Do you like Carrot Cake? These Carrot Cake Magic Bars are a quick and easy treat to serve after Easter dinner.
The other day I was shopping at Walmart, and I came across this season's newest M&M flavor. They created a white chocolate carrot cake M&M.
Now you either are an A person who decided immediately that it sounds nasty, or you are a B person who is intrigued and want to give it a try. I am usually a B person with most new flavors, unless they are sour. Sour candy gives me the heebie geebies! Just can't do it!!!
Anyway, I instagrammed a picture asking opinions on this new flavor, and sure enough, the results were about half and half on whether you guys would try these too. Of course being a B person, I brought them home with me.
I'm sure you are wondering how those M&M's taste. Let me tell you, I was pleasantly surprised. The white chocolate has enough cinnamon and nutmeg that it just gives it a very spicy taste that I actually liked!!!
I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with the M&M's, until I was looking through some old recipes from last year. Does anyone else remember these Oreo Coconut Gooey Cake Bars? Right away I knew that is how I wanted to use the new candies.
And lucky for me, I had picked up a few different flavors of cake when they were on sale. There was a carrot cake in my cupboard just waiting to be used. Bars like these are so easy to make, especially when you rely on a mix. I know some people are against cake mixes at all cost, but I am not one of those people. Cake mixes are my friends when it comes to cookies and bars!
Let's start with these Carrot Cake Magic Bars. You will first mix up your dough by combining some softened butter, and an egg with the carrot cake mix. The sticky dough will get pressed into the bottom of a greased pan. Then the fun begins.
You need to decide on what kind of toppings you want your bars to have under the gooey sweetened condensed milk. One of my favorite cakes is a carrot cake, so I knew I wanted to incorporate those types of ingredients in the gooey cake bars.
I spread some pineapple preserves over the dough that was in the pan already. Then I sprinkled on walnuts and coconut. To get this gooey bar, you will use an entire can of sweetened condensed milk. It bakes down into all the layers to create one glorious bar. The carrot cake M&M's get added to the top right before going in the oven.
These carrot cake magic bars are quite sweet, so I would recommend cutting them into little squares. I actually cut each of these bars in the pictures into 4 smaller bite sized pieces after I took pictures. Of course that didn't stop me from eating 4 of them at one time. So much for trying to be better at portion control.
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Carrot Cake Magic Bars
These easy Carrot Cake Magic Bars are loaded with pineapple and nuts. This makes a great Easter dessert.
Ingredients
- 1 carrot cake mix
- 1 stick of butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup pineapple preserves
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- 1 - 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup Carrot Cake M&M's
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 pan with nonstick spray.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, butter, egg, and vanilla. Mix until a soft dough forms.
- Press the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Spread the pineapple preserves over the dough. Sprinkle with the walnuts and coconut.
- Drizzle the condensed milk over the top. Sprinkle with the M&M's. Bake for 35 minutes.
- Let cool completely before cutting into 24 squares.
Notes
*If you can't find the carrot cake M&M's, you could substitute white chocolate chips.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 198Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 104mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 1gSugar: 19gProtein: 3g
Other fun ways to eat Carrot Cake
More Carrot Cake goodness
Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls from Crazy for Crust
Carrot Cake Muddy Buddies from Something Swanky
Carrot Cake Shooter from Kitchen Meets Girl
Nettie Moore
Hi Jocelyn!
Thank you for contributing! I appreciate all the shares and comments on this Parade Post. https://parade.com/995182/nettiemoore/best-carrot-cake-dessert-recipes/
Nettie
Deb
I did come back to this and make the recipe exactly as written except for using pecans instead of walnuts because that is what I had open. Loved them! And I think they even got better the next day after sitting. Will be making these again! Thanks.
