I almost want to call these no bake bars, because they are such little effort, but you do have to bake them. It just feels like you spend way more time baking them than throwing them together, because they’re so simple. These Hello Dolly Bars are textural heaven: on top of a graham cracker crust (not unlike my buttery crusts in my pumpkin cheesecake bars), we scatter all of our favorite things. A sprinkle of chocolate chips, coconut and pecans, of course! Before baking, we drizzle sweetened condensed milk on top. Yes, the best thing to drizzle into your coffee is the binding agent for these crunchy, gooey cookie bars!
Why are they called hello dollies?
This is a super old fashioned recipe from the 1960s, and at that time, a musical entitled Hello Dolly was very popular. They’re also called dream bars, magic bars, coconut bars, or 7 layer bars.
Magic Bar Recipe Ingredients
Graham Crackers. We need ½ cup of graham cracker crumbs, which is roughly 4 whole graham cracker sheets, crushed. Butter. A small amount of butter to melt and bind the graham cracker crumbs together for the crust. Granulated Sugar. To lighten sweeten the crust, stir in granulated sugar. This is the only sugar we are adding to this dessert. Pecans. One-third cup of chopped pecans, or your favorite nut. I like to make these with sliced almonds, too! Chocolate Chips. Any type of chocolate chips work great here–dark chocolate, semisweet, white chocolate, even butterscotch chips! Coconut. I bake with sweetened coconut flakes rather than the dried unsweetened stuff. Sweetened Condensed Milk. You can use the sweetened condensed milk from the can or the squeeze bottle. Use any leftovers in your morning coffee.
How to make this Magic Cookie Bar Recipe
Preheat the oven to 350° and lightly grease or line with a piece of parchment paper an 8-inch square pan.
Magic Bars Recipe Variations
Nuts - You can use your favorite type of nuts in this recipe. I have made them with sliced almonds and even macadamia nuts! Anything that brings crunch and nuttiness is great here! Chocolate - Your favorite sweet chips are all that we need here. You can use regular semisweet chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, or even butterscotch chips! Anything that melts in the oven works! Gluten-Free - You can use gluten free graham crackers in this recipe to make these magic bars entirely gluten free.
How to Store this Hello Dollies Recipe
These gooey magic cookie bars keep best at room temperature in an airtight container. You can store them in the fridge for a few extra days, but they’re best eaten at room temperature, or else they’re too hard to bite through! You may freeze these (tightly wrapped) for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature about 6-8 hours before serving.
