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5 Ingredient Magic Cookies. Made with coconut, roasted cashews, sweet chocolate chips, quick-cooking oats, and a can of sweetened condensed milk. Just mix, scoop, and bake. Simple as that! These cookies take only a few minutes to prep. Then bake these up, and kind of like magic, you’ll have delicious cookies!
I think any of you from the Midwest are likely familiar with 7-layer bars. Everyone’s mom or grandma had their own recipe. Some looked the same, and others had slight variations. Either way, they always turned out so yummy!
My mom used to make them all the time. Only she didn’t use graham crackers, which tend to be traditional. She’d use a layer of oats, but no graham crackers. We loved them. These are the cookie version, using just five ingredients.
I was so happy with how these turned out. I think they’re even more delicious than 7-layer bars. A bit chewier and saltier with lots and lots of chocolate chips!
I baked up yet another (double) batch of these just last night for my family to take with them this weekend to Aspen. Everyone is staying together in the same house, and I’m sure these will get eaten right up!
I’ve been making these on repeat!
Here are the details
Ingredients
- unsweetened fine shredded coconut – I like the Bob’s Red Mill brand
- roasted cashews – make sure these are dry roast with nothing else other than salt. You don’t want any weird oils on the nuts!
- semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
- quick cooking rolled oats – this is what my mom used growing up, but I imagine regular oats probably work fine too
- sweetened condensed milk – the magic ingredient
Special Tools
You need just a mixing bowl and a cookie sheet for these cookies.
Steps
Step 1: mix the cookie dough
Do this in a mixing bowl. The order the ingredients that go in doesn’t matter. Just make sure the sweet milk evenly coats all the ingredients. It will be sticky.
Step 2: scoop and bake
Take a spoon or use a cookie scoop, and scoop out mounds of the dough. I do nine cookies per baking sheet, but this will vary depending on the size of your cookie sheet.
If any of the mounds look too loose, push them together with your hands. These do not need to be perfect or uniformly shaped, so don’t stress!
Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes. I like around 12 minutes, then I let the cookies set and finish cooking on the cookie sheet. Your cookies will come out looking a little puffed, but once they settle and set, they’ll look perfect.
Step 3: time to enjoy!
I found my cookies to be absolutely delicious while warm, but they’re also yummy once cooled.
You can also add a sprinkle of flaked sea salt if you like. I’m sure that’s so delicious!
Some Tips!
These are honestly so easy, you can’t mess them up! I will say that if your dough feels too wet and sticky, you can add up to 1/2 cup of additional oats. The more oats you add, the drier the cookie, as the oats soak up the condensed milk more than the other ingredients.
And then, lastly, if you want your chocolate chips to look more like mine, add a few directly on top of each cookie just after you pull the cookies out of the oven. The chips will get melty on top! YUM!
Looking for other winter dessert recipes? Here are my favorites:
Chocolate Dipped Sesame Oatmeal Bars
5 Ingredient Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies
Healthier Homemade Nutter Butter Cookies
Healthy…ish Homemade Samoas Cookies
Tahini Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Salted Tahini Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Lastly, if you make these 5 Ingredient Magic Cookies be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
5 Ingredient Magic Cookies
Servings: 22 cookies
Calories Per Serving: 372 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 1/2 cups roasted cashews
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup quick cooking rolled oats
- 1 can (14 ounce) sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.2. Mix all ingredients in a bowl until combined. Scoop out mounds of dough (3 tablespoons or a scant 1/4 cup) onto the prepared baking sheet. Use your hands to push any loose dough back into dough mounds.3. Bake 12-15 minutes, until golden on top. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes to fully set. Enjoy warm or room temperature! Delish either way!
This post was originally published on January 24, 2025
These cookies really are magic; so easy to put together for busy families! I chilled the dough and substituted a half cup of dry roasted unsalted peanuts since I ran out of cashews. Such a yummy treat with protein and fiber that is not overly sweet!
Hey Alison,
Fantastic! Thanks so much for trying this recipe and your comment, love to hear it was enjoyed! Have the best weekend:)
Do I leave the whole rosebuds in the cookie mix as you showed in your Instagram stories? They were included when you poured in the chocolate chips.
Hi Sharon,
I did not actually use those in the recipe:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
You literally poured the condensed milk right over the dried rosebud.
There was one single rosebud in the bowl, which was very clearly an accident. They are not part of the recipe:) Sorry for any confusion!
There were at least 3 and I think actually 4. You clearly poured the condensed milk over them. How do random ingredients accidentally end up in your batter anyway? In decades of baking, I can honestly say that I’ve never had dried rose petals “accidentally ” fall into my batter. Honestly curious.
I’m confused – you clearly poured the condensed milk over them in your IG story. I don’t understand why you gaslight & lie to your followers when they’re asking honest questions.
Hi Sara,
I just rewatched the video, there was one little rosebud that accidentally made its way into the bowl. They are not part of the recipe:) If you have any other questions, I am happy to help! Sorry for any confusion here!
