Gluten Free Magic Bars

You know the recipe on the back of the can of sweetened condensed milk?  Yep, those magical cookie bars filled with chocolate, coconut, nuts and sweet, gooey goodness.  Mmmmm.  I definitely ate my fair share of these as a kid and they are so freakin' easy to make! 

Usually these bars are made with a graham cracker crust and graham crackers are full of gluten (not that I, personally, have anything against gluten.  Have you read this blog?).  This time, however,  I made one very small adjustment here to remove the gluten and PRESTO! - gluten free magic bars!

I made these for my sweet gluten free friend (she's a lot of other wonderful things too but I like to use her a prop in my blog to show how food diverse I am) who came over for dinner.  That day, I made a million other glutenous desserts for everyone else but I wanted her to have a something sweet too.  You see, I can't possibly let anyone out of my house without being in a sugar coma.  It's the rules.

Only a very small change was required to make this recipe gluten free and it has to do with the crust.   Instead of using the usual graham cracker crumbs mixed with butter to form the crust, I used almond meal.

I mixed the almond meal with a bit of sugar and melted butter, pressed into the bottom of the pan and baked it until it was nice and golden brown.  That's just as much work as the regular version which is not very much.

Then you sprinkle all the yummy chocolatey, coco-nutty, craisiney and pecany goodness on top and and top that with sweet, gooey sweetened condensed milk and bake them until they're golden.

The original recipe does not have craisins in it, but I think they add a nice tartness that breaks up the some of the sweet.

My favorite part is how the coconut gets toasty in the oven.  I love the smell of toasted coconut - it reminds me of the beach -  so baking these up made my house smell like island heaven.

Seriously, it's not possible that these could be anything but tasty.  Who needs stupid graham crackers, anyway?  Not this girl.

Actually, the almond meal goes perfectly with these bars because of its nutty flavor.  That melds perfectly well with the toasted coconut and the pecans so you don't have to tell anyone that these are gluten free.  No one will notice, much less care and much much less complain.  They will eat the nutty, chocolatey goodness and compliment you on your dessert.  End of story.

Gluten Free Magic Bars
I made these in a small, 7"x4" pan, but have tripled the recipe here to accommodate a standard 9"x9" square pan.  This will make 12 bars (or 9 if you're hungry).

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup Almond Meal/Flour
3 T Sugar
3  T Butter, melted
1/2 cup Chocolate Chips
3/4 cup Coconut
1/4 cup + 2 T Craisins
1/4 cup + 2 T Pecan Pieces
1/2 cup Sweetened Condensed Milk

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 9"x9" pan with cooking spray.  In a small bowl mix together the almond meal, sugar and melted butter.  Spread the mixture into the prepared pan, pressing it down to completely cover the bottom of the pan.  Bake for 15 minutes until the crust is light golden brown.

Sprinkle the chocolate chips, coconut, craisins and pecans over the baked crust and lightly push down on the toppings so they are slightly mushed into the crust.  Pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the top.  Bake for 30-35 minutes until the top of golden brown.

Let the bars cool completely before cutting.


Julie