Holiday Challenge Day 15 - 7 Layer Bars

7 Layer Bars.  Magic Cookie Bars.  Hello Dollys.  Regardless of what you and yours call them, they're always a hit, whether you take them to a cookie exchange, share them with your coworkers, or keep them all for yourself, eating them over the kitchen sink in the middle of the night, under the cover of darkness. (We all do it.  Don't be ashamed if you do too.)

A quick search on the internet will reveal dozens of spinoffs of the 7 Layer Bar recipe.  Magic Cookie Bars and Hello Dollys only have six layers and don't include butterscotch chips. One recipe I saw was for a bar cookie with only 3 layers.  And do you know what that's called, my baking brethren?!  That's called L-A-Z-Y, lazy.  Because if you modify 7 Layer Bars to have only three layers, you're left with the bare essentials of butter, graham cracker crumbs and sweetened condensed milk.  Does that a cookie make?  I don't think so!  I'm all for simplifying things, but that's just ridiculous.  Especially when you're working with a recipe like this that allows for so much flexibility when it comes to the ingredients that you use.

I am not one to fly by the seat of my pants in the kitchen.  I like having a detailed recipe, and I like following it.  Because I, for one, really enjoy the precision of baking - the careful weighing and measuring that's needed to produce optimal results. There is comfort in knowing that A plus B will equal C.  So the thought of using a recipe that gives me some "creative license" makes me want to break out into a cold sweat.    But, truly, I think even I could modify this recipe with success.  It's simple really.  As long as you stick with the basic butter/graham cracker crumb crust and top everything with the sweetened condensed milk, you're really free to add, subtract, or substitute to your liking.  Don't like nuts?  No problem!  Only have white or milk chocolate chips?  No sweat!  They may not end up being true "7 Layer Bars", but I will venture a guess that people will be too busy eating them to notice.

Below is the original 7 Layer Bar recipe.  Beneath it, I've also included a recipe (from the back of the box of Keebler graham cracker crumbs) for another version, Magic Raspberry Cookie Bars. I didn't make a batch of these myself (because I refused to go back to the store for raspberry preserves), but I bet they'd be good.

7 Layer Bars
Makes 2 dozen bars

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup nuts (walnuts or pecans)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup coconut
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Layer all ingredients (in order given) in 13" x 9" x 2" pan.  Bake for 25 minutes or until golden.  Cool and cut into squares.


Magic Raspberry Cookie Bars
Makes 24 bars

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine or butter, melted
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/4 cups seedless red raspberry preserves
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

In small bowl, combine crumbs and sugar.  Add margarine or butter.  Toss until combined.  Press onto bottom of 13 x 9 x 2 baking pan.  Evenly drizzle sweetened condensed milk over crumbs.  Refrigerate for 10 minutes.  Spoon preserves over top.  Sprinkle with coconut and nuts.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until light brown.  Cool completely.  Cut into bars.  Store, loosely covered, at room temperature.