These vegan friendly paleo magic cookie bars are a healthy remake of the classic! You’ll never know they’re gluten, grain, dairy and refined sugar free!
PIN Paleo Magic Cookie Bars
M M M Magic, Magic, Magic
I got the magic in meeeeeeeee.
NAME THAT SONG. If you guessed “Magic,” welllll, you get an EXTRA Paleo Magic Cookie Bar. GO YOU.
But fer realsies.
I don’t personally have the magic in me but, you guys, these paleo cookie bars? M to the A-G-I-C is what you feel as your tongue tastes the crunchy crusty-goodness followed by the layer of crispety, toasted pecans then munches through that sweet, melty chocolate that I know your chocolate-ALL-the-things self will get REALLY excited over, THEN there’s flaky coconut andddd it all gets wrapped up in this crazy-good thick and creamy coconut milk and honey combination that sort of just makes your taste buds wonder what hit them.
And then you mustmustmust repeat the above steps (a few times, if we’re being honest) JUST so you can really be SURE of what in fact DID hit those taste buds.
And, I’m like THHHIIIISSSS sure (that’s the internetz equivalent of flinging your arms wide to show some really big amount of space) that you’re going to feel the magical-deliciousness right from the moment these perfect little paleo cookie bars enter your face-space, and probably even for a while after.
That may have been because I just sort of ate the whole pan of this magic cookie bars recipe at once though. You know how things like that just sort of happen in life sometimes right? Right.
Magic Bars/7 Layers Bars/ Hello Dolly Bars are not a new and happening thing that my food-creating brain dreamed up. Whatever you call them, they’ve been around since the dawn of time – or around there at least – and you’ve probably had them one billion times in your life.
Which means I kind of just want to be you. Consuming one billion paleo magic cookie bars is BASICALLY what my life goals look like.
But, I digress.
What you probably have not had is magic bars that are super-secret-ninja-like in the health category because they don’t got any of those gluten/grain/refined sugar/dairy things in them. Like, you caveman-eating friends AND vegan friends can eat a pan of cookie bars and still be like “I JUST STUCK TO MY DIET OF CHOICE AND STILL HAD DELICIOUS TREATS, WHATS UP!”
Or you could just eat one and think it’s really tasty…without turning into a gangster dessert-eating-person for some reason.
But, that would OBVI not be as fun.
Anyway.
Unlike the chocolate paleo magic cookie bars, gluten free magic cookie bars, or pumpkin spice paleo magic cookie bars, This recipe for magic cookie bars doesn’t have any crazy ingredients. Like, at all. We’re talking pantry staples here peeps:
Coconut flour/milk/oil, honey (or agave), almonds, chocolate chips and coconut flakes.
Dassss it. Simple stuff. Good stuff. Stuff that you probably ALREADY HAVE. A-L-S-O, you know when you think about really hard things like rocket science? Well, think of the OPPOSITE with these bars.
It’s just a little press-in crust action, mix some coconut milk and honey until it gets nice and thick and then pour it on top with a few sprinkles of other yummy stuff.
How to make magic cookie bars:
- You need condensed milk. We’re making our own with coconut milk and honey! Let it boil until thick and syrupy! YUM.
- Make your easy-peasy coconut flour crust. Bake it until golden brown and perfect
- Sprinkle the usual magic bar suspects on: chocolate, coconut and almonds. POUR OVER THAT STICKY SAUCE.
- Bake until bubbly and GOLDEN and YUMMY.
- Refrigerate overnight.
- EAT.
BOOM. Jussss like that you are D to the O-N-E.
Protip though: make sure to let these babies set OVERNIGHT to achieve OPTIMAL coconut milk set-age (is that a word?)
Which means you should maybe just get off that thing that makes your face glow weird, some people call it a computer, and get your cookie-loving butt (is that as awkward to read as it was to type?) into your kitchen, so that the crunchy-creamy-sweet-crispy cookie bar magical-ness can be dancing down your healthy-dessert-loving-tongue ALL. WEEKEND. LONG.
BUTBUTBUT, before you you jump into cookie bar magicalness, can I just give you another protip so that you can make sure that cookie magicalness/greatness is actually achieved in your weekend? Awesome.
