These Chocolate Covered Cherry Magic Bars and their brownie base are the delicious candy made into a decadent dessert! Of all the magic bar variations, this one might be the most decadent. These 7 layer magic bars are made without graham crackers and without coconut for a different twist on a classic recipe.
If you are looking for other great magic bars, make sure you try these S’mores Magic Bars, these Milky Way Magic Bars and these Strawberries and Cream Magic Bars. Or make original magic cookie bars.
It has come to my attention in the last week that Piper isn’t a baby anymore. She’s like a for real kid. (I just want you to know that I can hear your collective “Duh.” and I really don’t appreciate it.)
She is making all of her wants and needs very clear. She is doing things in an attempt to be funny (and totally succeeding) and she wants to do anything and everything that her older brother and sister are doing. In short, she is in the thick of it.
You guys yesterday we watched her take the sword from Gavin’s Knight Costume and walk up to Quinn (who was sitting at the kitchen counter on a stool), and with a huge grin, she started smacking Quinn with it. When Quinn started to whine and cry, Piper did her very familiar pucker up move, letting Quinn know she wanted to give her a kiss.
Quinn, thinking all is safe, climbs down from the stool, and gives her little sister a kiss, only to then be smacked again with the sword, but harder now because they are on the same level. And because we are horrible parents we just stood there observing the whole thing and remarking to each other that our baby isn’t a baby anymore. (Is it wrong that as someone with two older siblings, a small part of me took some joy in it??)
So the perfect thing to drown my sorrows in my baby becoming a KID? Is these amazing Chocolate Covered Cherry Magic Bars. Guys, I legit do not do my magic bars by the book. First, I generally skimp on the number of layers, going from like 7 to like 4. And I also love to shove a layer of sugar cookie in there. But this time? This time I shoved a layer of BROWNIE in there. Sooooooo, delicious.
And if you are really sad about your baby becoming a KID? Well then you make a huge tower of them and you top it with ice cream and fudge sauce. (Okay, see that collective “Duh” I feel good about.)
TIPS ON HOW TO MAKE THESE MAGIC BARS
- Make sure you are using Sweetened Condensed Milk and not Evaporated Milk. The containers are virtually identically and sold right next to each other so it’s an easy mistake to make, but they are very very different.
- Make sure you don’t use extra sweetened condensed milk. You aren’t using a whole can. Just 6 ounces.
- These need to cool and set before you cut into them. They will still be gooey, but delicious.
Chocolate Covered Cherry Magic Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purposed flour scooped and leveled – see note
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 stick butter 8 TBSPS
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 10 oz jar of maraschino cherries drained and cut in half
- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk not evaporated milk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9 by 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and cocoa powder.
- Melt together the butter and 1/4 cup chocolate chips in the microwave on 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until smooth.
- Mix the melted chocolate/butter, eggs, and vanilla into the dry ingredients until fully combined. Press into the bottom of the baking dish.
- Top the brownie mixture with the cherries, chocolate chips, and then the sweetened condensed milk.
- Bake for 28 to 30 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Allow to set up overnight before cutting and serving.
Notes
susan says
Do you think a family sized brownie mix would work with choc chips, cherries and sweetened condensed milk on top?
Linda says
I wish someone answered this, I would love to know as well ☹️
That would work, but it will be a little different because the brownie layer will be different and it may need to bake longer. Or you could try baking for a little bit and then taking out the brownies and add everything else.
Rebecca Rempert says
These are delicious and so easy to make. Have you ever tried using more of the sweetened condensed milk than the recipe calls for? Will definitely make again.
Thank you Rebecca! I haven’t, just because then I tend to get complaints that the bars don’t set.
April says
Sounds so yummy! I may have missed it but I don’t see where the recipe states which amount of chocolate chips gets melted and which gets placed on top of bars? Thanks so much!
Hi April! Are you talking about the picture of the drippy chocolate over the bars and the ice cream? That was jut fun for the photos and is fudge sauce.
Eric says
Ughhh….Can I pay you to make/ship these Chocolate Covered Cherry Magic Bars to North Carolina? Serious question.
Depends on how much you’d pay me :)
Lana says
Can these be frozen? I have made them once before but we ate it all!!
They absolutely can be frozen, but you do run the risk of the chocolate cracking.
Patti Gambill says
Could I make these with chopped up chocolate covered cherries? They are on sale, super inexpensive right now.
You could definitely give it a try, but it might add too much liquid to this. You might want to cut down on the sweetened condensed milk if you use those.
Molly says
These didn’t quite turn out for me. I made two pans this morning- one with the 3/4c sweetened condensed milk and the other with just under 1/2c Bc that’s what was left in the can. The pan with the full 3/4c was done and brown on the edges but when I cut into them they were raw in the middle. The milk literally was running off the edges as I was cutting them into squares for the bake sale. ? The pan with 1/2c was perfect. I added coconut like traditional 7 layer bars and next time I made add nuts too.
I’m really sorry these didn’t work for you Molly! I’ve made these several times with great results. Is it possible your oven temperature is off? That has happened to me before. The other issue could be inadvertently buying evaporated milk instead of sweetened condensed. Or, an altitude issue.
Joanne Brown says
Do you think this could be made using fresh sliced strawberries?
I actually have a Strawberries and Cream Magic Bar recipe!
Joline says
Yum
Amy says
Hi! I’m so excited to try this recipe it looks so delicious!!! But before I make it I was wondering which chocolate chips do I melt with the butter?, is it the semi-sweet or the milk chocolate ones? Just wanna make sure I get the recipe right for when I make them 😊
That is a great question, Amy! I updated the recipe to make it more clear.