hello dolly bars
As much as I have said more often in the last couple months than you should ever let me get away with that I am so busy! and no time! the truth is that really, truly having no time for the things I really want to have time for terrifies me. I always wonder: are we really so busy or are we just busy being busy? Are there truly ‘not enough hours in the day’ or are we just not using the ones we have well enough? I feel if I allow myself to sorry can’t, too much going on right now I might fall down a slippery slope wherein I start saying that even before I have considered what I am busy with. Come on, surely you know the type.
What I mean is: there is a woman with two children, one under a year old, in our west coast office that wields our interoffice overnight mail for the very best of causes: baked goods. Got a promotion? New employee? Had a bad day? Leaving for greener pastures? Any and all events, no matter how small or mighty, are greeted with a bundle of butter, sugar, chocolate and… well, I haven’t figured out all of the ingredients yet, so I just call it “crack” and you will hopefully know that I mean that it is a very good thing.
She is never too busy, and I love that. It gives me hope that you can pick a dozen things from a kiss before bedtime to baked goods on a whim in an interoffice envelope and declare them non-negotiables and that’s just that. Of course, there is also the fact that these things she calls “blondies” are impossibly tasty and wildly addictive, thus always worth the effort. Yet, despite my persistent efforts to pry the recipe from her, she insists that she just “throws some things together,” making it up as she goes along.
I have no idea how to do this, this throwing caution to the wind thing. But, when I saw Homesick Texan’s post about Hello Dolly bars a couple months ago, I said, that’s it! Well, that’s almost it, but I knew I was getting warm. So, on exactly one of those days that I was ‘too busy’ but had a barbeque to go to, I threw my attempt at an imitation of the office goodies together in a flash, packed them up and brought them over. I was convinced they were too sweet, too sticky and cloying but within two minutes of it being opened, people had ransacked them, leaving nary a butterscotch chip for the grazers.
As for their proximity to the original recipe I was shamelessly trying to riff, they’re close. I don’t think she uses any gooey stuff at all, so I might try that next time. Or, I might try it again exactly like this, because, well, they aren’t half, or even a quarter-bad. And once you try one, you’ll never be too busy to make them again.
One year ago: Ina Garten’s Lemon Cake (This cake is in my top five.)
Hello Dolly Bars
Adapted from Homesick Texan, and memory
These are sticky, gooey and both chewy and crunchy and seriously, intensely sweet, but you won’t mind, especially when you find out they take 30 minutes to make.
1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, cut into large pieces
1 1/2 cups graham crackers crumbs (about 8 graham crackers, pulsed in a food processor)
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk (just under half a small can)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt butter in microwave in heatproof bowl until just melted when stirred. Add graham cracker crumbs. Mix and then press evenly into the bottom of 8×8 baking pan.
Layer coconut, pecans, butterscotch and chocolate chips on top of graham cracker base. Pour sweetened condensed milk over whole mixture.
Bake in oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the top is light brown.
Like all brownie and cookie bars, I find them easier to cut cleanly once they’ve been thoroughly cooled in the fridge, but I also don’t expect you to be able to wait that long.
Because they’re so sweet, I like to cut them into really tiny squares. Those mini-cupcake liners come in handy as well, too, so they don’t all cluster together, not that anyone would mind.
I’ve only recently just discovered your blog, and my goodness, every single photography of your culinary creations is positively breathtaking!! These Hello Dolly Bars look incredible!!
These look exactly like 7 Layer Cookie Bars. I love them, but they are very sweet and so instead of butterscotch chips I use peanut butter chips because it cuts down on the sweet factor, which is a little much for me. They are yummy either way, though!
well call those 7 layer bars….
minus the butterscotch
add baby marshmellows {sic}
I discovered this recipe back in the Spring time…and now my daughter’s new college friends are begging me to bring down a batch this weekend on Parent’s Visiting Day! You see I baked up a batch and sent them down to DC…BIG BIG HIT! I’ve also baked them for our salesmen, our accounting department, and my son’s baseball friends too! They bake up easily and they pack and ship just great too! My recipe calls for a layer of chopped walnuts and sweetened coconut underneath the sweetened condensed milk. Are they ever SWEEEEEEEEEET!
Ahhh…these are the Magic Cookie Bars of my youth. I love these things!
I have called them Seven-Layer Bars, Magic Bars, Hall Family Choco-schotchy Bars, and then Jungle Bars. And when I took them to a gathering and announced them as Jungle Bars, a very bossy guy announced, “Nope, these are Hello Dollys,” and I said, “Well, they aren’t really from a recipe, I sort of combined different things…” and he says, “Nope, Hello Dollys, my mom used to make them. That’s what they are.” So Hello Dollys they have been… I use butterscotch and peanut butter chips, in addition to Ghiradelli Bittersweet morsels, and pour over the WHOLE can of sweetened condensed (I even used a jar of dulce de leche once when I’d forgotten to pick up SCM… boy were those sticky). And sliced almonds in addition to pecans (really I just start dumping out every opened package in my baking cabinet). Never failed. Never. There is a batch on the conference table of my office as I speak.
