Oh. My. God.
These are exceptionally tasty and soooo festive! I’m telling you, I don’t even think anyone would know that they are GF and vegan. Truly.
I recently saw these bars from Country Cleaver and I as I was wiping drool from my phone, I decided that I needed to allergy-free them! Sometimes that happens, you know? I see something and I just can’t stand not to make them in a way that me and my kids can eat! But those are amazing moments, because I am not only inspired but HIGHLY motivated to make them awesome!
These Candy Cane Magic Bars totally fit the bill! I made these and Pia took them to her school for a potluck and from what I hear they were a big success.
I have to do an ingredient call out that I am kind of obsessed with for holiday baking: CONDENSED COCONUT MILK. They carry this at my local grocery store (Metropolitan Market for Seattleites) but you can also order it on Amazon or at Thrive Market.
I really think that it creates the most amazing gooey caramel layer that you will not be mad about!
And this is the kind of pan I make these in- it’s a “quarter sheetpan”- but you could totally use a traditional 9×13 deeper dish pan too.
Also, stay tuned for a barrage of holiday baking recipes and as always, tell me what you want to see. Now and in January for the New Year!
- 3 ½ cups gluten-free all-purpose baking flour (I used Bobs red Mill flour in a dark red bag)
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar
- 1 cup shredded un-sweetened coconut
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 cup butter flavored shortening, vegan butter or coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 can condensed coconut milk
- 10-ounce bag vegan chocolate chips
- 10-ounce bag vegan white chocolate chips
- 1 cup crushed candy canes
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 9x13 inch sheet pan with parchment paper, leaving an inch or two on either side sticking up over the edge of the pan.
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse all of the dry ingredients together. Pulse in the shortening and the vanilla extract until you have a slightly crumbly, soft dough. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and then use an offset spatula or the bottom of a measuring cup to press the dough flat and evenly into the pan.
- Next empty the entire can of condensed coconut milk onto the crust and evenly spread it with an offset spatula across the dough.
- Reserve ½ cup of the white and ½ cup of the dark chocolate chips and set aside. Sprinkle the top of the condensed layer with the remaining chocolate chips (white and dark) and ½ cup crushed candy canes.
- Bake the bars for 25 minutes until the edges are golden and bubbly and the chocolate and candy has all mostly melted. Remove the bars from the oven and then sprinkle the reserved chocolate chips and half cup of candy cane. Now let it all cool- at least an hour or until they are cool and completely set up.
- Then, using the edges of the parchment paper, I lifted the entire pan of bars out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Slice the pan into 6 even rows, and then each row into 4 even rectangles. You should have 24 bars. Store in an airtight container.
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Cam these be made with monk fruit or stevia?
LOL! I wish Sharon, but I am not sure that it will work. If you try it, please let me know how it goes!
Swerve has a brown sugar option
Sounds wonderful but my crew does not do shredded coconut, what’s a good sub?
I would just omit the coconut Rhonda!
these look amazing! i am not GF or vegan.. will this recipe for with regular AP flour and regular condensed milk? Thanks
Hi Allison- yes- that should work just fine!
Can I use Bob’s Red Mill flour in the the blue bag instead? It’s what I have and Can’t find the one in the red bag at my local stores.
Thanks!
Hi Heather- I am assuming it is the 1:1 flour? it is a little different but should still be great! Be sure to omit the xantham gum!
The blue bobs red mill has xanthum gum already in it. will that affect the consistency of the flour because it didn’t harden after it became dough.
Where can I find non-dairy white chocolate chips? I looked at Sprouts and haven’t seen any. Didn’t see any at Whole Foods.
Hi Rachel! if you can’t find them at your local stores then I would buy them on Amazon– they are one day prime shipping for a 4 pack of them!
Just made these at 25 mins the whole middle was still very loose so cooked for 15mins more. After cooling completely cut them and they are so oozy I cannot serve them without a spoon! They are delish but way too messy to give as a gift… Oven temp was correct…
Hi Susan, I am so sorry you had that experience- I would love to help you trouble shoot?
do you mean the crust or the filling was oozy? the crust is solid to begin with and the filling is not very thick so it should have been firm when cool? Was anything different or seemed off when you were making them?
I just made them with the blue Bob’s red mill flour and coconut oil and exactly the way the recipe said and same- the crust didn’t solidify (it’s very crumbly) and the top didn’t solidify at room temperature either. It’s a delicious gooey mess!
Hi Susan- I made these on IG instastories and will put them in a highlight for a week so that you can see!
I was so excited to try these! They are sure to be delicious but I used the blue Bob’s red mill (1:1) flour and coconut oil and the timing and oven temp and though the top was melted and bubbly (condensed coconut milk), the crust was not golden brown (it still looked similar to the flour), I removed it anyway to let it all cool and the when I cut into the bars the bottom crumbled and the top is a gooey mess. Help! I wanted to give these to our neighbors. Any recommendations?
Hi Robin- totally correct- the blue flour will have a different effect, and requires a different level of moisture in the dough. I specified that I used the red bag- I’m so sorry. I am going to make these on insta-stories this morning so that you can see them! I also let them cool many hours before slicing. But I can show all of my techniques for best results in stories! I hope you get a chance to check them out!
Hi Robin! I saw your comment and made them on insta-stories- the blue bag 1:1 has a different consistency than the red bag and I think they just didn’t get left in the food processor long enough- Im so sorry you had this experience! I will put the candy cane bars in my highlights on IG and then you can see the process!