Chocolate Chunk Magic Cookie Bars

Just before we left the US to come back to India, I was hurriedly collecting "American" recipes to try out in India. Here's one: the chocolate chunk magic cookie bars. These bars are super yum to say the least. They are extremely easy to prepare and will have your guests scrambling for more.

I ran into a problem the first time I tried making it here in Delhi, when I realised I couldn't get those fancy ingredients at my local grocery store. So I had to quickly improvise and come up with an Indian version, which has ingredients like Marie biscuits, Amul dark chocolate and Milk Maid, things that you can easily find at your local grocery store.

It does have a slight twist, because I use freshly grated coconut sprinkled with a little sugar instead of the Baker's Angel flake coconut from the original recipe. Whole coconuts are easily available even in a place like Delhi. One small tip for grating fresh coconuts is to cut small chunks of the coconut and pulse it in a food processor or mixie. I've always fumbled while using the coconut grater, and have found this method fairly quick and less messy.

This dessert has always turned out decadent and I have to stop myself from finishing the whole pan! Listed below are both the original American recipe my adapted Indian version, with pictures for easy assistance.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Servings: 48

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups                          Honey Maid Graham Cracker crumbs
1/2 cup (1 stick)               Butter, melted
1 can (14 oz)                      Condensed milk
1 package                           Baker's semi sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/3 cups                           Baker's angel flake coconut
1 cup                                     Pecans, chopped

Method:

1) Heat oven to 350 F (180 C).
2) Mix crumbs and butter, press onto bottom of 13 x 9 inch pan sprayed with cooking spray.
3) Pour condensed milk over crust, top with layers of remaining ingredients. Press nuts lightly into coconut and chocolate layers to secure.
4) Bake 30 minutes or until lightly browned.
5) Immediately run knife around edge of pan to loosen dessert from sides of the pan. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

And now, for the Indian version:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups                         Marie biscuits, finely powdered
1/2 cup or 100 gm         Amul butter, melted
1 can                                   Milk Maid or Amul Mithai Mate condensed milk
1 cup                                   Amul dark chocolate or Morde dark compound, coarsely chopped
1 1/3 cup                           Fresh grated coconut, mixed with 1 tbsp sugar
1 cup                                   Walnuts, chopped

The method is the same as the American version of the recipe except that you have to powder the Marie biscuits in a dry mixie. Small chunks of the coconut can also be pulsed in the mixie to get grated coconut. The rest of the method is the same.

Once they come out of the oven you can offer the bars to your kids and if they are like mine and make faces at anything that's remotely tasty, you can invite your girlfriends over for a tea party. Enjoy!