Deb
So I haven't made these yet, and I usually never comment until I make something, but I had to tell you that these were the inspiration for my Easter dessert. I actually was going to make these after reading this blog post and went to Walmart and searched high and low until i found what must have been the last 3 bags of carrot cake m&m's in the store! I still wasn't sure I would love them, so I only bought 2 bags, but once I tasted them, I wish I had taken them all. Now I know. Back in the kitchen, I realized my over stuffed pantry does not have pineapple preserves (note to self - check all the ingredients in the recipe, not just the star player). I then continued on with the theme of your recipe and made the exact carrot cake base, and then on the top did the classic gooey butter cake (cream cheese, egg, vanilla, powdered sugar, butter) and mixed almost the full bag of m&m's in. All except the taste testers ;-). Now it is Easter day, and the end reaction was "Ohhhh myyyy...." as peoples eyes rolled back in their head in pure delight. My brother told my Dad "this is the best carrot cake you will ever taste". I do still have the other bag of the carrot cake m&m's and it is on reserve to do your posted recipe, but wanted you to know that you led me down the path to a true winner. If you have stashed a bag of the m&m's, try it the super gooey way (took 40 minutes to bake in my oven) and I bet you'll love it. If you like it, claim it as your recipe - I'm not a blogger, and would love to see you write about it.
Cheryl
I saw these M&Ms in the store & thought YUCK. But I should have known some brilliant bloggie friends would come up with yummy ways to use them! I would be thrilled if you would hop over to my Easter/Passover Recipe Roundup and share this awesome recipe with us! You can find it here:http://mommasangelbaby.com/?p=2132. Hope to see you there! HUGS & Happy Easter!
Kat
So I actually MADE these!! I was looking for someone in the comments saying how good they were or whatnot, and there were so few! Argh! ANYWAY.
I used Duncan Hines Decadent Cake Mix... I picked out the raisins because I wasn't sure how they'd go with the M&Ms and nobody in my family (besides me) likes raisins with carrot cake -_-
ANYWAY. I had to cook it like... TWICE as long! It was crazy! And on top of that, the cake like puffed up to like twice the height! o_O It was nuts. I used the right size pan and everything. Even the directions on their box said 35ish mins... I have no idea why it took so long!
I loved the pineapple and walnuts! I'd have added even more. haha.
I also chucked on some chocolate chips on half, just to see... And that was suuupperrr tasty.
And just because I'm such a glutton, I made some cream cheese frosting mixed with whipped cream... and get this... cut the cake in half horizontally (Yep. It's that thick) and put it in the middle. Also an awesome addition.
Basically, I feel no wrong can be done with these. haha. They're delicious! I fully endorse the chocolate chips on top though, even with the carrot cake M&Ms.
It's probably because my stupid cake like, doubled in height, but I'd have added more of all the toppings! Anyhoo. Delicious recipe! 😀
Jocelyn Brubaker
I am so glad to hear it turned out ok and that you loved the taste. Nice addition of chocolate chips 🙂 Gooey cakes and magic bars never look done at the 35 minute mark. You just have to trust me that they are done and let them cool completely before cutting into them.
Kat
It was still actually still liquid at 35 minutes when I stuck a fork in it! Was the longer cooking why it puffed up so much? It tastes really good and not over or under done... It did sorta deflate though after cooling. So about 55-60 minutes seemed to work... but I have no idea why. What's a good consistency for a bar out of the oven, though? And what cake mix do you recommend? Maybe it had something to do with that, because I had to add water to re-hydrate the carrots it came with (and raisins, which I didn't include). But I want to make these again for Easter ^_^ I just don't want to risk it so much guess work... plus the color bled off the M&Ms because they were in there so long, which wasn't very pretty. =\
Jocelyn Brubaker
Yeah the mix I used didn't have extra water for the carrots. The carrots were tiny bits that were just in the cake mix. I'm guessing that's why it was still liquid. But it will look runny after 35 minutes because of the sweetened condensed milk...they do set up after cooling. I'll have to go to the store to see what brand I used for the cake mix.
Jocelyn Brubaker
Hey, Kat! I just happened to look at this again and saw that there is a picture in the post of the ingredients that I used. The cake mix I used was from Betty Crocker. 🙂
Karren Haller
I was browsing through linkys and found your blog on Keeping It Simple Crafts. Visiting you blog I chose your recipe to share on mine, come and visit. Tasty Bites Featured Recipes Hope you dont mind. Have a great week
Mackenzie
What a FUN recipe! I love that you included those delicious carrot cake M&Ms! Awesome!
