Skip to main content

Hello Dolly Cookie Bars


Several years ago, my mom gave me an old cookbook, it was hers but I'm not sure she ever used it, Favorite Recipes from Southern Kitchens:  Desserts.  I love this cookbook!  I thought it would be great to go through it and pick a recipe or two to use for this year's 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats series. 


For this week, I chose a super easy one, Hello Dolly Cookies.  I have absolutely no idea where the name came from.  I'm really not sure I've ever eaten one before, though the ladies I shared the finished product with knew about them!  I did an internet search too, and it seems they go by a lot of names, including Magic Layer Bars. 

Honestly, they are so easy to make.  There's no mixing required.  Kids could absolutely help with these.  The cookies smelled divine while they were baking, and I barely waited for them to cool before trying one.


At first I thought "these taste almost like German chocolate cake", then "or definitely like a candy bar" and finally "damn these are good, I want the whole pan!!"  :)  But I didn't eat them all.  The kids loved them, and so did everyone I shared them with.  This is a definitely a keeper. 

The original recipe just called for butter, and I used unsalted butter because that's all I had.  It seemed to work just fine.  I do think that next time I make these I will add just a tad more graham cracker crumbs and see how it does.  It's not that it was bad, but I felt like a couple more tablespoons of the graham cracker crumbs would have soaked up the butter better. 

Hello Dolly Cookie Bars
from Favorite Recipes from Southern Kitchens:  Desserts

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)
1 (15 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350'F.  Melt butter in a 9x9x2 inch baking pan.  Sprinkle in the graham cracker crumbs, then the coconut, chocolate chips and nuts (you just layer it all in, one layer of each).  Pour the condensed milk over it all, then bake for 30 minutes.  Cool in the pan, then cut into 16 squares.

*I used an 11x8 pan because that's what I had readily available.  It worked just fine. 

Enjoy!  :)





I'm linked up to the 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats hosted by Meal Planning Magic.  See what everyone else is making!

 
 
Labels:

Comments

Unknown said…
Ooh, I love these bars, but haven't made them in so long! Yours are so gorgeous - have to make these soon!
October 11, 2012 at 5:13 AM
A SISTER IN CHRIST said…
these sound amazing! I bet I would love that cookbook!
October 11, 2012 at 6:59 AM
Melissa said…
I love these! I always knew them as 7-layer cookies (butterscotch chips were used for the extra layer).
October 11, 2012 at 7:34 AM
Carrie @ poet in the pantry said…
We were on the same wavelength this week! These are a classic in our family, though we usually add butterscotch chips, like Melissa.
October 11, 2012 at 9:12 AM
Tracy said…
Looks easy and delicious!
October 11, 2012 at 9:18 AM
Julia said…
These look amazing! I have been meaning to make these for a long time, but I fear that whole urge-to-eat-the-pan thing. I'll have to do it one day when I have company over.
October 11, 2012 at 2:03 PM
Paula @ Vintage Kitchen said…
I made this many times but always by the name magic bars. They really are magical, no baking and the result is incredible!
October 11, 2012 at 7:25 PM
Annamaria @ Bakewell Junction said…
These look great. I'm sure anyone would be thrilled to receive them as a gift.
October 12, 2012 at 8:46 PM
Kayla said…
These look great! Old cookbooks are the best.
October 13, 2012 at 10:51 AM
Hezzi-D said…
These look amazing! Plus easy to make!
October 13, 2012 at 3:53 PM
Trisha said…
I love old recipe books, I think you sometimes find really great stuff in them. These bars look really fun to make and to eat :)
October 13, 2012 at 11:26 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thick and Chewy Snickerdoodles

I admit, I love snickerdoodles.   Cinnamon and vanilla?   Yes, please.   What’s funny is that I never really had them much as a kid, just occasionally in the school cafeteria.   I know, ew. Anyway, snickerdoodles were one of the first cookies that the Munchkin helped make when he was little.   He could help dump everything in the mixer (or “loud noise” as he would call it!) and then it was fun for him to roll the balls of dough in the cinnamon sugar before putting them on the baking sheet. Even since then, my go-to recipe for snickerdoodles has been this one by Emeril.   It’s a great recipe, baking up a thin, crispy cookie (at least when I make them!).   However, I was looking for something different this time, something thicker and chewier.   I found this recipe from the blog How Sweet it Is .   I decided to try it, and while I did keep the ingredient list the same I changed up the method a bit to suit me better.  ...
12 comments
Read more

Homemade Cinnamon Dolce Latte

I recently professed my love of coffee and fancy coffee drinks.  After the success of the Peppermint Mocha , I decided to tackle the Cinnamon Dolce Latte, another one of my favorites.  According to the Starbucks website, it has flavors of "cinnamon, butter and brown sugar".  Well, I covered the cinnamon and brown sugar components, but left out the butter.  And you know what, I think it turned out quite well, if I do say so myself!  I honestly wasn't sure if the cinnamon flavor in the syrup was going to be strong enough, but it was.  I will admit to being impatient and not letting it steep for very long, so the cinnamon flavor might develop more if you do actually let it sit and cool off first.  If you wanted it to be even stronger, you could always add a tiny bit of cinnamon oil to it as well.  But be careful -- a little of that goes a long way! How much to make depends on how much you'll actually use.  I just made a single batch this f...
9 comments
Read more