Pumpkin Magic Bars are ooey, gooey, and magically simple and delicious! They are the ultimate in comforting fall food!
Last week our family went to the Eastern Idaho State Fair. We go every year, it’s just what we do. The people watching is fantastic, and crazy, and a little frightening! Where do they all come from? Okay, I’ll stop and be nice now. Let’s talk about food instead shall we? We ate WAAAAY too much food at the fair. Burgers, corn dogs, Toffee Tumblers, soda pop, fried cheese curds, teriyaki rice bowls, a tiger ear, and probably more that I can’t remember. We shared it’s okay right?
I even talked these two into getting their picture taken!
The day after the fair, I promised myself I would only eat apples and grapes for the next two days, you know to average with all the junk I ate at the fair. That lasted for one meal. Then I decided it was time to make Pumpkin Magic Bars. My jeans are still tight and after one bite of these bars I’m saying it was worth it! They are just as simple to make as traditional magic bars, just with a yummy little twist! I started with a crust made from a cake mix (easy right), sprinkled on way to many toppings, and poured a sweetened condensed milk concoction over the whole thing!
Bake em up. Let em cool. Cut em up. And eat em up! By the way, would you eat apples and grapes if these were staring at you?
Look at those layers… first a cake mix crust, then chocolate chips, lots of toffee chips (I’m in to those lately), coconut, and walnuts, and finally a pumpkin-y sweetened condensed milk that turns into the most fabulous pumpkin caramel!
We have little to no willpower at our house so we started munching these while they were right out of the oven. Pumpkin Magic Bars are delicious while they are still ooey, and gooey, and soft, and warm. If you have willpower…you might want to let them sit so they don’t fall apart in your hand, but I totally wouldn’t judge you if you ate them straight from the pan with a spoon!
- 1 yellow cake mix
- ½ c. butter, softened
- 1 c. chocolate chips
- 1 c. toffee chips
- ½ c. shredded coconut
- ½ c. walnuts, chopped
- 1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
- ¼ c. pumpkin puree
- ½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9" x 13" baking pan with aluminum foil. Spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
- Mix cake mix and butter together. Mixture will be crumbly. Gently press in the bottom of the pan.
- Sprinkle chocolate chips, toffee chips, coconut, and walnuts over the crust.
- Mix sweetened condensed milk, pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice together. Pour over the cookie in the pan.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool. Cut into squares. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
Dee says
September 7, 2016 at 5:43 pmThese look incredible — They would go super fast in my house!
Amy Engberson says
September 8, 2016 at 8:25 amThanks! All desserts go way to fast at my house!
Patricia @ Grab a Plate says
September 7, 2016 at 9:11 pmLove the State Fair! I haven’t been in soooo long, but I surely remember the fun (and food — and yes, totally worth it)! These bars! So yummy with the addition of pumpkin! Great fall treat!
Amy Engberson says
September 8, 2016 at 8:24 amYou will have to go to the Fair next year, it’s such a fun tradition! Fall is the perfect time to crank on the oven and start baking all things pumpkin!
carrie @ frugal foodie mama says
September 8, 2016 at 6:05 amI just love this perfect for fall version of magic bars! 🙂 They look amazing!
Amy Engberson says
September 8, 2016 at 8:22 amThanks! It’s all about pumpkin right now!
Amy Engberson says
September 8, 2016 at 8:23 amIt’s all about pumpkin right now! These definitely hit the spot!
Renee - Kudos Kitchen says
September 8, 2016 at 6:07 amState fairs are always the best. We went to our local state fair this year because I love seeing all the farm animals and, of course, eat the food. Your pumpkin magic bars look amazing. I’d eat them hot out of the oven, too.
Amy Engberson says
September 8, 2016 at 8:21 amMy boys love seeing all the farm animals, even though we have pretty much all the same animals on our farm. Definitely sneak a few Pumpkin Magic Bars while they are warm!
eat good 4 life says
September 9, 2016 at 8:43 amPumpkin all the day way for me this season. These bars look dreamy!
Krista says
September 9, 2016 at 8:52 amI am going to add these to my Fall dessert list!