Mackenzie 🙂
Averie @ Averie Cooks
I just saw these on Pinterest and whoa, you outdid yourself! I love both carrot cake AND magic bars- perfect marriage. And with pineapple jelly no less. Delish! I used to make cake bars like this all the time with a can of sweet cond milk poured over a cake base. I loved those early days on my blog. EASY! I need to do more of that 🙂
Windi Fleming
The carrot cake magic bars were good. I substituted white choc. chips and semi-sweet choc chips for the carrot cake m's (since they don't sell these anywhere in my area) I also substituted peach preserves for the pineapple (they didn't sell this in my area). They were different and delish! Next time I'll use brownie mix instead of carrot cake, for a different twist. 🙂
Jocelyn Brubaker
It sounds like you created a winner recipe! Love the substitutions you made and I bet the brownie mix will be awesome!!
kristi@ishouldbemoppingthefloor
Oh, portion control-smortion control. I would've eaten all four squares, too {and probably four more after that}. These look so yummy!!
Jocelyn Brubaker
I'm glad to hear that I am not the only one with portion issues 🙂 These were so easy to just keep munching on!!!
Vicky @ Mess For Less
This is one of the best things I have seen in a long time! Thanks for sharing. Just pinned so I can try them myself.
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thank you so much for the pin love!!!
Julie
Delicious! I might have to make these one day. My boyfriend is a huge fan of carrot cake and these look wonderful! Thanks for sharing! Pinned and shared on my Facebook page.
Julie @ This Gal Cooks
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thank you so much for sharing it on pinterest and Facebook!!!
Julie
You're welcome!
April @ Angel's Homestead
I love this! I'd like to invite you to link up on Saturday Spotlight @ Angels Homestead today. I'll be featuring Easter treats and crafts soon, and would love to enclude this in the collection.
http://angelshomestead.com/
Hope to see you there 🙂
April
Ginger@gingersnapcrafts.com
Those look reallllly good! Oh my goodness! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Jill @ Kitchen Fun With My 3 Sons
These look so good! Would love for you to share at our Link party for us to feature!:) http://kitchenfunwithmy3sons.blogspot.com/2013/02/kitchen-fun-and-crafty-friday-link_28.html
Holly Lefevre
My son would love these!
The Busy Bee's
WOW!! These are so delicious looking! They are a definite must try! We would love to have you come and share them at our party. It is a weekly Thursday party, going live tonight (Wed.) at 8:00 p.m. MST ~ Hope to you will join us!
Have a great day!
Joye & Myrna (The Busy Bee's)
thebusybhive.blogspot.com
Alicia
These look so good! I'm definitely in the "person B" camp and think carrot cake M&Ms sound good! I love the pretty colors too, and your photos are always great!
Capturing Joy with Kristen Duke
Oh my, this looks fab!!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thanks Kristen!!!
Rachel
My family hates coconut so do you think I could substitute graham cracker crumbs for the coconut??
Jocelyn Brubaker
It will definitely change the texture and the taste, but I think it would work just fine.
Nicole @ youngbrokeandhungry
I love the endless combinations of magic bars but this one is my favorite. Carrot Cake has so much flavor as is, I can only imagine it gets better with M & M's and sweetened condensed milk.
Jocelyn Brubaker
There is something so fun and amazing about magic bars! It is fun to play with flavors and candy in them.
Tara
Hi!! I cannot wait to try these for the kids table at Easter! They look beyond yummy! Can you give any suggestions what might also be good as a substitute for the pineapple preserves? Could I use a can of crushed pineapple or would that change the outcome?? Thanks so much!!
Jocelyn Brubaker
You could try the crushed pineapple, but I would drain it very well. It also would be fine to leave that out if you can't find it. I bought the pineapple preserves at Walmart in the jelly aisle. Hope that helps!!!