It was not “one single rosebud.” There are at least three rosebuds that are poured in along with the chocolate chips. And you deleted the video where you clearly pour the sweetened condensed milk over the rosebuds. Did you just throw out that mixture? Or pick the rosebuds out before scooping the cookies? The unnecessary garnishes are so weird and to act like commenters are making things up is bizarre. It was not “clearly an accident”, it was intentional for the *~AeStEtiC~*
How do rosebuds “accidentally” end up in your food? Please get help, Tieghan. You’ve clearly got a lot of mental things to work on.
Why not use a clip from one of your test bakes? I’m sure it takes multiple tries to get the perfect money shot with the natural lighting. You could’ve at least clarified in your stories that some accidentally fell in to clear up any confusion. I hope your no one in your family ended up with a mouthful of rosebuds since they took some batches to Aspen!
There were at least 4 in there. Hope this helps! xX (:
there are images of rosebuds in the batter in the reel
Okay- I’ve made them. I was hesitant that they would hold together with no flour or egg- but they did. They spread out a bit but I was able to trim them down to make a round cookie shape when they came out of the oven. Maybe use more oats to soak up condensed milk. They were delicious!
Hi Margery,
Amazing!! So glad to hear these cookies were enjoyed, thanks for giving them a try! Happy Friday! xT
Do you think another nut would work well if you don’t like cashews? 🙂
Hey Lauren,
Totally, you could really use any nut that you enjoy:) I hope you love these cookies! Have a great weekend! xT
Is there an alternative to make them into bars?
Thanks
Hi Liza,
Yes, you could bake these in a 9×13 baking dish. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
I literally just had a similar cookie Wednesday and thought how I need to find a recipe and then you sent it to me. You can add mind reader to your list of accolades. : )
Lol perfect timing, Patrick! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
This is not recipe related but just wanted to let you know, I see on IG stories you emptied another IS cleanser and said you overnighted a new one. This cleanser is NOT gentle! My dermatologist told me it was the cause of my extreme dryness and redness on my face and neck. One of the main ingredients in the cleanser is chamomile. I believe you have said your redness in the past was due to a chamomile allergy. I would highly recommend you do not use this cleanser. It ruined my skin and took months for my dry flaky red skin to fully recover.
She doesn’t have a chamomile allergy. She has been cooking with, handling, and consuming chamomile for years. https://fett-weg.today/#search/q=chamomile%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
I actually had the same reaction to the IS clinical cleanser. My face started flaking and peeling. I was so red around my nose and mouth it was actually painful. I went to a dermatologist too who told me to stop this cleanser. I did and it cleared up. Tieghan you redness has been getting obviously worse in you Instagram videos I would look into going to a derm or stopping this cleanser and any other serums or creams you are using.
I am going to make these tonight for my kids to bring snowboarding tomorrow! I think I’ll add butterscotch chips in the mix as well. My boys are cheering for Red at the X-games. Have a blast in Aspen cheering him on with your family!
Hey Jordan,
Aww love to hear this! I hope everyone enjoys these cookies, let me know how they turn out! xT
Note the use of “them,” not “us” — she’s not going to Aspen
Yum! What a brilliant idea for a cookie! I LOVE 7 layer bars…yes I’m a Midwest girl! Can’t wait to make these! Thanks so much Tieghan!
Thanks so much, Sara! Let me know if you give these cookies a try, I hope you love them! xT
These look so good, I love 7 layer bars! I hope you have fun with your family at Xgames in Aspen this weekend and cheer on your brother!!
Thanks so much, Katie! I hope you love this recipe! xx
Is there a substitute for coconut flour? Would almond flour work? I’m not a big fan of coconut.
Hey Jean,
I actually used shredded coconut in this recipe, not coconut flour, so I would stick with that if you can:) I hope you love this recipe! xT
These look delicious, can’t wait to make these!! can you use maple syrup instead of condensed milk?
Hi Vidya,
So sorry, that will not work for this recipe. Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xx
These look amazing, would the recipe work with pecans instead of cashews – I wanted to try this today with what we already have 🙂
I’ve made a similar cookie and I use pecans and walnuts!!! Those will definitely work in this recipe. Excited to make Tieghans version!
Thank you!
Hey Curry,
Totally, pecans would work nicely for you. I hope you love this recipe! Happy Friday! xT
I can’t wait to try these!! I love this new spin on the classic magic bars.
Thanks so much, Shawna! I hope you love this recipe, let me know how it turns out for you! xx
Doing a mix of choc and butterscotch chips would be yummy too! That’s how I made magic bars! Looking forward to making these this weekend!
Love this idea, Jessica! Let me know if you give this recipe a try! Have a great weekend:) xT
I just made with pecans (where do all my cashews go?!) and butterscotch chips added and it was delicious!
Another winner recipe Teighan. Thank you!
Thanks so much, Sarah:) Love to hear these cookies were a hit and thanks for sharing what worked well for you! xT
Tieghan. I cannot wait to make these cookies/cookie bar. Also I ordered your newest cookbook today for my 73rd birthday!! I’m so excited to get it. I ordered it from a bookstore in San Francisco, because I wanted a signed copy. I’ll send photos as I make things from the book. Thank you for making food look so great and taste so good!!
Char
Aww thanks so much, Char!! I hope you love these cookies, let me know how they turn out for you! Happy Birthday, thank you for ordering the cookbook! xT