Hello Dolly Bars
A chewy combination of nuts, graham crackers, chocolate and coconut, Hello Dolly bars have it all and they are surprisingly easy to make. No matter the occasion or the crowd, these bars are a hit!
Chewy, moist Holly Dolly bars have everything you could want in a dessert. They’ve got chocolate, graham crackers, coconut, and nuts, all covered in sweet and slightly caramelized sauce. If you are the type of person who wants a combination of all the flavors in your dessert, Holly Dolly bars are for you.
Even if you are not someone who loves it all–I bet you could still love a Hello Dolly bar. I’ve served these bars to kids and adults and even some who were not a fan of coconut had to change their tune when they took a bite of this delicious dessert bar.
Somehow all the ingredients in Hello Dolly bars just manage to melt together perfectly. You get the graham cracker base, the hint of chocolate from the chocolate chips, the pop of flavor from the butterscotch and the nuttiness of walnuts and coconut, all held together with sweetened condensed milk which binds all the ingredients together into slightly sticky, gooey yumminess.
Why are They Called Hello Dolly Bars?
As you look at the photos, you may have a different name for these bars. I’ve seen them called magic bars most often but also coconut dream bars or seven-layer cookies.
No matter what you call them, they are a family favorite that has been around since the 1960s when Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk began featuring the recipe on all their cans.
At the time Hello Dolly was big on Broadway and if you’ve seen the show you know the main character, Dolly Levi, is a well-known matchmaker and the life of the party who has a knack for keeping life interesting. The tie back to this dessert is unclear but it does seem fitting. These bars are full of flavor, texture, and interest and once you have a bite, it’s a dessert you will not soon be forgetting!
Why Make This Recipe
- Super Easy: This recipe doesn’t take any special skills to pull off. Just layer your ingredients and cover them all with smooth, creamy sweetened condensed milk and let the magic happen!
- Full of Flavor and Texture: These bars have so much going on and it’s all good. Everything works in harmony for the perfect, chewy, delicious bite.
- Customizable: This dessert is easy to adjust to your preference. You can easily add, take out or swap the toppings for a whole new twist on these yummy bars.
Ingredients for Hello Dolly Bars
- Unsalted Butter: If you like a little extra salty you could use salted butter. The butter is mixed with your graham cracker crumbs to form the base of the bars.
- Graham cracker crumbs: This forms the crust at the bottom of your cookies. You can use any crispy cookie crumbs you want if you want to switch up the flavor.
- Chocolate chips: You can use semi-sweet, milk chocolate or dark chocolate. Whatever you prefer!
- Butterscotch chips: Butterscotch chips make the bars extra sweet. If you want a less-sweet bar, you can omit the butterscotch chips.
- Shredded coconut: Choose sweetened coconut. The coconut makes the bars extra chewy and delicious
- Chopped walnuts: Feel free to swap for any nuts you enjoy. These bars are delicious with pecans, almonds or even cashews.
- Sweetened condensed milk: This is the glue that holds everything together!
Tools
- 9×13 glass pan
- Mixing bowl
How to Make This Recipe
Step One: Prepare the crust
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a small bowl, combine the melted butter and the graham cracker crumbs until combined.
Grease the bottom of a 13x9x2 glass pan. Then pour the graham cracker crumb mixture into the bottom pan, patting them down until a crust forms.
Step Two: Add Toppings
Sprinkle the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut, and then walnuts on top of the crust, in that order.
Step Three: Drizzle and bake
Drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over the top of the bars.
Place the pan in the oven and bake for 25 minutes until the edges start to turn brown and bubbly.
Allow the bars to cool for 10-20 minutes at room temperature, then put the pan in the refrigerator to allow the Hello Dolly Bars to cool completely before cutting. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Do not forget to grease your pan! These bars turn out very sticky and will definitely stick to an ungreased pan
- It’s important to layer your ingredients in the right order. If you add the sweetened condensed milk before your toppings, they won’t stay together well. The sweetened condensed milk becomes caramelized as it bakes and binds all the ingredients together.
