Candy Corn Magic Bars

These Halloween Sweet and Salty Candy Corn Magic Bars are great for a last minute dessert! This simple dessert is a must have at any party, you won’t be able to get enough!

After pulling myself out from under that rock and finally trying my hand at making a batch of Halloween Cookies and Cream Magic Bars, I thought I’d try another flavor profile.

I am a huge fan of Pay Day candy bars and that amazingly similar combination of candy corn and peanuts. So I tossed those two ingredients in with some Nutter Butters, peanut butter, and Reese’s Pieces to make a sweet and salty magic bar with a Halloween twist.

The only problem with my latest batch of bars was that a bit of the magic was missing. Don’t get me wrong, they taste exactly as I had hoped, sweet and salty and full of caramel and peanut flavors. I’ve had no trouble chowing down on them, but they were a bit goopy.

I didn’t give the sweetened condensed milk enough time to caramelize. I pulled the bars out of the oven after 20 minutes and threw on some more candy corn and put them back in the oven. After three minutes the candy corn began to melt and I was hoping for nicely shaped candy corn on top, so I pulled the bars out. They needed to bake longer.

So follow my directions in the recipe below and make sure you give your bars enough time in the oven.

Halloween Sweet and Salty Candy Corn Magic Bars 
(makes 24-30 bars)

Ingredients:

20 Nutter Butter Cookies, crushed into crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
10 Nutter Butter Cookies, broken into small pieces
1  1/3 cups peanuts
1 cup candy corn
1 (14 ounces) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup mini Reese’s Pieces

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9 inch by 13 inch baking pan with non-stick aluminum foil or parchment paper.

Combine Nutter Butter crumbs with melted butter. I used a food processor to crush my cookies into crumbs, then I just added the melted butter and pulsed to combine. If you don’t have a food processor, just pour your cookies in a zip top bag and smash them with a rolling pin or the back of a pan. Then stir them together with the melted butter.

Press the mixture into the bottom of your pan.

Spread peanut butter over the crust.

Reserve a small amount of Nutter Butter cookie pieces, peanuts and candy corn (about 1/3 cup of each). Sprinkle the remaining Nutter Butters, peanuts and candy corn over the peanut butter. Pour the sweetened condensed milk over top.

Sprinkle on the reserved Nutter Butter pieces and peanuts. Sprinkle on the Reese’s Pieces. (Reserve the remaining candy corn for later.)

Bake for 25-27 minutes until the sweetened condensed milk turns lightly golden brown. Remove from oven, sprinkle on the reserved candy corn, then return to oven and bake for 2-3 more minutes until the edges of the bar look set. The center will still jiggle a bit, but should look golden brown, not pale like mine did! If you under bake them like I did, they still will taste great, just know that they might ooze a bit!

Allow to cool completely before cutting into 24-30 bars. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days or wrap well and freeze for a month or so. Thaw in refrigerator overnight before bringing to room temperature.

Be sure to check out all the Halloween recipes here on Hungry Happenings.

More Halloween Magic Bars and Fun Recipes 

from Hungry Happenings

Halloween Magic Bars

Creepy Halloween Dessert – Spider Infested Chocolate Chip Cookies

CHEESECAKE Pumpkin Stuffed Cupcakes

Bite Size Cheesecake Pumpkins

Laughing Cow Candy Corn Cheese Wedges