Magic Twist Bars (Gluten-Free!)

Today is my first day back at work. Ah, the good ol’ grind. A week from today, my now empty classroom will be full of sleepy teenagers wondering what in the heck happened to their freedom. I will be annoyingly perky and they will hate me. Heh heh heh.

This is year 15 for me as a teacher, and every year, I love it just a little bit more. Teaching is unpredictable and active and just so much fun. I laugh a lot at work. But then, I find people funny. Kids especially. I know that my own kids get really mad when they think I’m laughing at them (i.e., all the time), so I will do a better job of hiding my smiles at work. Maybe.

To make my esteemed colleagues feel a bit better about returning, I’ve made some treats. One of my teacher buddies can’t have gluten, and guess what? She’s been teaching for over 35 years. So I think she deserves these bars! They’re a sea of goodness. See the gooey sea?

They’re a twist on traditional magic bars. Instead of a graham cracker crust, the base is made of gluten-free refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough. Use Immaculate Baking if you can find it, because it’s the best! And piled on top, instead of just the usual chocolate chips, pecans and coconut are also gluten-free chocolate cream sandwich cookies and some white chocolate chips. Nothing to hate here! It looks like snow. And chocolate. And cookies.

People never realize these are gluten-free. There’s just too much going on. And they’re addictive, thanks to the generous can of sweetened condensed milk that gets poured on top. I always use fat-free, because again, nobody can tell the difference. I love being healthier at no cost!

If you have a gluten-free buddy but you’re not the biggest baker in the world, this is for you. It’s easy, quick and impressive. And it makes enough for the whole office!

Happy back to school season, everyone. Take comfort in the end of summer with the happy knowledge that apple and pumpkin desserts will be returning to your favorite food blogs everywhere! But for now, let’s just focus on getting those backpacks stocked and the kids awake.

Ingredients:

• 16 oz. gluten-free refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
• 1 cup chocolate chips (milk or semi-sweet)
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped pecan halves and pieces
• 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 1/2 package gluten-free chocolate cream sandwich cookies (like Glutino), broken into pieces
• 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk (I used fat-free)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Coat a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.

Using your hands, make flat discs out of each piece of cookie dough. Place them evenly in the prepared pan and press down to make a thin, even dough. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven.

In this order, sprinkle the remaining ingredients on top: start with the pecans, then the coconut, then the chocolate and white chocolate chips, and finally, add the broken cookies. Pour the condensed milk evenly over the top of the pile. The idea is to get all of the ingredients in each bite.

Bake for 25 minutes until the top is golden brown and bubbly. Cool completely and cut into squares. These bars will be super sticky, so be prepared! Store in an airtight container.