This hello dolly bar recipe is a crowd pleaser with decadent layers of sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, coconut, and pecans. Decadent, delicious, and ridiculously easy to make.
But... these seven layer bars are layered a bit differently than you might remember with a thicker, less crumbly graham cracker crust and crispy golden coconut top.
7-layer bars, magic cookie bars, hello dolly bars… whatever you call them… are kind of an old fashioned recipe, but they stand the test of time for good reason: they’re super easy to make, taste like ten million bucks, and you can completely customize them to your liking.
This isn’t quite the classic recipe you’re used to seeing on the back of the Eagle Brand can. The graham cracker crust is thicker and less crumbly than the original, the layering process is different so you get crispy, golden brown coconut on top, and there’s even more chocolate!
If you’re a layer bar lover like I am, take a peek at my Blueberry White Chocolate Magic Bars, 7-Layer Pumpkin Bars, Coconut Dream Bars, and 7-Layer Carrot Cake Bars next.
You’re going to love these
- Decadent dessert with layers of chocolate, coconut, and pecans
- Easy bar recipe for potlucks, holidays, and bake sales
- Nostalgic treat everyone remembers and loves
- Even better than the original recipe — thicker, less crumbly graham cracker crust and toasted coconut on top
Ingredients
Graham crackers. You can use graham cracker sheets or pre-crushed graham crackers.
Butter. Butter is one of the binding agents holding the graham cracker crust together.
Sugar. Sugar is the second binding agent in the crust. The graham cracker crust in classic hello dolly bars is really crumbly. The sugar melts as it bakes and helps hold the crust together.
Sweetened condensed milk. I prefer to use Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk when I make Hello Dolly bars. I find it has a thicker consistency than store brands I’ve tried. It’s also my secret to killer macaroons!
Peanut butter chips. Most recipes use butterscotch chips, but I’m not a fan, so I use peanut butter chips. Use what you love :).
Dark chocolate chips. Any kind of chocolate chip will do, but I chose dark chocolate chips to balance all the sweetness.
Coconut. I prefer Baker’s Angel Flake sweetened coconut because it’s moist and tender, where store brands can be a bit dry.
Pecans. Any kind of nut will be delicious, but I like pecans better.
Variations
Hello dolly bar recipes have a million variations. Here are some fun ideas to try!
Use any flavor of graham crackers or any cookie you like, such as gingersnaps, chocolate wafers, vanilla wafers, shortbread cookies, Oreos, butter crackers…
Add white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, dark chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips … go with your heart on this one.
Go with walnuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts, cashews — or leave the nuts out completely!
Add more mix-ins like M&Ms, toffee chips, pretzel pieces, Andes bits, or dried fruit.
Add a drizzle of Nutella, caramel sauce, or chocolate ganache over the top. No one’s looking, do what you want here.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350. Line a 9 x 13 pan with aluminum foil coated with non-stick cooking spray or parchment paper.
Step 2
Grind up 18 graham cracker sheets in a food processor or blender. You can also crush them in a zip top bag with a rolling pin. If you are using pre-crushed graham crackers, you will need 3 cups.
Step 3
Mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter together either in the food processor or blender or in a bowl.
Step 4
Using your hands or a glass, firmly press the buttery graham cracker crumbs into the bottom of the pan.
Step 5
Pour the entire can of sweetened condensed milk over the graham cracker crust.
Step 6
Sprinkle the remaining ingredients over the graham cracker crust in this order:
- Peanut butter chips
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- Coconut
- Pecans
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Step 7
Gently press down on the top layer with your hand or a spatula so the sweetened condensed milk can adhere everything together.
Step 8
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the coconut is dark brown on the edges and light golden brown in the center.
Place the baking pan on a wire rack and let them cool completely before cutting.
To serve, lift the foil or parchment paper out of the pan and cut into small squares, diamonds, or triangles.
If desired, sprinkle with flaky sea salt to enhance the flavor.
Storage
Store hello dolly bars in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Freeze hello dolly bars in an airtight container with parchment paper or wax paper between the layers for up to 3 months.
Expert Tips
- Adding sugar to the graham cracker crust keeps it from being too crumbly.
- If you have one, use a food processor or blender to crush the graham crackers and mix in the sugar and butter.
- Use a glass or metal measuring cup to press the crust into the pan.
- Line your pan with foil or parchment paper to make removing the bars from a pan a snap.
- Pouring the sweetened condensed milk over the crust and layering the other ingredients over it means you get crunchy, toasted coconut on top.
