Butterscotch Candy Corn Magic Bars

Butterscotch candy corn magic bars are a delicious (EASY) bar cookie to help you celebrate fall!

How do you relax?  I’ve tried to listen to sounds of waves crashing but when I hear the ocean all I can think of is riptides and giant squid.  Totally counter-productive.

I’ve tried yoga, but my type-A self gets overly competitive and tries to out-stretch everyone in class and it’s just painful.

Meditation is a huge yeah right because my brain doesn’t quiet down.  Like EVER.

Baking is usually my go-to stress reliever but I can’t always be in the kitchen.  Like when I’m stuck in traffic and getting angsty to the point that I yell at all the old people on the road driving slowly. . .living in Phoenix this is a daily occurrence.

My on-the-go stress reliever is thinking about candy.  Candy has a hypnotic effect on me; I attribute this to the fact that I was absolutely not allowed to eat sugar for the first five or so years of my life, and rarely allowed sugar after that.  (Your plan to have a healthy child kind of backfired, Mom.  Just saying.  See every single post on this site for proof.)  

I spend hours debating in my mind the merits of various types of candy.  Three Musketeers, while delicious, leave me a little bored.  A Snickers was the most prized item in my trick or treat bag growing up, but now I’m so much more a Payday kind of girl.  

But candy corn. . .well, what side do you fall on?  Love it or hate it?  It seems like one of those divisive candies, like black jelly beans (LOVE THEM), that incites deep feelings of either loving or loathing.  For me, I’m completely in the middle.  I don’t love it, I don’t hate it.  I just plain don’t care.

So I was surprised when I tossed a bag of candy corn in my cart while wandering the Halloween candy display at Safeway. 

See?  Candy hypnotizes me so fully that I don’t even have a conscious understanding of what I’m doing when I’m in its presence.  I can only imagine what might ensue if I ever went on a tour of the Hershey factory.

While I was unloading my groceries I knew I needed to find a way to bake with the candy corn, rather than keeping it on hand until the next Pinterest glitch gets me down.  (Knock on wood.)

An autumnal riff on magic bars was the first thing that popped into my head, so I ran with it.  You know how people say your first instinct is usually the right one?  They’re spot on.  Butterscotch candy corn magic bars are so FAH-REAKING good!

To be fair, magic bars in almost any of their kajillion cookie bar incarnations are delicious.  But there’s something special about the way the butterscotch flavor melds with the sweet candy corn.   

To cut through the über-sweetness I topped these butterscotch candy corn magic bars with a healthy sprinkle of sea salt, but that’s optional.  Enjoy these beauties your way, not mine!  

Just be sure you make some candy corn magic bars at some point this fall.  There’s no better way to enjoy the season!

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Butterscotch Candy Corn Magic Bars

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

22 mins

Total Time

32 mins

 

Butterscotch candy corn magic bars are a delicious (EASY) bar cookie to help you celebrate fall! 

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 20

Author: Kelsie

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 cup candy corn
• 2/3 cup butterscotch chips
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• flaky sea salt for sprinkling (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13- by 9-inch baking pan with foil, allowing several inches of excess to hang over the sides. Spray foil with cooking spray and set pan aside.
2. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar in a small mixing bowl and mix until thoroughly combined. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.
3. Top the graham cracker layer with the coconut, followed by the candy corn, butterscotch chips, and pecans. Pour the sweetened condensed milk over everything, then sprinkle with sea salt (if using). Bake 22 to 25 minutes, until golden on top. Cool magic bars completely in the pan set on a wire rack, then slice into bars and serve.