Hello Dolly Bars

Hello Dolly Bars are seven layers of goodness! Sweet and salty, this classic dessert bar is so easy to make.

I’m back with a new discovery from my beloved grandmother’s recipe shoe box – hello dolly bars! This is a retro dessert bar from the 1960s that my grandmother made for my mom when she was growing up.

I miss my grandmother, Gigi, so much that every recipe I discover in her recipe box feels like a gift. I recently shared her wonderful oatmeal bread and I’m so excited to share her hello dolly bars recipe with you, too.

What are Hello Dolly Bars?

If you’ve never had hello dolly bars or hello dolly cookies you will understand why they are a classic once you try one. They’re also called seven-layer bars and magic cookie bars but no matter what you call them they are amazing.

These easy dessert bars are layers of sweet and salty ingredients like crackers, graham crackers, coconut, chocolate, butterscotch, and sweetened condensed milk to bring it all together. They’re a little gooey and chewy with seven layers of wonderful texture and flavor.

Like a lot of other old-fashioned recipes, they are ridiculously easy to make. They are a great dessert bar to take to a BBQ, potluck, or holiday party. Or make a big batch of these 7-layer bars and freeze them to have on hand when you want a sweet treat.

It was quite the experiment making these bars. My dad and I worked on it together – the first challenge was figuring out some of the measurements.

It was obvious to us after we made them the first time, following the recipe exactly, that the graham crackers and soda crackers were a different size back when my grandma started making these. The amounts were not in cups or grams, but the number of crackers to use. Well, crackers are much bigger now!

So, we tweaked the original recipe several times until we got it just right. And enjoyed all of the fails along the way, I might add.

When we finally landed on the best hello dolly bars recipe, my dad took a few to share with my mom. She told me she was beside herself with a rush of memories after the first bite.

It’s been decades since she’d had one – we agreed that Gigi’s recipe box is a precious gift. I can’t wait to find more hidden treasures like these hello dolly bars.

Ingredients

• Butter or margarine
• Crushed soda crackers
• Graham cracker crumbs
• Shredded coconut
• Butterscotch chips
• Chocolate chips
• Sweetened condensed milk

How to Make Them

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13″ pan with parchment paper.

Melt butter and stir in crushed soda crackers and graham cracker crumbs. Press into the bottom of the pan.

Top the crackers with coconut, butterscotch chips, and chocolate chips.

Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the top.

Bake the bars for 30 minutes.

Let the bars cool at room temperature in the baking dish and then chill until completely set before slicing and serving.

Recipe Tips

Feel free to make swaps! You can use white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, or different kinds of chocolate like semi-sweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips.

Although this recipe does not call for it, some have chopped pecans instead of butterscotch chips. If you want more crunch, try it!

The bars are a little gooey so be sure to chill them before slicing. It will be much easier to get clean slices.

You can store hello dolly bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. If it’s warm, I recommend keeping them in the refrigerator. They’ll keep a few days longer, too!

They are also freezer-friendly! Once you’ve sliced them, store them in a freezer bag and they will keep for three months. Thaw them at room temperature before serving.

So whether you’re new to hello dolly bars or consider them an old favorite, I hope you give this recipe a try. So easy and so delicious. There won’t be a crumb left! Enjoy – XOXO San

More Dessert Recipes

• Millionaire Brownies
• Frosted Carrot Cake with Candied Pecans
• No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars
• Grandma’s Ginger Cookies