them? Would dry roasted pistachios be ok instead of cashews?
Hi Belkys,
You can store these in an airtight container on the counter for up to 1 week.
I have not tested with pistachios, so I am not sure what the results would be.
I hope you love these cookies!
These cookies taste delicious! Everyone loves them whenever I make them. I have also changed up the ingredients -white chocolate and macadamia nuts taste amazing.. I also did a pantry clean out using whatever nut and chips I had in the pantry. it’s a very versatile recipe.
Thank You for sharing.
Hey Becky,
Thanks for making this recipe. Love that it turned out well for you—thanks so much for sharing back!
Any substitutions for the nuts? We have an allergy in our house. Thanks!
Hi Allison,
So sorry, I have not tested this recipe without the nuts. You could try pumpkin seeds to see how that works!
Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Can these be frozen?
Hey Cheryl,
I honestly have not tried freezing these, I’m not sure they would be the best after frozen.
Please let me know if I can help in any other way!
I’d rate these a 5 but the condensed milk seeps out the bottom leaving a crackle like circle around the cookie. I’m using regular oats. Could that be the problem?
Hey Linda,
Perfect! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it!
I would try the quick cooking oats:)
Happy Sunday!
I’ll make these again using pecans as other reviewers have done. Cashews were fine, but not my favorite. Also, I was expecting they’d be roasted as part of the recipe? 🤷🏼♀️ I guess dry roasted was the intent there. Also, I didn’t see the recipe called for unsweetened coconut until it was too late. Sweetened worked fine, though. Very tasty for a simple cookie!
Hey Sarah,
Perfect! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it!
Happy Sunday!