Christi
I cannot wait to try those M&M's, and these look fantastic! Thanks for sharing!
Trish - Mom On Timeout
Oh I love carrot cake and this looks amazing! I'm totally going to be on the look for those M&Ms!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Carrot cake anything is definitely amazing! I hope you have luck finding the new M&M's.
Katie Clark
I have to try these, perhaps for our graduation party in April -- my mother-in-law loves carrot cake!
Jocelyn Brubaker
They would be a great party treat. I would recommend buying the M&M's now though. Who knows how long they will last.
Nancy P.@thebittersideofsweet
Saw the Instagram and was like do what? What kind of chocolate is that? Well you have turned them into interesting and intriguing and now I must try!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Haha exactly my thoughts when I saw them in the store. I am so glad I opted to buy them...so good!!!
michelle
wow they sound great! and i have not seen that m&m flav yet. Very creative idea with them!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thank you Michelle. They were fun to create with!
Meg @ Sweet Twist
All of this sounds great to me. I am in Florida for vacation and have been trying to find those m&ms everywhere... No luck.
Jocelyn Brubaker
I wonder if they are only sold in certain stores? I would definitely look for them when you get home.
Erin @ Dinners, Dishes and Desserts
I haven't seen these M&M 's yet, what an interesting flavor. LOVE what you did with it though, perfect!
Jocelyn Brubaker
They are a very interesting flavor...but a good one! Magic bars are always a fun and easy thing to make with candy you aren't sure about!
Brenda @ChattingOverChocolate.blogspot.com
These look sooo scrumptious!! ...& with CARROT cake m&m's and PINEAPPLE preserves they must be healthy too, right?! 😉 hehe! I hadn't seen these M&M's yet, but totally feel like shopping after seeing (& pinning ;)) your yummy & creative recipe! Thanks for sharing, Jocelyn!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Hahah yes, very healthy indeed...as long as you don't think about the sweetened condensed milk over all the top.
Jess @ On Sugar Mountain
What do you mean there are CARROT CAKE M&MS?!?!? OMG I almost want to walk to the nearest wal-mart to find them. And then eat a whole bag. And then buy another bag and add them to these amazing carrot cake bars. Easter snackage to the max 😀
Jocelyn Brubaker
Run, don't walk to Walmart...and yes, buy 2 bags. I ended up going back for another bag for more goodies!!!
carrian
So they are worth trying!!!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Yes, definitely worth trying. Well, I thought so anyway 🙂 They are just a white chocolate with a cinnamon nutmeg hit! They were good!
Ali | Gimme Some Oven
Oooh these DO look magical! Well, just about anything with carrot cake is magical in my book. 😉
Jocelyn Brubaker
Magical is the perfect way to describe these bars! I agree with you...carrot cake stuff is the bomb!!!
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie
These look dangerous
Jocelyn Brubaker
Dangerous for the waist, yes!!! I couldn't stop munching on them.
Tanya Schroeder
What a creatively delicious magic bar!! I have not seen these new M & M's, but that is my mission this week to find them! These look wonderful Jocelyn!
Jocelyn Brubaker
So far Walmart is the only place I have seen them. My fingers are crossed for you!
Arelis Cintron
I love carrot muffins (version of carrot cake) so these bars look like they are right up my alley, will have to try them out! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Carrot muffins sound great too. I am always looking for ways to enjoy my favorite cake!
Regina @ SpecialtyCakeCreations
I'd be a B person with these as well, especially since carrot cake and white chocolate are involved. However, I doubt I will actually get to try these any time soon if at all. I love the magic bars you created with these M&Ms!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thanks Regina. You could always check out amazon...but you would probably pay quite a bit more for them.
Shiloh Barkley
In this recipe I was most concerned with the pineapple preserves. I think pineapple chunks would be better. Or skip the mms and use cinnamon chips and pineapple chunks. The addition of jam seems strange.
Jocelyn Brubaker
The pineapple could be left out if you don't like it. I happen to like using jam in my magic bars...it adds a fun twist to it.
