Hello Dolly Bars, also known as Seven Layer Bars, start with a buttery graham cracker crust, topped with a chocolate chip, coconut, and pecan filling, and doused in sweetened condensed milk before baking in the oven. These bars are so easy and foolproof and great for when you need to make a crowd-pleasing dessert quickly.
Scrumptious Layers
Hello Dolly Bars are the lazy way to make a delicious dessert that everyone loves. They’re a little nostalgic, but they’re super easy to make, only take 10 minutes to prep and are so customizable. They’re referred to as seven layer bars but you can add as many as you want.
The first layer is the graham cracker crust. This is pressed into the bottom of a pan to form the crust just like you would for strawberry cream cheese bars.
The next part is the filling, which consists of any kind of toppings you like. The most common are shredded coconut, nuts, and baking chips (whatever flavor you like). My favorite way uses chocolate chips for a melty, chocolatey flavor.
The most essential part of this recipe is the sweetened condensed milk, which adds sweetness and holds everything together, caramelizing as it bakes.
And don’t worry if you don’t like one of the filling elements. You can change these up depending on what you like or have on hand. Some people like to toss in butterscotch chips or swap the pecans for walnuts. It’s up to you. I’m not crazy about butterscotch chips so I use all chocolate or add white chocolate chips instead.
You will need the coconut layer to keep them from falling apart, it’s actually my favorite part. Anything with coconut is a winner for me, have you tried my gooey coconut brownies yet?
However you decide to make these bars, the results are always foolproof and perfect for any time of year, from special occasions to enjoying with friends and family. They’re sturdy enough to pack in a lunch or take take on a picnic. While the chocolate will get a little soft, they will stay together.
These were my favorite thing to receive in a care package when I was in college and I’ve been making them ever since. They’ve been around for a long time and are great for a bake sale.
Hello Dolly Bars Are Always a Hit
- Easy: These bars are such an easy recipe to make at a moment’s notice.
- Customizable: Use different toppings to personalize this dessert to your liking. Great for cleaning out all those half empty bags in your pantry.
- Perfect for sharing: These bars make great party and potluck desserts because they’re sliceable and won’t melt in the heat.
What’s Inside This Classic Dessert
Here’s mostly everything you need to make Hello Dolly Bars from scratch. Make sure to check the recipe card for the entire list.
- Graham cracker crumbs: These create the base of the bars, giving them a buttery, crunchy foundation. You can buy pre-crushed crumbs or use whole graham crackers and crush them yourself in a food processor. I’ve found that whole crackers will taste a little fresher then the pre-crushed.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips: The standard is semi-sweet, but any type of chocolate chips will be great or a mixture of what you have on hand. You can also add, white chocolate, butterscotch, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or even peanut butter chips. Just keep it at 2 cups maximum.
- Pecans: Toasted nuts provide crunch and a nutty flavor. If you prefer, you can swap for walnuts or almonds.
- Sweetened coconut: This adds a tropical sweetness and chewiness to the bars.
- Sweetened condensed milk: The key to making these bars hold together and create a gooey, sticky texture. It’s what gives the bars their richness and binds everything together.
Your Go-To Recipe
Step One: Prepare the Crust
Tip: If you don’t have a food processor, crush the graham crackers by hand using a plastic bag and rolling pin. Just make sure the crumbs are fine enough to form a cohesive crust when mixed with butter and sugar.
Step Two: Add the Filling
Step Three: Bake
Step Four: Cool and Slice
Preserving the Sweetness
To store Hello Dolly Bars, keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you’re planning to keep them longer, refrigerate them for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.
Don’t Forget!
Like and review this post – it helps our website grow so we can give you more delicious Southern recipes!
Ingredients
Crust
- 3 cups ground graham cracker crumbs 24 crackers
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons butter melted
Filling
- 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
- 2 cups chopped pecans toasted
- 3 cups sweetened coconut
- 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º. Line a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
- Add the graham crackers to a food processor and process until fine crumbs. Add brown sugar and salt and process to combine. Add melted butter and process until it forms clumps.
- Press the graham cracker mixture into the bottom of the pan and pat down evenly with your hand. Bake for 8-10 minutes until starting to brown. Let cool to the touch, about 8 minutes.
- Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly across the surface. Add the pecans and then the coconut. Drizzle the condensed milk evenly over the filling.
- Bake for 30 minutes until the coconut is a golden brown. Let cool completely and remove from the pan to cut.
Notes
- Change up your layers, just keep the proportions the same.
- These bars need the coconut on top to keep them together.
You have some nice-looking recipes but as an FYI I highly recommend you put a title description on at least ONE of your pictures. I have a lot of recipes saved on Pinterest and without a title you can’t tell what anything is, and it’s just too time consuming to click on each picture to find out what it is. They become a blur of little, tiny pictures. Consequently, I will no longer save a recipe without a title. I have to believe I am not alone. Unfortunately, Pinterest itself is so unfriendly it won’t let us add a title or it wouldn’t be an issue. I hope you take this with the kind intent it was meant as a suggestion for a way to improve your page.
Thank you for that feedback. I have added titles now.