These Strawberries and Cream Magic Bars are pure magic. Made with fresh strawberries and a sugar cookie layer, they are seriously amazing!
I also have a recipe for the original seven layer bars!
I had another Grinch heart growing by 8 sizes I guess I won’t trade my children for goats moment the other day.
So we were at the zoo, and I was pretty sure that I could find a group of three goats while we were there who would be easier to manage than my three monsters. I was just making my selections when the most magical parenting moment happened.
We were playing at the playground, because, obviously why would you want to talk to an African Elephant when you could, oh, I don’t know, go down a slide 7,432 times? Anyway, we were playing at the playground and it is a brand new one, so the kids were extra pumped.
Gavin was climbing to this extra high level and Quinn was following him. I was standing off at the edge of the playground with Piper and the stroller reminding myself every three seconds that checking my email on my phone was not an option. Anyway, I see Gavin come sliding down the extra high slide . . . . but Quinn is not sliding down right behind him. I look up to see Quinn poking her little nose through the bars at the top . . . tears in her eyes . . . looking at me pleadingly.
She was too scared to come down.
Well. This is a fine pickle. Options: Abandon the baby to climb to the top and coax the toddler down the slide . . . . Nope.
I know! Scream at the toddler to come down! “Quinn! You are fine! It is a slide! Come down, buddy!!!”
More tears.
Gavin looks at me from across the playground and I swear something came over him. He looks at me and says, “Mom, is Quinn stuck at the top? Don’t worry! I’ve got her!” And he runs up to the top of the playground. I’m thinking to myself, “Yeah, good luck, kid,” when I see them talking to each other. He is being super animated and before I know it, they are both flying down the two slides. They pop out of the bottom and Gavin high fives Quinn and tells her she did a great job!
When they got to me I gave Quinn a huge hug and congratulated her and then I turned to Gavin and said, “What did you say??” And he said, “I just told her that she needed to be brave. She’s always brave when I tell her she needs to be.”
Cue the heart swelling.
So, in all honesty, these bars aren’t even a half as magical as that moment, but they are still pretty amazing. They are a tiny bit putzy. I mean you have to make the graham cracker layer, the sugar cookie layer, and the strawberry cream layer, but they are totally worth it. They are gooey and delicious and so packed with strawberry goodness!
Strawberries and Cream Magic Bars
Ingredients
- 9 graham cracker sheets approximately 5.4 oz worth, crushed
- 6 TBSPs of unsalted butter melted
- 2 TBSPs granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup quartered fresh strawberries pureed
- 4 oz room temperature cream cheese
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh strawberries
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 by 13 inch pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the graham crackers, the 6 TBSPs of butter (melted) and the 2 TBSPs of sugar. Press into the bottom of the pan.
- In a different bowl, mix together 1 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp baking powder, set aside.
- Beat together 3/4 cup of granulated sugar and 1/2 cup unsalted butter until creamy, about two minutes. Add in the egg and then the vanilla until just combined. Slowly add in the flour mixture until it is fully combined.
- Very carefully spread the cookie dough mixture on top of the graham cracker crust. The easiest way to do this is to take small amounts, flatten it in your hands, and set it on the crust. You may not be able to entirely cover the graham cracker crust, that’s okay.
- Beat together the cream cheese and the 1/2 cup pureed strawberries. Spread evenly over the cookie dough.
- Evenly spread the 1/2 cup sliced strawberries over the cream cheese layer. Top with the white chocolate chips and then evenly cover with the sweetened condensed milk.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Refrigerate overnight before slicing. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
did you make this
Strawberries and Cream Magic Bars
Peg deberg says
Can cherry pie filling be substituted?
I haven’t tried this with Cherry Pie filling, but I’m a little worried that it would add too much moisture. I did make Chocolate Covered Cherry Magic Bars with maraschino cherries. I think that would be a better substitute here.
Marissa says
I followed the instructions and here we are 24 hours later. For some reason it seems pretty soggy. What did I do wrong? 😭😭😭
Hi Marissa, I’m so sorry that this isn’t work for you! They likely needed to bake a little longer. Also, brands of sweetened condensed milk do vary. I recommend using Eagle Brand. It is thick and always holds up quality wise.
Kris says
These bars are so special! I made them for my family for a late 2021 Easter celebration as we came together for the first time in 13 months. It’s true they are a little labor intensive but worth every bit of the work. I wish you could have been here to see those first bites and the facial expressions! This bar is so unique in flavors and textures. This bar has unanimously moved to the top of our list! Thank you so much for sharing!
Oh Kris, this makes my heart so so happy! What a special day for one of my recipes to be part of. My family hasn’t been able to have that reunion yet, but we are only a few weeks from it and I CAN’T WAIT!
Sumayyah says
These bars look amazing, Will be trying them this weekend. Just had a question, can I use frozen strawberries?
I haven’t tried these with frozen strawberries, but I am worried they would add way too much liquid to the recipe.
Penny says
I first made these a few years ago and it’s my husbands absolute FAVORITE! It is a lot of prep work but he only gets it on special occasions ;) this is definitely worth the labor!
Aw, I love that this has become a special occasion tradition for you!
Kristina says
These Strawberries & Cream Magic Bars look amazing!🤤 I was wondering if I could substitute the all purpose flour, salt, & baking powder for self rising? (That’s what I have on hand).
Thanks for sharing this recipe, especially during peak strawberry season, as I’m always looking for new ways to use my fresh strawberries.
I’m sorry, Kristina, I don’t ever feel comfortable giving the green light on self rising flour swaps without testing it first. I do hope you try these and enjoy them. If you experiment with the self rising flour, I’d love to hear how it goes.
Pamela says
In the oven as I type… quite a process but they look perfect and I can’t wait to try them… I used wax paper to help get the cookie dough on the gram cracker crust. This was very helpful!
I hope you enjoyed them!
Ariel Clinton says
These are absolutely divine! I made them last night, I was nervous about how they would turn out when I took them out of the oven, as they looked underbaked (the topping was liquid). However, after they spend the night in the fridge, the condensed milk hardened, and the end product was rich, creamy, fruity, and decadent! I love how the layers provide a complex flavor profile, and add various textures. The crispy graham cracker, the soft cookie, the creamy cream cheese, fresh strawberries, and gooey condensed milk…. man these are amazing!! I did 8 ounces of cream cheese instead of 4, since we love cream cheese, and it worked great.
I’m so glad you loved these as much as I love them!
Katie S. says
You had no business making a recipe like this Lisa. What an amazing treat. I shared it with my neighbors, my dog (shhhh), and the carpet cleaners down the street who looked tired after a long day of work. I think I have made 3 “sheets” worth of these bars in the last week. I will be looking at your other recipes soon.
I’m glad you liked them.
Sherrill L. Van Valkenburgh says
Took me three hours, but it was worth it as a surprise sweet birthday treat. Delicious!
I’m so glad you liked it, Sherrill!