I like putting the coconut closer to the top (still below the SCM) so it gets a bit more toasted… plus fragrant. Always delicious.
I have a very similar recipe (Double Delicious Cookie Bars) that is so easy and so delicious. Yours look quite yummy. I would love to put coconut on mine, but the other half will hear nothing of it.
oh. my. god. these are the cookies my french teacher taught our class how to make in 7th grade and i’d forgotten how to make them to my great dismay! i’ve dreamt about these and thought they were lost forever in the past. thank you!!
Now you’ve got me. Curses. I’m so over cooking and eating and blogging about farm-fresh vegetables and abstemious little fruit desserts. It’s time to break out the chocolate and the nuts and the caramelly sweet stuff, boo-yah. These bars were a staple of my misspent adolescence, when after indulging in hunger-inducing activities with the rest of my degenerate friends, we would make them…thank goodness the recipe was on the label of the Eagle condensed milk can, and that we could still read, more or less.
Nowadays I usually ditch the butterscotch morsels and use instead a can of partially caramelized, sort-of-dulce-de-leche’ed condensed milk to glue it all together. I make them as part of multiple holiday cookie platters and gift tins, and they just vanish. You’ve got me jonesing, with my ancient, falling-apart copy of Rose’s Christmas Cookies open, perusing a recipe for a version of these made with three kinds of chocolate, three cups of pecans, and well, excess oozing everywhere.
Great fun gabbing at City Bakery. Maybe we should have a baking day, and unlock the secrets of baker’s muffins and pretzel croissants, or maybe we should just make a lot of good cocktails and a pan of hello dollies…
Oh, yes. These are fantastic. I have to agree with Pedro 110%, adding the coconut right before the SCM really makes it all toasty and nice. You should try that next time.
PS: We called them seven-layer bars, too. I’m sure it’s a regional thing. (I’m in Wisconsin.)
Okay, you probably can predict my question…can you sans the coconut?
Yum. Maybe I’ll try these with unsweetened chocolate chunks to offset the sweetness. I think Ghirardelli, Michel Cluizel and Vintage Plantations make edible 100% chocolate.
Oooh, these look like they are right up my alley! The recipe looks very similar to one my cousin makes. I know that hers are great and I’ll bet yours are too.
I’ve been trying to get that recipe out of her for years and she just won’t budge! Thanks for the alternative.
Those do look insanely sweet but I’m still intrigued by them. I made Martha Stewart’s rocky road bars last year for Christmas which were a combination of butterscotch chips, caramel, white chocolate, dark chocolate, and some other things. Those ended up being too sweet for me but I’m always drawn in by baked goods that combine a bunch of my favourite things together.
I make these, too, and have the same feeling every time: too sweet for me, but everyone just loves them so much, I have to make them.
7 layer bars, hello dolly bars, crack cocaine candy bars…..a rose is a rose is a rose. These lil’ things are amazing no matter what you call them.
I don’t get the ‘i’m too busy’ hogwash either; i think it’s a terribly perpetuated myth that people are hanging onto with every thread of their being and thinking that it is somehow OK to overschedule their lives to the hilt and feed their kids dinners out of a microwave or the back seat of the car. I’m sorry, but the drive-thru is not quality family time.
oh vey….don’t get me started. This deserves a forum, or even it’s own blog, to fully explore the realm of ‘i’m too busy’
I’ve started to wake up at 5:30am to go to the gym so that i can leave work at a reasonable time to come home and cook a meal! Because in all that work/errands/gym/appointments/life craze it’s so easy to fall back on ‘i’m tiiiiiired’ excuse. these look so tasty - and since as a child i ate condensed milk by the spoonfuls (the things my mother let me get away with!) - i like any dessert/candy where it makes an appearance! how long do these keep? i.e. if you have only 2 people in the house eating them - what would be the shelf life?
Just a little bit of heaven, really.
This is pretty much like the Seven Layer Magic Cookie Bars, the recipe can be found on the Eagle Brand Website, right under favorites on the main page.
I make it quite frequently when I’m craving sweets and I’m too busy for “real” baking. I normally make a half recipe, and make a second half recipe within a couple weeks (the leftover sweetened condensed milk keeps that long in the fridge).
I like to replace the butterscotch chips with Skor chips but really, just about anything sweet works.