IF you are totally new to gluten free/paleo baking, I am going to HIGHLY recommend that these cookie bars are NOT your first attempt at baking with gluten free flours. I won’t lie to you, they can be a little tricky to NAIL DOWN. It’s helpful if you have a knowledge of baking without the gluten before you jump in. GOT IT?
Now, gogogogogo!
Similar recipes you might like
Tropical Paleo Magic Cookie Bars
Carrot Cake Paleo Magic Cookie Bars
Chocolate Paleo Magic Cookie Bars with Strawberry
Gingersnap chocolate paleo magic cookie bars
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Ingredients
- 1 Can Full-fat Coconut Milk Do NOT use low fat 14oz
- 1/2 Cup + 3 Tbsp Honey divided (Agave for Vegan version)
- 1/3 Cup Coconut oil at room temperature (should be the consistency of softened butter)
- 3/4 Cup Coconut flour Sifted (66g) *
- Pinch of salt
- 2/3 Cup Almonds finely chopped (87g)
- 3/4 Cup Dark chocolate chips dairy-free for vegan option
- 1/2 Cup Unsweetened coconut flakes
Instructions
- In a large pot, set over high heat, whisk together the can of coconut milk and 1/2 cup of Honey (or agave), reserving the remaining honey for later. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Then, turn the heat down to medium and and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce reduced by about half.
- Transfer the sauce to a large measuring cup to cool while you make the crust. Note: You should have about 1 1/4 cups of sauce left after cooking it.
- Once you've made the sauce, heat your oven to 350 degrees and line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper, spraying the sides generously with coconut oil spray. Note: It helps to spray the bottom of the pan before putting in the parchment paper, to secure it.
- In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat the remaining 3 Tbsp of honey with the coconut oil until smooth and creamy. Stir in the flour and pinch of salt until a wet dough forms.
- Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the pan. This will be a little bit tough, just be patient with it. I found it easiest to use the palms of my hands, and rinse them off every so often, until the dough was pressed in.
- Bake the crust just until lightly golden brown, about 7 mins. Note: this would be a good time to chop the nuts if you haven't already)
- As soon as the crust comes out of the often, sprinkle the chopped nuts on top, and lightly press them into the crust. Then, sprinkle on the chocolate chips evenly, followed by the coconut flakes.
- Pour 1 Cup of the slightly cooled coconut milk mixture (you'll have a little left over, but you don't need to use it all for these bars) EVENLY over the top of the surface. Then, gently shake the pan around until the coconut milk mixture begins to sink between the layers.
- Place into the oven and bake until the sides are lightly golden brown, about 27-28 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature. Then, cover with tinfoil and refrigerate overnight. **
- The next day, run a very sharp knife around the edge of the pan, slice into bars and DEVOUR
Tips & Notes:
** You NEED to let these sit overnight to make sure the coconut milk really has a chance to chill and thicken.
Nutrition Info:
Recipes written and produced on Food Faith Fitness are for informational purposes only.
FOR THIS RECIPE, I RECOMMEND:
IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE, PLEASE REMEMBER TO TAG @FOODFAITHFIT AND #FOODFAITHFITNESS ON INSTAGRAM! I LOVE SEEING YOUR RECIPE RECREATIONS! 
WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS PER SERVING: SMARTPOINTS: 9 POINTS+: 7. OLD POINTS: 5
Want more paleo bar desserts?
Crock Pot Chocolate Chip Paleo Cookies
Paleo and Vegan Pecan Pie Bars
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Rachel says
Have you personally tried this recipe with agave? I just tried it & 20 minutes was too long for the simmering of coconut milk + agave: pretty sure it was burned 🙁 additionally, when I tried to spread it on the top, it was a big blob. 🙁 I’m cooking it now but pretty sure it’s ruined. Such a bummer because I definitely read all the cooking notes like you said! 🙂 but no mention of a less time for agave. Thank you for this recipe- I’m eager to try again & I’m sure it will taste amazing!!
Taylor Kiser says
Hi Rachel! yes I have tried this recipe MANY times with both agave and honey, I would never post a recipe that I had not tested a few times. I’m sorry yours burned and was a blob! I actually made a batch with agave just last night just so I could quadruple check for you and had zero problems. My agave definitely did not burn at 20 minutes and it was not a blob. It was thick, but it’s supposed to be. I’m sorry yours didn’t work and I wish I could help you! Like I said though, I’ve made it many times with zero issues….I just cut mine and they were perfect!
