Holiday Seven Layer Bars — Soft, ultra chewy, and loaded with chocolate chips, shredded coconut, sprinkles, and more!! A FAST and EASY holiday recipe that’s great for hostess gifts or cookie exchanges!!
Festive Seven Layer Cookie Bars
I’ve made so many versions of Seven Layer Bars, but I had never made a holiday version until now. What was I waiting for because these are so good!
They’re soft, ultra chewy, and are loaded with texture from the crust that I made with a new-to-me product called Softer Than Brittle. And there are chocolate chips, shredded coconut, and sprinkles.
If you like desserts that you can sink your teeth into, you’ll love these Christmas-inspired Seven Layer Bars which are sometimes called Hello Dolly Bars or Magic Bars. They’re naturally egg-free so if you’re in need of a holiday dessert recipe that fits that bill, keep this one in mind.
The bars make a fast and easy hostess gift and are also great for holiday cookie exchanges because they stay soft and fresh for days. After making these my daughter proceeded to eat her fair share, exclaiming that these are “definitely a 10 out of 10.”
Rather than using a traditional graham cracker crumb and butter crust, I used Cashew Softer Than Brittle that I ground into fine crumbs in my high-speed blender and mixed the crumbs with butter.
Softer Than Brittle is loaded with delicious cashews with a peanut base. Softer Than Brittle ishand-crafted using a unique 60-year-old family recipe that creates a soft and flaky better-for-you treat that you can enjoy as a snack. There is no dairy, gluten, cholesterol, preservatives, or hydrogenated oil.
This gourmet, vegan peanut snack is made in small batches in a copper kettle and contains no preservatives, cholesterol, gluten, dairy, or hydrogenated oil. The product features a clean label with only six or seven natural ingredients. There are other flavors including Peanut, Almond, Pecan and all are vegan.
Since I’m a major fan of toffee, brittle, and anything of the sort, these better-for-me treats are a welcome addition to my pantry and being that they are definitely softer than toffee or traditional brittle, my teeth are thanking me too.
What’s in Seven Layer Bars?
To make these seven layer magic bars, you’ll need:
- Cashew Softer Than Brittle
- Melted butter
- All-purpose flour
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- White chocolate chips
- Sweetened shredded coconut
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Holiday sprinkles
How to Make Seven Layer Bars
In a nutshell, these seven layer cookie bars are made with: Cashew Softer Than Brittle mixed with butter (1 and 2), topped with chocolate chips (3), white chocolate chips (4), sweetened shredded coconut (5), sweetened condensed milk (6), and sprinkles (7).
Make the crust, then press it into a foil-lined 8×8-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and shredded coconut. Then, drizzle sweetened condensed milk over the top.
Bake until lightly golden brown around edges and the center is mostly set. Place pan on a wire rack, evenly sprinkle with the sprinkles, and allow bars to cool in pan for at least 90 minutes before slicing and serving.
Can I Make This Recipe Nut-Free?
If you can’t have nuts, I recommend making a graham cracker crust instead of the crust listed in the recipe below. Follow this seven layer bars recipe for instructions on how to make a graham cracker crust.
How to Store Seven Layer Magic Bars
Seven layer cookie bars will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Tips for Making Magic Bars
If you want to add chopped walnuts or pecans, they would work well and would give you 8 layers.
If you are looking for a recipe that incorporates dried cranberries and is also festive for the holiday season, check out these Cranberry Bliss Seven Layer Bars.
Keep an extremely close eye on bars in the final minutes of baking because coconut can go from raw-looking to burnt in one minute. I’ve baked the bars in different ovens and have baked for as long as 27 minutes and as short as 20 minutes; watch your bars and not the clock.
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Holiday Seven Layer Bars
Ingredients
- one 5.5-ounce bag Cashew Softer Than Brittle, ground into fine crumbs
- ¼ cup butter, melted (I use unsalted, but salted tames some of the sweetness)
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup white chocolate chips
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut flakes, measured loosely and not packed
- about two-thirds can, 14-ounce sweetened condensed milk (eyeball it)
- holiday sprinkles, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- To the canister of a high-speed blender or food processor, add the Softer Than Brittle, and process on high speed until you have fine crumbs, about 15 seconds.
- Transfer the crumbs to a medium bowl; set aside.
- To a small, microwave-safe bowl add the butter and heat on high power to melt, about 1 minute.
- Add the butter to the crumbs, add the flour, and stir to combine.
- Turn mixture out into prepared pan, forming an even, smooth, flat crust layer by smoothing the mixture into place with a spatula.
- Evenly sprinkle with the chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and coconut (in that order).
- Evenly drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over the top.
- Bake for about 25 minutes, or until lightly golden brown around edges and the center is mostly set. Keep an extremely close eye on bars in the final minutes of baking because coconut can go from raw-looking to burnt in one minute. I’ve baked the bars in different ovens and have baked for as long as 27 minutes and as short as 20 minutes; watch your bars and not the clock.
- Place pan on a wire rack, evenly sprinkle with the sprinkles, and allow bars to cool in pan for at least 90 minutes before slicing and serving. Bars firm up as they cool.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Post is brought to you by Softer Than Brittle. The recipe, images, text, and opinions expressed are my own.