OHholy. That’s wicked. I’m so gonna add some huge tablespoons of peanut butter in, i swear. That stuff’s gonna kill. =)
You know, sometimes saying ‘i’m tiiired’ is just an excuse not to do something you don’t really want to do, but sometimes…you’re just tiiiiired! I know that for me, saying “no” is really hard, even if I have an overwhelmingly full plate. But I’ve started to realize that if saying “yes” means I’ll fall asleep before kissing my loved one goodnight or be too busy to bake on a whim, then just saying no is the best option. So you’re right — make the important stuff non-negotiable and the rest you’ll make time for when there’s time :).
MmmMmMMMmmMMmmMMM magic cookie bars! I knew what they were the moment I saw the picture pop up.
these look great and super easy!
reiterating Jennifer from Houston, how different is it without coconut? anything replaceable?
Mmmmm - these are a favorite - we call them 7 layer bars. I especially like them with a bit of cinnamon mixed in with the graham cracker crumbs & white chocolate in place of the butterscotch. I love cinnamon & chocolate - which brings me to this - I made the babka this weekend! I felt so brave as I have never worked with yeast before. Thanks for the inspiration - AGAIN!
I second all the comments labeling those as Seven Layer Bars–and I know them well, because they are possibly the only way I will eat and enjoy coconut.
I love your idea of using cupcake wrappers to deliver them to hungry friends/coworkers as they do tend to stick together. Though I’ve never heard anyone complain about eating more than one!
I very much understand the plague of the busy. That’s always why I want to move to Iowa, cause surely where there are open fields there is more time for Hello Dolly bars? It makes no sense. These look great, and I can’t wait to give them a try being, at times, a homesick Texan, myself.
hey deb-
we’re both featured in the St. Petersburg Times, the biggest newspaper in Tampa FL
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/10/10/Food/Blogosphere_s_menu_fu.shtml
xoxo
jaden
7 layer bar - yup
food of my youth
cloyingly sweet - but somehow - they still rate…
if you ever wanna bribe a kid… this would be a good way to try
Oh yes…my mom makes these and they are delicious. She always changes up her chip combination though…you never know if they are going to be peanut butter, toffee, butterscotch, milk chocolate, semi-sweet or dark chocolate. So delicious.
I just read that article in the Tampa newspaper and laughed about the “My food is yours, son” mention. I wish they knew the meaning behind that cause it’s a lot funnier with some context!
I love your blog! I have never added anything in writing, just read but I have to say I love these bars, they are my all time favorite!!!! I tried putting them in the freezer so I wouldn’t eat them all and of course found that they taste even better frozen :-0. They are like candy, you all have to try them you will love them too.
Hey! I was one of those people who ransacked these little gems. Holy Schitt! They were good.
Anyway, I am at war with ticketmaster. I am SOOOO angry! Do you know any press I can send my story to on my blog–I have sent it to every music related website and contact I know. Let me know if you can think of anyone else I can send it to.
Joce
xoxo
I too know them as 7-layer bars. My friend always wants to bicker that they don’t have 7-layers but they do have 7 ingredients so i don’t see the beef. anyway i think they are wonderful and i like that the coconut is moist — i have an abhorrence of too many dry coconut shreds in one place. For those who don’t like coconut I’m sure you can make these without it but I’m not sure they would hold together as well.
Oh, man, (modified) 7-layer bars! Those are awesome! And I love the name Hello Dolly for them so much that I love them even more. I need to make me some of these soon.
The husband calls these ‘devil bars’ because they are sinfully good and he can’t stay the hell out of them. My mom makes them often, and for some reason hers are better then mine even if we follow the exact same recipe.
I NEVER thought about subbing pb chips for the butterscotch! I love butterscotch but my dad can’t stand the ‘fake’ taste of them. The new caramel bits from Kraft might work, too.
Re: coconut and other ingredient questions–I forgot to add that this recipe is Swap City; I have a hard time believing that it will not permit any tweak you want to try. Coconut could be swapped or omitted. Peanut butter chips could be swapped for butterscotch (and if you do, please send me one, thank you). Almonds, cashews or other nuts for pecans. How about raisins and granola with cinnamon? And although I haven’t tried it yet, I bet you could chop in some, hm, Skor bars or other melt-worthy candy bar bits for the butterscotch chips. Just don’t tell your dentist, okay? [I’ll update the recipe with this info later.]
I am with VeggieGirl - I too just recently discovered your blog and am in love with the photography! Truly, you take gorgeous photos. And this looks mighty tasty…
Eagle actually sells this as a box kit—same ingredients unassembled and ready to put together, but in smaller portions for those of us who can’t use up a bag of butterscotch chips. A nice thing to have on your shelf if you really don’t have time.
These are my very favorite bars EVER! And it’s the same exact recipe I grew up with (did you talk to my mom?). And I hear you about the “I’m so busy” conundrum. My best friend just had her fourth–count them, 4!–child and is a partner in a PR firm in NYC . . . and, she still manages to send thank you notes on time and throw halloween parties for her kids and . . . and . . . some day I’ll learn how she does it. I hope.