- Be sure and let your bars cool completely before you try to cut them. They will continue to firm up a bit as they cool and that’s important for keeping them in cohesive bars.
Recipe Variations
There are a million ways to switch up these bars and as long as you keep a cookie base, coconut, and sweetened condensed milk, you really can’t go wrong. Here are a few substitutions you could make:
Graham Cracker Crust:
You can use any cookie crumbs in place of the graham cracker crumbs or even a mixture of any of these:
- Oreos
- Shortbread
- Biscoff cookies
- Chocolate chip cookie crumbs (think pre-packaged cookies)
- Pretzels
Butterscotch and chocolate chips:
Replace with any chips or morsels
- White Chocolate
- Peanut Butter Chips
- Dark chocolate
Walnuts:
You can swap these out for any other nut, leave them out completely or use dried fruit instead. High-fat nuts that are a bit softer work best for these bars but it is totally up to your preference.
- Pecans
- Cashews
- Almonds
- Peanuts
- Pistachios
- Macadamia
- Cranberries
- Dried blueberries
- Dried cherries
- Dried pineapple
More Additions: You can really add any toppings you like to these bars, as long as you try to keep ratios consistent so you have enough sweetened condensed milk to cover the top. Options include:
- Oats
- Sea salt flakes
- Flax seeds
- Chia seeds
FAQs
You can place Hello Dolly Bars in an airtight container at room temperature to store. These bars will also freeze well for up to two months.
Did you enjoy this Hello Dolly Bars Recipe? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes I picked out just for you:
Hello Dolly Bars
Equipment
- 9×13 glass pan
- Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, melted
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs, about 12 graham crackers
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup butterscotch chips
- 1 cup coconut, shredded, sweetened
- 1 ½ cup walnuts, chopped
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk, 1 can
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a small bowl, combine the 1 1/2 sticks melted butter and 2 cups graham cracker crumbs until combined.
- Grease the bottom of a 13x9x2 glass pan. Then pour the graham cracker crumb mixture into the bottom pan, patting them down until a crust forms.
- Sprinkle 1 cup chocolate chips, 1 cup butterscotch chips, 1 cup coconut, and then 1 1/2 cups walnuts on top of the crust, in that order.
- Drizzle 14 oz sweetened condensed milk over the top of the bars.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for 25 minutes until the edges start to turn brown and bubbly.
- Allow the bars to cool for 10-20 minutes at room temperature, then put the pan in the refrigerator to allow the Hello Dolly Bars to cool completely before cutting. Enjoy!
Notes
- Unsalted Butter: If you like a little extra salty you could use salted butter. The butter is mixed with your graham cracker crumbs to form the base of the bars.
- Graham cracker crumbs: This forms the crust at the bottom of your cookies. You can use any crispy cookie crumbs you want if you want to switch up the flavor.
- Chocolate chips: You can use semi-sweet, milk chocolate or dark chocolate. Whatever you prefer!
- Butterscotch chips: Butterscotch chips make the bars extra sweet. If you want a less-sweet bar, you can omit the butterscotch chips.
- Shredded coconut: Choose sweetened coconut. The coconut makes the bars extra chewy and delicious
- Chopped walnuts: Feel free to swap for any nuts you enjoy. These bars are delicious with pecans, almonds or even cashews.
- Sweetened condensed milk: This is the glue that holds everything together!
- Do not forget to grease your pan! These bars turn out very sticky and will stick to an ungreased pan
- It’s important to layer your ingredients in the right order. If you add the sweetened condensed milk before your toppings, they won’t stay together well. The sweetened condensed milk becomes caramelized as it bakes and binds all the ingredients together.
- Be sure and let your bars cool completely before you try to cut them. They will continue to firm up a bit as they cool and that’s important for keeping them in cohesive bars.