- Once you add all the layers, gently press down so the sweetened condensed milk can hold everything together.
Recipe FAQs
Great question! The origin of the recipe is a bit of a mystery, but there is a theory about the history of Hello Dolly bars that seems to dominate the interwebs.
Before these delicious bar cookies were known as Magic Bars or 7 Layer Bars, they had even more names like Graham Chip Squares and Chocolate Graham Squares.
Then in 1965, a year after the Broadway musical Hello! Dolly opened, recipes named Hello Dolly cookies and Hello Dolly cake were published featuring the beloved layers of graham crackers, coconut, and sweetened condensed milk.
There seems to be no other tie between the recipes and the musical other than the timing — and, if I may add, they are both 2 of my all time favorite things.
No. You can store your hello dolly bars in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days. But if you like them cold, you can certainly store them in the refrigerator for about a week.
Yes, absolutely! Not only do they freeze well, but they taste amazing straight from the freezer :).
To freeze hello dolly bars, just place them in an airtight container with parchment paper or wax paper between the layers. Freeze them for up to 3 months.
Thaw them at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
A crumbly graham cracker crust may be due to not enough butter or sugar. The original Eagle Brand hello dolly bars recipe is super delicious, but the graham cracker crust is very crumbly. This graham cracker recipe has ¼ cup of sugar in it, which melts as it bakes and holds the crust together.
Hungry for more easy dessert recipes?
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Hello Dolly Bar Recipe
Ingredients
- 18 sheets graham crackers (or 3 cups of pre-crushed graham crackers)
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 ½ sticks melted butter
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup peanut butter chips
- 1 ½ cups dark chocolate chips (divided)
- 1 ½ cups sweetened coconut
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil coated with non-stick cooking spray or parchment paper.
- Grind up 18 graham cracker sheets in a food processor or blender. You can also crush them in a zip top bag with a rolling pin. If you are using pre-crushed graham crackers, you will need 3 cups.
- Mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter together in the food processor or blender or in a bowl.
- Using your hands or a glass, firmly press the buttery graham cracker crumbs into the bottom of the pan.
- Pour the can of sweetened condensed milk over the graham cracker crust.
- Sprinkle the remaining ingredients over the graham cracker crust in this order:Peanut butter chips, 1 cup chocolate chips, coconut, pecans, ½ cup chocolate chips
- Gently press down on the top layer with your hand or a spatula so the sweetened condensed milk can adhere everything together.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the coconut is dark brown on the edges and light golden brown in the center.
- Place the pan on a wire rack and let the bars cool completely before cutting.
- To serve, lift the foil or parchment paper out of the pan and cut into squares, diamonds, or triangles.
- If desired, sprinkle with flaky sea salt to enhance the flavor.
Video
Notes
- Adding sugar to the graham cracker crust keeps it from being too crumbly.
- If you have one, use a food processor or blender to crush the graham crackers and mix in the sugar and butter.
- Use a glass or metal measuring cup to press the crust into the pan.
- Line your pan with foil or parchment paper to make removing the bars from a pan a snap.
- Pouring the sweetened condensed milk over the crust and layering the other ingredients over it means you get crunchy, toasted coconut on top.
- Once you add all the layers, gently press down so the sweetened condensed milk can hold everything together.
Can this be made without the coconut?
Hi, Lisa, sure, just replace it with more chips, nuts, and/or something else like pretzels, M&Ms, dried fruit, etc. Enjoy! Cara
Thank you for your great tips! You have addressed (and solved!) my issues: adding sugar so the crust isn’t too crumbly, and pressing down on everything to help hold the layers together. My bars are now perfection!
Oh, yay! I'm so glad someone else thought those things needed changing, too. I love that your bars are perfection, thank you so much for sharing! Cara
Thank you for posting what sounds like a delicious recipe. I am not familiar with Grahams Crackers so I would have to use a substitute. How many grams or what is the weight of the crackers packet you use? We don't have peanut butter chips so I would substitute them with white chocolate. Look forward to your answer, have a great day. Joy from New Zealand
Hi, Joy from New Zealand! Welcome to my Minnesota blog :). Thank you so much for your questions! In researching substitutes for graham crackers, it looks like others in New Zealand have used digestive biscuits, if that helps. And the weight of 18 graham crackers comes to right around 270 grams. I hope you'll stay in touch and let me know what you used for a substitution and how these bars turned out for you. Thank you again, Cara