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Crinkly, wrinkly, and so delicious…these Magic Chocolate Chip Cookies are some of the best. A 7 layer bar, but in cookie form. They’re rich, decadent, heavy on the chocolate, and extra gooey! Made with browned butter, vanilla, sweetened condensed milk, coconut, chocolate chips, and peanuts for a cookie that’s addictingly delicious. Every bite is slightly crisp on the edges but soft and chewy in the center. Absolutely nothing not to love about these crinkly magic cookies. Bonus? These cookies are easy to make, use simple ingredients, and take only minutes to prep. They’re so deliciously easy…they’re magical!
If there was ever a cookie to make, I think it might just be these. I know that’s a bit of a bold statement, but there’s something very special about these cookies. I wasn’t sure how they would turn out when I started testing them. But it’s safe to say I am more than excited to be telling you guys all about these easy cookies.
First off, it’s no secret that I have really been embracing more “retro” style dessert recipes. I really don’t know why, but the recipes that were made back in the day, the ones our grandmas, and even their moms, were baking up, those are the ones inspiring me most right now. Vintage cakes, old-fashioned pies, upside-down cakes, and the ever so classic 7 Layer Bars sometimes know as Magic Bars.
All are exciting me, but it was the Magic Bar that inspired these cookies.
(cookies before baking)
The Idea
Brainstorming recipes is a never-ending thing for me. When I take thirty minutes to write out all my ideas is really when I come up with my favorites. I was jotting a recipe down (ok typing recipes) when I had the idea to make a 7 Layer Bar. For as much as I love a good cookie bar, I think I love cookies just a smidge better.
So I thought about taking everything in those 7 Layer Bars and turning them into circular cookies that could ideally be those flat, crinkly cookies I love so much. I wasn’t sure the concept would work. Stirring sweetened condensed milk into a cookie sounded like it could either be, one amazing, or two totally disastrous. They really had a fifty/fifty chance of being great or a complete flop, so I took my chances…
Five plus batches of cookie dough later, I finally got to the perfect cookie. The extra effort was more than worth it.
Here are the details
The thing about magic bars? They’re EASY. Which is one part of the “magic”. Well, the same is true for a magic cookie.
Just make my favorite brown butter cookie dough, then stir in chocolate chips, the coconut, so many chocolate chunks, and salty peanuts. Then swirl in the sweetened condensed milk, now bake.
Less than an hour later you’ll have the sweetest, crinkled cookies. Simple as that.
So simple, they’re magic. But what else makes them magic…they’re chocolatey, salty, sweet, gooey, and have just the tiniest bit of CRUNCH. Basically, they’re everything you could want out of a cookie, and with pockets of chocolate too.
They’re pretty hard not to love.
Soo with that, how about some Tuesday night baking? These are easy enough to have mixed up and baked in less than an hour. And my guess is that you already have all the ingredients on hand too!
Looking for more magical cookie recipes, try these…
Soft and Crinkly Brown Sugar Peanut Butter Cookies
Salted Tahini Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Magic Chocolate Chip Cookies
Servings: 22 cookies
Calories Per Serving: 289 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup light or dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups chopped chocolate chunks or chips
- 1 cup sweetened or unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1/2 cup roasted peanuts (or any other toasted nut)
- 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place 1 stick of butter in a large mixing bowl and set aside.2. Add 1 stick of butter to a small saucepan set over medium heat. Cook until the butter begins to brown, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour the butter over the stick of butter in the mixing bowl. Stick in the freezer to chill, 10-15 minutes, but no longer. The butter should be chilled, but mostly melted. 3. To the mixing bowl, add the brown sugar and vanilla, beat until combined. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, until combined. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Fold in the chocolate chips, coconut, and peanuts. Drizzle over the sweetened condensed milk and mix until lightly combined, you should see streaks of condensed milk. 4. Let the dough sit 5 minutes, then roll the dough into 2 tablespoon size balls and place 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Gently flatten each ball down into a disk using the palm of your hand.5. Transfer to the oven and bake for 7 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and tap the baking sheet on the counter 2 times to flatten them down. Return to the oven and bake another 3-4 minutes or until the cookies begin to set on the edges, but still doughy in the center. Remove from the oven and tap the baking sheet on the counter 1-2 times to flatten them down again. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet. They will continue to cook slightly as they sit on the baking sheet. Eat warm (highly recommend) or let cool and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
These were great, but despite banging the pan they don’t look anything like your picture. Delicious anyway
Hey Rhonda,
Happy Monday! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xTieghan
I’m a huge fan of your website. But… these cookies failed. Lacking taste and were soft. I added sea salt and more coconut to help.
Hey Melanie,
So sorry you did not enjoy this recipe, was there anything you may have adjusted? Please let me know if I can help in anyway! xTieghan
Can you use honey roasted peanuts instead? Its all I have.
