SEVEN LAYERS OF YUM

Dessert bars are the lazy man’s (or woman’s) cookie and this is the first one I remember making. I was around 11 years old and used to spend a lot of time with the girl down the street. Her mom was my perception of the perfect Betty Crocker. Her house was spotless, she loved to garden, and she was a great cook! Growing up you could easily find these at bakeries and restaurants too. The always went by different names, 7-layer bar, Hello Dolly bars and the most common – magic bars.

I’ve seen many versions. The first layer varied from shortbread cookies, graham crackers and even corn flakes (the non-frosted kind). One could vary the chips but one thing was always a constant – the can of sweetened condensed milk! I guess that’s why they called it magic. It was the sugar and binder in one. The sticky gooeyness is best with a cold glass of milk.
 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
• ½ cup butter, melted
• 1 cup butterscotch morsels
• 1 cup dark chocolate morsels
• 1 cup coconut flakes
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9x13 baking pan and set aside.
2. Combine crushed graham cracker crumbs and butter and evenly spread on the 9x13 baking dish.
3. Evenly sprinkle each of the following: butterscotch morsels, dark chocolate chips, coconut flakes, and walnuts.
4. Pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the layers.
5. Bake in preheated 350° oven for 30 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the center is set.
6. Allow to completely cool before slicing into squares. Yum!