If there were a dessert hall of fame, 7-Layer Bars would have their own wing. A buttery graham cracker crust, a cascade of chocolate, coconut, butterscotch, and pecans, all tied together with a slow pour of sweetened condensed milk that turns caramel-y in the oven.
They’re the cookie bar you make when you want something impressive but you absolutely do not have time for “impressive.” These bars travel well and hold perfectly on dessert trays, which is why I make them for events constantly.
What’s In Our 7 Layer Bar Recipe:
Tips Based On Making This Recipe Hundreds Of Times
Pack the crust like you mean it. A loose crust gives you crumbly bars. A firm crust gives bakery-quality slices.
Scrape the can. There’s always more sweetened condensed milk hiding in there — two to three tablespoons worth — and it makes a real difference.
Sprinkling each ingredient — coconut, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and pecans — evenly across the crust is key.
Uneven piles prevent the condensed milk from flowing and binding properly, which can cause pockets that overcook or stay wet. Even distribution ensures every bite has the full “seven-layer” experience.
Serving and Storage Guidelines
Cool before cutting. Warm bars fall apart. Cool bars slice beautifully into clean squares.
These dessert bars can be eaten room temp and chilled. Room temp = softer and gooier. Chilled = fudgier and chewier. Both excellent.
- Counter: Four days in an airtight container.
- Fridge: One week — great for firm, chewy bars.
- Freezer: Up to two months. Thaw at room temperature.
- Stacking tip: Put parchment or wax paper between layers to keep them from sticking.
This delicious treat goes by a few different names, such as Dolly Bars or 7-layer magic bars, but whatever they are called, they are amazing! The 7 layer bars combine gooey sweetness with crunchy texture to create an irresistible indulgence that anyone can enjoy.
More Dessert Bar Recipes
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Lemon Cheesecake Bars
- Disneyland Peanut Butter Squares
- Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars
- Salted Caramel Cookie Bars
7 Layer Bars
Ingredients
- 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- ½ cup salted butter, melted
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup butterscotch chips
- 1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13 baking pan with baker’s spray or line it with a piece of parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs and melted salted butter. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan. You want to make sure your crust is firmly packed into an even layer.
- To the crust, evenly sprinkle the sweetened shredded coconut, semi-sweet chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and chopped pecans. Be sure that everything is evenly distributed over the crust layer.
- Slowly drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over the entire pan of 7-layer bar ingredients. Try to make sure that you cover as much of the chips and nuts as possible.
- Bake for 25 to 28 minutes or until the sides are a light golden brown and the center doesn’t look extremely wet still.
- Allow the 7-layer bars to cool completely before slicing and serving them.
Notes
- You can make your own graham cracker crumbs by running graham crackers through a food processor or in a Ziploc bag with a rolling pin until they are fine crumbs.
- You will want to scrape out all the sweetened condensed milk from inside the can. You can probably scrape out an extra 2 to 3 tablespoons of the thick, sweetened milk from the sides and bottom of the can so you have all that goodness added to your 7 layer bars.
- Oven temperatures vary and may need to be recalibrated periodically to ensure they are accurate. Make sure to check your bars at the lower end of the recommended baking time.
- These seven-layer bars can be served at room temperature or chilled.
- When storing these 7-layer bars, I recommend placing a piece of parchment paper or wax paper between the layers of bars if you are stacking them on top of each other in a lidded container. This will help keep them from sticking together.
Nutrition
Comments
Amy Kelley says
This is hands down one of my favorite recipes! And my family loved them as well. It is very easy to make these bars and they are sooo yummy!
Dayna Renfroe says
I think these are probably the best sweet that I have ever tasted. My whole family was fighting over them. I am making them again to take to our church youth group.
Kellie Staab says
I don’t care for graham cracker crust, so I often make these using either shortbread cookie crumbs or oatmeal with brown sugar for thr base.