Not that these aren’t incredibly simple already, but I’m pretty sure you’re always a fan of having one less dish to wash. So here’s a tip:
Rather than melting the butter in a bowl and transfering the graham crust to the pan, try this. Put the butter in the pan. Turn on the oven to preheat, and put the pan in the oven while you’re crushing your graham crackers. When the butter is melted, take it out and put the crumbs in the pan, mix it up and pat it in, then proceed as usual. Ta-da!
Thanks for memories & I like your swap city ideas :)
I’ve never heard of Hello Dolly bars until now. I’m living a sheltered life here in Melbourne, Australia! I would love to give the recipe a go, but I know it will be very hard to find butterscotch chips here.
I love recipes with condensed milk; they give the final product a chewy, caramelly taste.
deb, what size did you cut your bars into? They look adorable
you think that peanut butter chips would work instead of butterscotch?
MAGIC BARS!!
This was exactly what I was craving before I even saw your post - I have not eaten them in years(14? 16?) and really had no idea how they are made, which has kept me from recreating them.
But thanks to you, right now in the oven is my own take: Almond and ww flours plus oats instead of graham crackers, with 74% Guittard chocolate, roasted salted almonds, coconut and raisins.
Beautiful graham cracker shot by the way. The condensed milk one is lovely too, and it almost makes condensed milk look like something you should eat instead of fixing a broken chair leg with.
yay kara! a cook after my own heart…
Just tried this last night. Used Nestle semi-sweet chocolate morsels, chopped walnuts, sliced almonds, raisins and melted peanut butter drizzled over all of it, then the SCM drizzled over all of that. Was a great hit at work today!
oh hellllloooo dolly! i think i have seen and even made quite some time ago, a similar thing called 7 layer bars. but my oh my these look just too wonderful. i’m gonna try your way - thanks!
Ohh it’s my first time here. Can you hear my excitement? It’s somewhere between the pee pee dance and grey’s anatomy coming on T V.
Yes! I love this blog THAT much! =)
I’m printing off recipes right now and just in time because I needed something new to do this weekend.
these are the BEST and so easy to make-thanks again for a good idea.
Yum! We used to call these Magic Cookie Bars, but I think I’ll rename them to Kate’s “Crack Cocaine Bars” lol
and I agree with Jim, the only way I’ll eat coconut!
and how ’bout a version with white & semisweet chocolate chips, dried cranberries?
Those bars look gorgeous and so do your pictures! Marvelous!
Cheers,
Rosa
You’ve struck a memory nerve with all of us. My grandmother Alice would make and send to us each Christmas. I have her recipe and we always called them Chocolate Chip bars. I am going to make some to take to work tomorrow! Love this blog, visit every day since I discovered it.
Definitely better than most things you can put in your mouth.
Just wondering why you don’t just ask this lovely lady on the west coast for the recipe? If she so generously bakes for others, I would imagine she’d be delighted to share the recipe and know that you love it so much…
delicious pictures as usual!
My mom has been making these for years( and she always called them Hello Dolly’s). She is from NY so I’m surprised you never heard of them. She always used the whole can of milk and I do too when I make them. Ppl go crazy for them. I add Peanut butter chips as well.
My girlfriend makes them all the time - we call them crack cookies. I literally cannot keep my hands off of them. I like that name for them!
In my family, they’ve always been called “dolly bars” and I just made a batch for a little party tomorrow. I’ve never made them with butterscotch chips..too sweet! They’re perfect with just semi sweet chocolate chips, nuts and coconut.
I am not much of a baker, but this is my type of recipe - throw stuff together and pop it in the oven. :) I just finished a batch with half chocolate chips and half peanut butter chips, and walnuts instead of pecans, and it’s taking every bit of my will power not to dive in right this second. My kitchen smells fabulous. Thanks so much for the recipe!!
My mom also made these years ago… like in the mid-70’s to about mid 80’s. She called them “California Dream Bars.” Anyone remember that name? She also put in sliced marachino cherries and mini marshmallows. (No butterscotch or peanut butter chips, however… they probably weren’t even around when she first started making these.) Anyway… they’re called “Magic Bars” usually around here. We’re in Michigan… I think those were the two names used in this area. Aside from all name variations, these are definitely one of the best holiday indulgent goodies around!
I’ve never had these or made them … until 20 minutes from now, b/c I have them baking up in the oven right now..exciting! Thanks for sharing. Beautiful pictures and beautiful site!
ohhhh i just made these and they were delicious. actually made them 4 days ago, and then had to make another batch yesterday, they went too fast. i’m becoming addicted to making all things on your site!