Hey Jaclyn,
Yes, those will work just fine here. I hope you enjoy these cookies, please let me know if you give them a try! xTieghan
I followed this recipe to a T and it was just okay. I didn’t have trouble with them being Cakey, but they weren’t as crinkley as in the photos despite dropping the pan throughout baking. I also found they lacked flavor. HBH has cc Cookie recipes that have been better than this
Hey Alex,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, so sorry you did not enjoy them. Let me know if I can help in anyway! xTieghan
These came out incredible. I am an occasional baker and followed this recipe to a T. Chewy, moist, delicious. I subbed 1/3 butterscotch chips instead of all chocolate chips to mirror more of the 7 layer cookie vibes. My whole family devoured them – will definitely be making again. Thank you for this recipe and especially for your step-by-step videos on your IG page!
Hey Breanne,
I really appreciate you giving this recipe a try, I am thrilled that it was enjoyed! xxTieghan
I reduced baking soda to 1/2 tsp after reading reviews and they did come out similar to the photo… just not my favorite cookie recipe. I banged the pan about five times each round with some good force (put a dish towel down)!
Hey there,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a go, I am so excited that it was enjoyed! xxTieghan
My husband lives for my chocolate chip cookies and cookie bars. I decided to branch out and try this recipe, and regret it. I cannot figure it out –mine did not brown and are pretty tasteless. Will not be making these again.
Hey Jennifer,
So sorry to hear this. Was there anything you may have adjusted in the recipe? Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
Do you use a mixer or do you mix by hand? Loved the taste of these! Trying to perfect them! I used high altitude flour and will probably use regular next dime.
Hey Jordan,
I used a stand mixer. Thanks for giving the recipe a try! xTieghan
I want to love these but they came out more like “cake”. Any suggestions?
Hey Shana,
So sorry to hear this. Was there anything you may have adjusted in the recipe? Did you bang the sheet pan on the counter? What kind of flour did you use? Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
I added the butter with the brown sugar as this was omitted from the instructions. Unfortunately they came out nothing like your photo however. Do you bake in a convection oven, gas or electric?
I was really excited for the end result. I will give them another try.
Hey Mary,
So sorry if you missed this but, 1 stick of butter is used in step 1 and the other stick of butter is used in step 2. This may have been your issue with the recipe. I hope this helps for next time! xTieghan
How creative! I make “magic” bars – my family calls them 7 layer bars – every Christmas, and these are the best cookie version! I subbed in some of the chocolate chips for butterscotch chips and added some large chunks of graham cracker to imitate the 7 layer bars we make during the holidays. Turned out amazing especially with that browned butter. Yum! This is probably a top five contender in cookies that I love!
Hey Jenna,
I am so glad this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! xxTieghan
My sister made these a few weeks ago, and they turned out nothing like the picture. So I gave them a try to see if she did something wrong, or if it was a problem with the recipe. I made them last weekend, following all steps of the recipe exactly as written. Mine didn’t look like the picture either. We had such high hopes for the recipe cause on paper it sounds so good! All of the recipes we’ve tried by you have turned out, but this one was a bust. Not sure if the quantities printed aren’t correct or if a step is missing.
Hey Melissa,
So sorry to hear this! A little more info would be helpful. What exactly was wrong with them? Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
They were cakey, yet flat like a pancake. They didn’t have the ripples from banging the pan, and didn’t look/taste gooey like yours. The baking soda was new, everything was at room temp, and the flour was measured using the spoon and sweep method.
Again, so sorry to hear this. If you over mixed the batter at all that also could have been an issue. But they are definitely meant to be flat:) xTieghan
Hi Tieghan! Thank you for your blog: It gives me and my family a lot of recipes and a lot of joy!
Could you please clarify Step 2? After you pour the brown butter over the second stick of butter, should you chill it immediately before the second stick has melted? Or should you wait until the second stick has melted completely? Basically: What should the second stick look like before you pop the bowl in the freezer?
Thank you in advance for your clarification, and for all your efforts associated with Half-Baked Harvest!
Best,
Jason
Hey Jason,
Sorry for any confusion, you can chill immediately, because the brown butter is so hot, it will still melt the stick of butter while it’s in the freezer. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Awesome. Thanks for the reply! I’ll make them this afternoon and report back.
Cheers,
Jason
To those posting about the cookies not flattening/being too cakey – is it possible you used powdered milk and not condensed milk?
Hey Caroline,
Good thinking, this would definitely be an issue:)
Yup. Like so many others have commented, I love your recipes but this one was a miss. I flattened with my palm, banged on the counter…and all I got were cakey nothing special cookies. The consolation is that I am by no means the only one.
Hey Jane,
So sorry to hear this, I’m not sure what could be causing this issue. xTieghan
I’m laughing so hard at myself because these turned out to be an epic fail! They are FLAT as can be, HUGE. I basically made this into a sheet cake, but like, not a yummy or pretty one. I realized I didn’t have any salted butter so I used unsalted butter instead, do you think that’s the issue?
Hey Crystal,
So sorry to hear this. It sounds like your dough may have been too warm, next time pop it in the fridge for a bit before baking. I hope this helps! xTieghan