Milky Way Magic Bars

I had a very interesting first Halloween in my new apartment. And by "interesting" I mean "quiet." Yes, it seems that the young kids in my complex trick-or-treat while it's still light out and I get home just as it starts getting dark. So the only person who came to my door was the pizza delivery guy (it was, after all, a Friday). Meaning I was stuck with 250 pieces of candy (yes, I overestimated by A LOT. Next year, I'm getting a smaller bag and leaving the bowl out before leaving for work with a note asking the kids to take 2 each).

After pulling out the Snickers minis for my dad, I started snacking on them and sticking them in my lunch bag. Still, I wanted to bake with the leftovers (this has helped tone down the snacking part of my solution) so I asked my mom which one she wanted me to use for my Thanksgiving dessert. She chose Milky Way. While I found a lot of recipes on a variety of sites, I finally settled on these gooey bars from Wine & Glue. They were quick and easy to make (which was good since I had to make them the night before and did so while watching NBC's The Making of Peter Pan Live! special) and very similar to the gooey Girl Scout cookies bars I've made before with Thin Mints and Tagalongs. Sounded like a win-win to me.

Milky Way Magic Bars (source)

Ingredients

• 1 pouch of sugar cookie mix and what you need to make it (17.5 oz)
• 2 large Milky Way bars, chopped into bite sized pieces*
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk

*I took "large" to mean "King Size" so I did a little research and found that one King Size Milky Way bar is 2.63 oz, so you need a total of 7.26 oz in Milky Way bars, no matter what size you're using.

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 375*F.  Spray a 9 by 13 pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Mix the cookie mix and press it into the bottom of the pan.
3. Top the cookie dough with the Milky Way bars and the chocolate chips.  Then pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the bars.
4. Bake for 25 to 28 minutes or until the whole top is a golden brown.
5. Let cool.  Cut into them and enjoy!

Although there were still a lot left at the end of the night (we also served pumpkin and apple pies and sugar cookies), these were still a Thanksgiving hit. Auntie Vicki even took one home to try later. The next day I got a text from her saying "these are beyond delicious" and suggesting that I make them again for Christmas for Auntie Lisa. I counted out the remaining Milky Way Minis and sure enough, I can make a second batch. So I already know what I'm baking for Christmas dinner.