Enjoy these delicious chocolate magic bars with a cookie cake base topped with caramel, peanuts, Reese's Pieces, and chocolate peanut butter glaze. These gooey magic bars are quick and easy to make for Halloween, a bake sale, or dessert tonight.
Magic bar recipes are super easy. You just layer ingredients in a pan and bake.
I love baking them for Halloween. My Halloween Cookies and Cream Magic Bars made with OREO Cookies and chocolate chips and Candy Corn Magic Bars made with Nutter Butter Cookies and candy corn were so popular that I thought I'm try a new combination of ingredients.
Today, I'm sharing my recipe to make decadent Chocolate, Caramel, and Peanut Butter Magic Bars. Each ooey gooey bar starts with a layer of chocolate cake and is topped with caramelized sweetened condensed milk, lots of peanuts, and chocolate chips.
To give the bars a robust peanut butter flavor, I sprinkled on Reese's Pieces, but I only used the orange candies to make my bars magical for Halloween. If you make them any other time of year, you can use the yellow and brown ones too.
Then, I drizzled some chocolate peanut butter sauce over top to make the bars even more amazing!
So, let's bake some layer bars.
Ingredients
Devil's Food Cake Mix and the ingredients listed on the box (eggs and oil)
peanuts - I used roasted and salted peanuts.
sweetened condensed milk - This will caramelize while baking turning into gooey caramel.
semi-sweet chocolate chips - Use your favorite brand. I love Hershey's Special Dark.
orange Reese's Pieces (or orange M&M's)
creamy peanut butter - You'll mix this with chocolate to make a delicious chocolate peanut butter glaze to drizzle over the bars.
Supplies
9 by 13-inch baking pan
non-stick aluminum foil or parchment paper
Items used to create this project are available on Amazon.com. I earn a small commission when you use the links below at no extra cost to you.
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Planters Salted Peanuts (56...Shop on Amazon Instructions
Step 1 - Prep the pan.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (325 for dark or non-stick pans)
Line a 9-inch by 13-inch baking pan with non-stick aluminum foil or parchment paper. This will make removing the bars so much easier! The gooey caramelized sweetened condensed milk will be very sticky.
Step 2- Layer the ingredients.
- Stir together cake mix, egg, and oil until well combined. Press it into an even layer in the bottom of the baking pan.
- Sprinkle peanuts on top.
- Pour sweetened condensed milk over top.
- Sprinkle on chocolate chips.
- Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle on orange Reese's Pieces.
- Bake for 5-8 more minutes until the sweetened condensed milk caramelizes and turns golden brown. The edges of the bars should look set. The center will still jiggle a bit but should firm up as it cools.
Step 3 - Make the glaze and drizzle it over the bars.
- Allow the magic bars to cool completely.
- Cut into squares.
- Pour ¼ cup chocolate chips and ¼ cup peanut butter into a microwave-safe bowl.
- Heat on high for 20-second increments, stirring after each until melted.
- Drizzle peanut butter chocolate glaze over the top of the bars, allowing it to drip over the sides of your bars.
Storage
Serve or keep stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
You can wait to drizzle on the glaze until you eat the bars. It tastes great warm.
Variations
The beauty of magic bars, also known as, layer bars is that you can layer just about any ingredients on top of a crust and a layer of sweetened condensed milk.
You can make Halloween Magic Bars with an OREO Cookie layer topped with caramelized sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, orange chips, and OREO cookie pieces.
These delicious Candy Corn Magic Bars are made with a Nutter Butter Cookie layer topped with peanut butter, candy corn, peanuts, Reese's Pieces, and caramelized sweetened condensed milk.
Be sure to check out all of my Cookie Recipes.
Recipe
Layers of Devil's food cake, caramelized sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, peanuts, and orange Reese's Pieces are topped with decadent peanut butter and chocolate glaze for Halloween.
- 1 box devil's food cake mix
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ½ cups peanuts
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 2 cups chocolate chips
- 1 cup orange Reese's Pieces
- ¼ cup chocolate chips
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Line 9 inch by 13-inch baking pan with non-stick aluminum foil or parchment paper.
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Stir together cake mix, egg, and oil until well combined and press it into the baking pan. Sprinkle peanuts on top.
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Pour sweetened condensed milk over top.
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Sprinkle on chocolate chips.
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Bake for 25 minutes.
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Remove from oven and sprinkle on the Reese's Pieces.
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Bake for 5-8 more minutes.
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Set aside to cool then, cut into 24 bars.
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Melt ¼ cup chocolate chips and ¼ cup peanut for 20-second bursts of high power, stirring after each until melted.
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Drizzle the glaze over the bars.
Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
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Dina says
cute and festive!
Shamene Medeiros says
These look so delicious!!
Kalamity Kelli says
Oh my - these look positively sinful!
Made From Pinterest says
OH. MY. WORD. These look heavenly! Would love to have you share them at our Super Saturday Link Party going on now!
Deb :o}
Megan - The Emotional Baker says
I love that flavor combination. Looking forward to trying these!
The Partiologist says
So many reasons why I want to be your neighbor... add this to the list! 🙂