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet
Carrot Cake M&M's??? Obviously I don't spend enough time in candy aisle... How did I miss this?? Anyhow, these bars are GEENIOUS!!! Love magic bars and this carrot cake spin on them sounds fabulous!
Jocelyn Brubaker
I have a slight addiction to always checking out the candy aisle in every store 🙂 My cupboards are always full of candy and baking supplies!
Jeni
These look so yummy! I love carrot cake!
Sarah E
I must find these M&Ms - they sound sooooo good! I am a huge fan of carrot cake though, so it's not surprising to me at all that I want to try them 🙂
If I don't finish off the bag, I hope to make these bars hehe
Jocelyn Brubaker
Good luck in hunting down a bag of candy...I recommend buying two! One to snack on and one to bake with 🙂
sally @ sallys baking addiction
carrot cake will always be one of my very favorites. It's my dad's favorite dessert ever, so eating it always reminds me of him. You have so many carrot cake desserts Jocelyn! I had no idea carrot cake M&Ms existed!
Jocelyn Brubaker
That is such a fun memory/person to have associated with a sweet treat!!! Carrot cake M&M's were a fun discovery this week!
Liz
These look great Jocelyn. I'll have to hunt down those M&M's later this week when I'm in the US.....because I know for sure Canada won't have them! 🙂
Jocelyn Brubaker
Girl, I'm wishing you hunting luck! They are a fun seasonal twist on the white chocolate M&M!!!
madge | the vegetarian casserole queen
Those bars look just fabulous! And white chocolate carrot cake flavored M&M's would definitely be worth a try! Thanks for cluing me into this new candy.
Jocelyn Brubaker
You are very welcome! Hopefully you can resist eating more than I did...they are quite addicting 🙂
Ashley @ Kitchen Meets Girl
Jocelyn, these look amazing! I haven't seen these M&Ms in my stores yet, but I'm going to have to go on the hunt. Carrot cake is my absolute FAVORITE! I'm with you on the sour stuff--can't stand it! But my husband and son both love it--bleck! And thanks for linking up my carrot cake shooters. Have a wonderful week!
Jocelyn Brubaker
I guess someone has to like all those nasty sour candies right? That just means more carrot cake goodness for you and I to share! I hope you have luck finding the M&M's at Wally world...they were so much better than I expected. So much so that I went and bought more for another treat 🙂
Gloria @ Simply Gloria
Oh my! First of all, since I'm such an on-line shopper (Amazon) fanatic...I already clicked and have my M&Ms coming Tuesday morning! (I am all about a cake in a box for cookies and bars, as well. ) Thank you for sharing...Can't wait to make these as soon as my UPS man shows up! (=
Jocelyn Brubaker
Now that sounds like a fun mail day for sure!!! Cake mixes are just so much easier...I will never give them up! Can't wait to hear what you think of the M&M's.
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust
I am still thinking of a good recipe for those M&Ms, besides eating them all. I have one brewing right now, and I hope it works!!! 🙂 These bars look great Jocelyn!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Eating them all works for me! I can't wait to see what you come up with...I'm sure it will be fabulous!!!
Elizabeth @ Confessions of a Baking Queen
THese are so fun! And so creative. Love the carrot cake twist. But I won't lie that carrot cake donut is calling my name!
Jocelyn Brubaker
You should definitely listen to the donuts! They are for sure one of my favorites!
Aimee @ ShugarySweets
Let me just say, having tried these lovely bites, OMG delicious!!! So much so that I bought the carrot cake m&m's immediately 🙂 Such pretty photos too Jocelyn!
Jocelyn Brubaker
I am glad that I got to share these treats with you. It was such a fun day full of laughs. Thank goodness for that Walmart having the carrot cake m&m's for you to be able to stock up on! And thank you so much for the sweet comment on the picture...it was such a cloudy day and I wasn't that crazy about any of the pics this time.
Missy
Could I leave out the preserves?
Jocelyn
Yes, I think these bars would still be just fine without the preserves. I hope you enjoy them!