Emily says
September 12, 2016 at 12:38 pmA friend just had a baby and her husband loves pumpkin, looks like the perfect dessert to make them!
Amy Engberson says
September 14, 2016 at 9:00 amIt’s a perfect treat to share with someone! I shared the last batch I made too, just so I didn’t eat the whole thing!
Cheryl t says
October 1, 2016 at 4:45 pmI made these today and I found the cook time way off. After 25 minutes it was no where near done. I had to end up cooking it 45 minutes.
Amy Engberson says
October 10, 2016 at 9:25 amDarn it! I like mine a little on the gooey side, if you want them a little more set up you might have to cook them a little longer! Happy Baking!
Katherine Drymon says
November 9, 2016 at 10:05 pmSame here, took about 40, but they look amazing, hoping they taste great too! My son, 13, actually made them, he is doing for school Skills for Living class!
Amy Engberson says
November 11, 2016 at 11:02 amHow fun! I love it when kids get involved in the kitchen! Glad he is enjoying them!
Carla says
October 5, 2016 at 3:29 pmI am having trouble finding the toffee chips. What brand did you use? Do they melt in the recipe or are they crunchy? Thank you.
Amy Engberson says
October 10, 2016 at 9:23 amI used Skor toffee chips. They are usually in the baking isle next to the chocolate chips! Good luck finding them! Mine stayed crunchy! Happy Fall!
Renee says
October 10, 2016 at 5:35 pmThis came out great!!! I didn’t have toffee so used butterscotch chips instead. The only thing was it took about 35 minutes to cook but it was worth the wait!!! Recipe pinned!!!
Amy Engberson says
October 10, 2016 at 6:26 pmButterscotch chips would be fantastic! Thanks for pinning! Happy Fall!
Allison says
October 30, 2016 at 7:25 pmI made these with white cake mix and white chocolate chips, and doubled the pumpkin and pumpkin spice. They turned out amazing! Thanks for the inspiration!
Amy Engberson says
October 31, 2016 at 1:21 pmOh that sounds so good! You can’t go wrong with more pumpkin! Happy Fall!
Bari says
November 12, 2016 at 8:44 amInstead of yellow cake mix, how would you feel about using pre-made cookie dough for the crust? Do you think baking time would change at all?
Amy Engberson says
November 18, 2016 at 5:35 pmThat sounds like an amazing idea! You can’t go wrong with cookie dough! let me know how it goes if you try it!
Kerry says
September 16, 2017 at 6:20 amCooking time is way off! Agree with comments below that 35-45 min is needed.
Briana says
October 17, 2017 at 8:09 amJust made these! They were so easy and smell sooooo good, but I put them in the oven for 45 minutes and they still dont look set… Do they stiffen up as they cool?
Amy Engberson says
October 17, 2017 at 10:08 pmHi Briana! Yes they do set a little after they cool. I prefer my magic bars to be a little gooey vs. dry so I always error on the undercooked side instead of the over cooked side! They are so tasty!
Christine says
October 20, 2017 at 11:21 amThey look amazing….would I be able to freeze these ?
Amy Engberson says
October 31, 2017 at 6:08 pmHi Christine! I haven’t ever tried freezing them before. I think you could do it though. Let me know how it goes if you try it!
Julie says
October 21, 2017 at 12:32 pmWould butterscotch chips work in the place of toffee chips?
Amy Engberson says
October 31, 2017 at 6:07 pmHi Julie! Yes you could use any kind of add ins you would like! Butterschotch chips sounds fantastic!
Jenny says
December 2, 2018 at 2:53 pmHi! Do you pre-mix the cake mix according to instructions or just mix the package with the butter ??
Amy Engberson says
December 3, 2018 at 2:43 pmHi Jenny! Just mix the package of dry cake mix with the butter! I can’t wait for you to make these!
Alison says
December 8, 2018 at 5:35 pmCan these be freezed for a later date?
Amy Engberson says
December 10, 2018 at 2:56 pmHi Alison! I’m can’t actually say for sure how well these freeze, because I’ve never tried it. Although I’m guessing they could successfully be frozen for up to a few weeks! Let me know how it goes!