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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
Best cookies ever!
Hey Cristina,
Big thanks for making this recipe and sharing back. So glad it hit the spot!
Happy Holidays!
I have made this recipe probably 4 or 5 times this 2025 holiday season. I’ve made batches with 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 cup dried cherries. I’ve also made with 1 cup white chocolate and 1 cup dried cranberries. Every time they turn out so good. I have even thought about cutting then into granola bars. It’s such a great easy recipe!
Hey Lydia,
Awesome! Thanks so much for making this recipe so often, I am so glad it always turns out nicely for you!
Merry Christmas!🎄🎁
Can you use roasted peanuts instead of cashews. Thanks
Hi Judy,
Sure, that should also work nicely for you! I hope you love these cookies!
Can we use a mix of oats and flour?
Hi there,
So sorry, I have not tested these cookies in that way, so I am unsure what your results would be.
Please let me know if I can help in any other way!
Hey there! Can full fat canned coconut milk be used instead of condensed milk? Or what would you recommend to make them dairy free? Thanks in advance!
Hey Kelly! Full-fat canned coconut milk won’t work the same as sweetened condensed milk since it doesn’t have the same sweetness or thick texture. For a dairy free option, I’d recommend using a sweetened condensed coconut milk (you can usually find it at most grocery stores or online). That will give you the right consistency and sweetness so the cookies turn out just right! Hope you love them! xT
I’m hoping to make these to have on hand when my daughter comes home from the hospital– is it possible to bake and freeze these cookies? A
ny recommendations along those lines? Thanks!
Hi Barbara! Yes, you can definitely freeze these cookies if you’d like! Congrats to your daughter! 🙂 xT
For these cookies, and these cookies alone, I always have roasted cashews in the fridge, ready to whip up a batch. So easy and so delish. And I like to think that the cashews and oatmeal makes them a little healthy. 🙂 I use dark chocolate to lessen the sweetness and they are just perfect. I think it is time for me to get more creative and start adding some other nuts and seeds for extra goodness. Thank you for this recipe!
Hey Michelle! Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! I am so glad you love these cookies, and yes you can definitely get creative with this recipe and use whatever nuts you’d like! xT
So easy, yummy and versatile. I have a guest house and I make treats for our guests, so I was very happy to find such a quick and simple option. I made them with gluten free oats, added pumpkin seeds and dried cherries to the mix, and for the nuts, I used toasted pecans and toasted almond. They came out perfect at 12 minutes and I think they would have burned if I’d left them in much longer. And now I have a simple gluten free option for guests that I could also make vegan if I used condensed coconut milk.
Thanks for a great recipe!
Hey Anna,
Happy Thursday! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe and your feedback, love to hear it was a winner! x
Love these cookies! They were good out of the oven, but got even better as they cooled.
I made one minor change. I only had old fashioned oats, so I lightly ground some of the oats into sort of an oat flour. The recipe is very forgiving so you can add what you have on hand. Definitely a keeper!
Hey there,
Fantastic! Love to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it! xT
These are so magically delicious! But, I soak the oats first to reduce the phytic acid, so that it doesn’t interfere with absorption of needed minerals. But, the result is that the cookie doesn’t want to stick together, because the oats are moist. Any thoughts on overcoming this? I could add an egg but prefer to use raw ingredients. Thanks!
Hi Katherine,
I’m so glad you have been enjoying these cookies! So sorry, I have never tried soaking the oats before, so I am not sure how that would best work! xx
These are delicious and so easy!
Thanks so much, Melissa! Love to hear this recipe turned out well for you, I appreciate you making it! xx
I make these a lot and find the ingredients very forgiving. My base is always 1 cup Oats and 1 cup of any type of cereal I have ….granola, muesli, sultana bran, fibre plus ( Australia here) .
Then the next 3 cups are a mix of any nuts ,seeds, dried fruit and chocolate chips. They are delicious and never fail. If I use sugar reduced condensed milk I add a couple of tablespoons of flour.
Thank you for your recipe and hints , I know what Im baking today now.
Hey Suzanne,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks for making this recipe so often and sharing what works well for you, love to hear they are always enjoyed! xx
I made these DF by using coconut condensed milk. So yummy , always a hit! I also love using pecans in place of the cashews. A very forgiving recipe
Thanks so much, Ceil:) Love to hear this recipe turned out well for you, I appreciate you making it! Have a great Thursday!
Made this in a 8 x 10 lined baking dish, cut into squares! Magic!
Hey Pamela,
Fantastic!! I’m so glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a bunch for making it:)
Has anyone tried with a different nut? We have a cashew allergy here.
Hi Chantelle,
Any other nut should be just fine for you to use! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
I used almonds and actually used half white chocolate chips & half semi sweet chocolate chips and sprinkled more chocolate chips on top. Delish!
How long can these last refrigerated?
Hi Mallory,
These are good in an airtight container for 5 days. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xxT
Could I use regular oats for these beauts? …even if I Vitamix them a bit? I’m gf and can only find whole oats. I love simple & clean. These look DELICIOUS😍
Hi Alexandra,
You could certainly give it a try, it should work work for you! I hope you love these cookies! xx