By Kevin Williams
Related recipe: Chocolate marshmallow bars
This is a confection I stumbled upon in an Amish bakery last week while traveling in northern Ohio. Amish cooks love their bars: Â can't-leave-alone-bars, lemon bars, blondie bars, but seven layer bars? I was not familiar with this recipe. Â So I bought a batch and counted the "layers"...there was butterscotch, coconut, graham, chocolate, nuts, hmmmm, butter and condensed milk are what they other "layers" are. Â Not sure if that counts in my book. Â I'd be more likely to call them 5-Layer bars. Â But, names aside, it is a good dessert. With all of those ingredients, as you'd expect, you get a very moist bar full of competing flavors. Â Definitely a festive treat for the holidays! After doing some digging I did find a recipe for Seven Layer Bars in an old Amish cookbook. Â I'll share it with you here. Â The ingredients in the recipe match the ones in the bar I tried (pictured here), so I think we have a match!
- 8 graham crackers, broken in half
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into 4 pieces
- 1¼ cups sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup butterscotch chips (could be replaced with peanut butter chips_)
- 1 cup chopped almonds
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle.
- Crush graham crackers till fine crumbs.
- Place the butter in a 13-by-9-inch baking dish and place in the oven until the butter has melted, about 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs evenly over the butter, then sprinkle the coconut over the crumbs.
- Sprinkle the chocolate and butterscotch chips over the coconut, then sprinkle the nuts over the chips.
- Evenly drizzle the condensed milk over all of the layers.
- Bake until golden brown around the edges and springy to the touch, about 20 to 30 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and cool completely.
- Cut into 24 squares and serve.
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Peggy
We have always called these Magic Bars. I have been making them for ever. You can substitute the chips for any kind you like. Sometimes instead of nuts I use Butter Brickle pieces. I use different nuts too. My boys love these.
Kevin
Ooh, butter brickle, I like that idea!