Rachel says
Hi! I just tried out this recipe with my sister, and we had a ton of fun! We ran into one little problem, though… 27 – 28 minutes seems much too long to bake these cookies in the oven. We figured it would be okay, but when we took out the cookies, the edges were totally burnt. Were we supposed to watch them until the crust was golden brown? They still taste good, if a little singed. The inside is fine, and perhaps we just placed the crust wrong. Great recipe though! Very yummy! Thank you.
Taylor Kiser says
I am so glad you like the recipe and had fun, I actually just made a batch of these yesterday too! with ANY recipe you make you should always be checking your food, because every single persons over temperature can be different. My 350 degrees could be more like 375 degrees in your oven, which means you would need less time to bake them. Hope that helps!
Danielle says
Can you sub coconut butter for coconut oil?
Taylor Kiser says
Honestly, I can’t tell you as the recipe was not developed that way and I have no experience baking with coconut butter- I’m sorry!
Meghan says
I was so excited to try these out! I didn’t have any almonds so I used pecans and that worked out just fine. I HAD to try them after they had refrigerated about 8 hours and they tasted just ok. They were delicious after refrigerating overnight. My only complaint is that they didn’t look very appetizing. Mine didn’t look anything like the picture. Oh well – very yummy!
Taylor Kiser says
Your stomach doesn’t care what it looks like! 😉
But I am glad you liked them – thanks for letting me know!!
Erin @HealthyStartFit says
Hey Taylor,
Have you or anyone else tried reducin the honey in the condensed milk topping or crust? I made these this morning and they turned out great but are substantially sweeter than I desire then to be. Please share your thoughts!
Helen Parkinson says
I have a question about the Chocolate chunks in this recipe. Do the Chocolate chunks have sugar in them? I’m not sure where to get chocolate chunks that do not have sugar in them
Taylor Kiser says
All chocolate has sugar, so yes. But dark chocolate has very minimal. You just use normal dark chocolate!
Leanne Hanley says
Helen, google “Pascha” chocolate.
Anastasia says
I used home made chocolate – see recipe here minus the almond butter, melted beautifully into the layers and no sugar http://fastpaleo.com/recipe/glowing-skin-chocolate-almond-butter-squares/
Taylor Kiser says
Yay!! Glad you liked!
Jenn perry says
I’m dying to try these! What are your thoughts on replacing the honey with maple syrup? Thanks!
Taylor Kiser says
I did it in the pumpkin spice version of these! https://www.foodfaithfitness.com/pumpkin-spice-paleo-magic-cookie-bars/
Refer to that and you’ll be good to go: the cooking time is SLIGHTLY different! But it totally works!
Jenn perry says
Fabulous! Thanks so much for your quick reply. I’m going to make them tomorrow! Keep up the great work on all of your recipes and blog-ventures ????
Taylor Kiser says
You are SO welcome! I hope you love them…and thanks for the kind words! 🙂
Dawn says
I made these bars last night!
I actually didn’t have coconut oil on hand so substituted butter for the coconut oil :s
Still worked out fabulous though.
I will keep this recipe because they are so tasty and healthy. My husband also really likes them!
Taylor Kiser says
I am SO happy to hear that you loved them and that butter worked!!! Thank you for telling me!
Anastasia says
The recipe is absolutely fabulous. So gooey, coconut milk sauce soaking through the layers is amazing! The only thing I’d change is reduce the amount of honey – I used 2 loaded table spoons for the sauce and another two for the dough and could have done with half. I also somehow ended up with light coconut milk and my back up was to add gelatin if it doesn’t thicken but it condensed just fine. I literally couldn’t stop piece after piece until suddenly noticing that a quarter of a 8×8 was gone! Awesomest “paleo friendly ” recipe in years for me, thanks so much!
Taylor Kiser says
I am SO glad you love it! Thank you Anastasia!! 🙂
Karina Diya says
How long it will last in room temperature ?
Taylor Kiser says
The crust softens quickly at room temp. So, please refrigerate until ready to serve. Thanks!