Regardless of what you call them, Hello Dolly Bars, Magic Bars or 7-Layer Bars, combining chocolate, coconut, pecans, and graham crackers is the ultimate decadent (and easy) dessert for any occasion.
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Simplicity is the beauty of this bar dessert recipe. You don’t need to soften butter or even use a mixing bowl (you can literally just make the crust in the baking dish if you want).
- Salted Butter – This is one of the only times I will tell you to use salted butter. Since none of the other ingredients include salt (except some undertones from the pecans), it is welcome to balance the over-the-top sweet flavors.
- Graham cracker crumbs – When mixed with the butter, these form the most delicious buttery graham cracker crust as the base layer for our magic bars. You can either crush your own full sheets of graham crackers in a food processor to make your own graham cracker crumbs or use pre-crushed graham crackers.
- Granulated sugar – Also known as regular white sugar, this helps to add a little sweetness to our graham cracker crust, but also caramelizes and melts to help it bind together and not simply crumble.
- Sweetened condensed milk – One of the most delicious things about this dolly bars recipe is the creamy layer of sweetened condensed milk. Make a homemade sweetened condensed milk or buy a can.
- Vanilla Extract – Along with the sugar and flaky salt topping, this is another way we’ve elevated this classic dessert. Adding warmth and aroma, all you need is 1 teaspoon stirred directly into the can of condensed milk.
- Sweetened coconut – The shredded coconut flakes add a nice tropical flavor and chewiness to these magic cookie bars.
- Chips – I’m just going to say chips here because honestly, you can customize this based on what is in your pantry. I used a mix of semi-sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips.
- Pecans – Adding nuts to these layers of ingredients adds a nice crunch to your Hello Dolly Bars. I like mine to be finely chopped, but this is up to personal preference.
- Fleur de Sel – This is totally optional but it does take the recipe over-the-top in my opinion. Salt accentuates natural flavors, but also tempers down the overly sweet ones.
Mix Things Up
There are so many ways to customize this recipe and make it your own. You’ll never make the same version twice!
- Chocolate – Instead of milk, white, and semi-sweet, feel free to mix up your chocolate chips. You could use peanut butter chips, dark chocolate chips, butterscotch morsels, or even toffee chips.
- Crust – You don’t have to use graham crackers for your crust. You could swap them out with vanilla wafers, shortbread cookies or even crumbs of your favorite cookie pressed into the bottom of the pan.
- Nuts – Now I don’t like to stray too far from the original recipe, but if you aren’t a fan of pecans, you could swap them for macadamia nuts or walnuts if you prefer. Try toasting the nuts before using them to really make these gourmet.
- Pretzels– If you are allergic or just don’t care for nuts, swap them out with roughly chopped pretzels.
- Extract – Adding extract is my own way to take these to new heights, but it can be omitted or swapped for almond extract.
How to Whip These Up
These bars may have a decent amount of steps but they’re super easy to make!
- Prepare oven and pan. Preheat the oven and line a baking dish with parchment paper. These bars are sticky, so anything you can do to help them release is welcome. Nothing is raw, so you don’t have to worry about undercooking, only that everything heats well enough to meld.
- Make crust. Mix the melted butter with the crushed graham crackers and sugar.
- Press into pan. Press the graham cracker layer into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
- Toppings. Layer the chocolate cups, pecans, and then coconut evenly onto the bar base.
- Sweetened condensed milk. In the can, stir in the vanilla extract and then pour evenly over the top. Tap gently on the counter and then allow it to sit for 5-10 minutes before placing it into the oven. This lets the milk seep into the toppings so it can properly bind them together. You’ll know it is ready when the coconut shreds start to peek back through the pool of milk.
- Bake. Bake until the edges are bubbly and golden brown. At this time, sprinkle with flaky sea salt, if desired.
- Cool. Make sure to cool completely and even refrigerate, before removing the parchment paper, cutting, and serving.
Common Questions about 7 Layer Bars
These bars shot to fame in the 1960s when Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk printed the recipe on their cans! The simplicity of the recipe combined with the amazing results made them an instant hit at potlucks, bake sales, and holiday gatherings across America.
The most common culprit is not using enough sweetened condensed milk, which acts as the glue holding everything together! Make sure to pour it evenly over all the layers and let the bars cool completely before cutting — patience is key for perfect bars.
Yes, these bars go by many names — Hello Dolly bars, Magic bars, Dream bars, and Seven Layer bars are all the same amazing dessert. The story goes that the Hello Dolly name came about during the popularity of the Broadway musical, and different regions of the US picked up different names for them.
Storage
You can store your magic bars in an airtight container at room temperature. To prevent the top layer from sticking, separate each of the layers with a sheet of parchment paper, wax paper, or aluminum foil. They will keep for 3 – 5 days.
Refrigerator
Store these bars in the fridge for up to 1 week in an airtight container.
Freezer
You can also freeze this classic recipe. Wrap them with plastic wrap or aluminum foil or keep them in a freezer storage bag. Allow them to thaw on the counter when ready to eat them.
More Easy Dessert Recipes
If you’re looking for more ways to satisfy a sweet tooth, check out these simple recipes!
7 Layer Bars Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup salted butter* , melted
- 1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 cup blend of chocolate chips
- 1 cup pecans
- 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk , or 1 3/4 cup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- fleur de sel
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 9x9in or 11x7in baking dish with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
- In a medium mixing bowl (or directly in the baking dish), stir together the melted butter with the graham crackers and sugar. Press tightly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
- Spread the chocolate chips evenly over the crust, followed by the pecans and then the shredded coconut.
- Open the can of sweetened condensed milk and stir with vanilla extract using a small spoon, spatula or butter knife so it doesn’t overflow. Drizzle evenly over the top of your bars.
- Tap the whole dish gently on the counter and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes or until the coconut flakes start to emerge from the pool of milk.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the edges are bubbly and golden brown.
- Remove from oven and cool for 30-40 minutes before placing into the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.
- Using the parchment as a sling, remove from the baking dish and evenly cut using a sharp knife.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know in the comments or star ratings!
Notes
Nutrition
Welp, I know why they’re called Magic Bars! They were delicious! Couldn’t get enough of them.
I had never heard of magic bars before, but I came across your recipe and gave it a try. They were fabulous!
I tried making these bars and these came out perfect. Thanks for detailed instructions. So yummy!
I’m obsessed with these Magic bars – so many flavours and textures. Magical
Used half peanut butter and half chocolate chips and was our fave!