Coconut Peanut Butter Magic Cake Bars

Coconut Peanut Butter Magic Cake Bars
Makes 24 bars
1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon water, optional if necessary
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut flakes
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup butterscotch chips (or white chocolate chips or peanut butter chips)
1 can (14-ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
Preheat oven to 350F and prepare a 9-by-13 inch pan by lining it with aluminum foil and then spraying it with cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, butter, egg, vanilla and mix. The batter will be extremely thick and will be difficult to combine, but keep stirring or use your fingers and knead it together, adding the water if necessary. Press the dough it into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the coconut evenly over the dough, then sprinkle the chocolate and butterscotch chips evenly.
In a mixing bowl (the same one from the cake mix is fine), combine the sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter, stir until well combined, and pour mixture evenly over dough, using a spatula to even it if necessary. Bake for 26 to 29 minutes, or until edges of bars begin to brown and pull away slightly from the sides of the pan, or until the middle of bars has barely set, taking care not to overbake. The bars will set up considerably upon cooling. Allow bars to cool well before slicing and serving. Store in an airtight container on the countertop for up to five days or freeze for up to three months.

 Take a box of yellow cake mix (you could probably use white, spice, or a golden cake mix), add butter, an egg, vanilla, and stir or knead until you create a very thick dough, and press it into the pan.

Top the dough with coconut, butterscotch, and chocolate chips.

Make a mixture of peanut butter and sweetened condensed milk and flood it.

This is the only time when floods are welcome.

Bake it up and wait patiently.

The smell wafting while these are baking is heaven-sent and being patient will be your virtue.

These do the trick for me and have all the right elements going for them:

Two kinds of chips; butterscotch and chocolate.

Peanut butter and sweetened condensed milk. The sweetened condensed milk definitely dominates the flavor of these bars. So rich, creamy, and dreamy.

A sheet cake and a pan of bars, in one.

Bars, not cookies; much faster and less fussy to make.

Coconut and vanilla extract. If you’re not a huge coconut fan, that’s okay because these are not strongly coconut-flavored. It adds texture more so than imparting an overly strong coconut flavor.