These Magic Bars, also known as Hello Dolly Bars and Seven-Layer Cookies, are filled with the gooey deliciousness of coconut, dark chocolate, pecans, and creamy caramel, all in a graham cracker crust. It's a bar cookie recipe that has it all!
As the Magic Bars bake, the coconut turns golden and toasty, the chocolate melts, and the sweetened condensed milk becomes a creamy caramel that holds it all together (like magic!). But the best part is, this recipe is incredibly easy to make!
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Essential Ingredients
Graham cracker crumbs: Look for graham cracker crumbs in the baking aisle of your supermarket. These will make preparing the crust a lot easier than crushing the graham crackers into crumbs yourself.
Sweetened condensed milk: There's no real substitute for this product in these bars, as it becomes caramelized and holds everything together while baking. Don't confuse sweetened condensed milk with evaporated milk, they are completely different products and not interchangeable.
How to make the bars
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 13- x 9-inch pan. In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter (1) and stir until well blended (2). Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan (3). Bake the crust for 8 minutes.
Sprinkle the pecans (4), chocolate chips (5), and coconut over the hot crust (6). Pour condensed milk over top (7). (Do not stir.)
Bake until any crust visible is golden brown and coconut begins to toast, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. To cut easily, let sit in refrigerator for at least one hour before serving. Cut into 12 bars.
Recipe Tips
You can switch up the chocolate chips and nuts for these bars. Try peanut butter or butterscotch chips, and cashews or walnuts to vary the flavor.
It's not necessary, but you can line the pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil so it extends over two sides of the pan before you press the crust into the pan. This way you can lift the bars from the pan to a cutting board to make cutting them easier.
How to store the bars
The Magic Bars can be stored in an airtight container at cool room temperature for up to 3 days. But if your your kitchen runs hot, they are best kept in the refrigerator.
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Magic Bars (Hello Dolly Bars)
Ingredients
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 6 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup dark or semisweet chocolate
- 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
- 1 14. oz can sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 13- x 9-inch pan. In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter and stir until well blended. Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake the crust until just set, 8 minutes.
- Sprinkle the pecans, then the chocolate chips, and coconut over the hot crust. Pour condensed milk over top. (Do not stir.)
- Bake until crust is golden brown and coconut begins to toast, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, set the pan on a wire rack, and let cool completely.
- To cut easily, let the bars sit in refrigerator for at least one hour before serving. Cut into 12 bars.
Notes
Nutrition
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David says
Woah, these bring back great childhood memories. But they taste better than I remember! Thanks for the recipe.