7-Layer Cookies With Coconut and Pecans

By
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 10/21/23
7 layer cookie bars

The Spruce Eats / Victoria Heydt

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Total: 45 mins
Servings: 18 servings
Yield: 35 cookie bars

These 7-layer cookie bars, also known as Magic Bars or Hello Dolly Bars, are made with seven amazingly simple ingredients that bake up into an American dessert that's been popular for decades.

Seven Lucious Layers

Graham crackers and rich butter form an easy crust that's pressed into the bottom of the pan. The crust is topped with chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, sweet coconut flakes, sweetened condensed milk, and chopped pecans, and that's it! Your oven does the rest.

Use Parchment for Handles

The parchment sling helps to pull the bars out of the pan easily so you don't have to struggle with a spatula. Once the parchment is removed, you can cut the cookies cleanly into whatever size you like.

These quick and easy nostalgic cookie bars are perfect for your next holiday cookie swap, or any event year-round.

Tips

  • Toast the pecans. To toast, put the chopped pecans in a dry skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring and turning until they are lightly browned and aromatic.
  • Make your own graham cracker crumbs. If you can't find pre-made graham cracker crumbs, make your own. Crush whole cookies until they form a fine and consistent crumb.
  • Nut allergies? Simply omit nuts from the recipe or replace them with seeds such as sunflower. 
  • To store, place these cookies in a sealed container in a cool place, or refrigerate or freeze.
  • Label the ingredients. If serving at a party or to a crowd, inform your guests of ingredients in case of food allergies.

"These bars were so much fun to make, and the parchment made it so simple to remove the entire cookie sheet from the pan. Because of this, I was able to cut the bars very easily without leaving scratch marks on my pan. Everyone I served these bars to said they were delicious." —Diana Andrews

7-Layer Cookies with Coconut and Pecans/Tester Image
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 4 ounces (1/2 cup) melted unsalted butter, more for the pan

  • 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

  • 6 ounces (1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips

  • 6 ounces (1 cup) butterscotch chips

  • 1 lightly packed cup sweetened coconut flakes

  • 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

  • 1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for 7 layer bars
    The Spruce Eats / Victoria Heydt

  2. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350 F.

  3. Lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with melted butter. Line the pan with a piece of parchment that extends up and over the two longer sides of the pan.

    Butter in pan
    The Spruce Eats / Victoria Heydt

  4. In a medium bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs with 4 ounces (1/2 cup) melted unsalted butter. Add the butter-crumb mixture to the pan and press evenly over the bottom to form a crust.

    Graham cracker crumbs
    The Spruce Eats / Victoria Heydt

  5. Spread 6 ounces (1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips evenly over the crust. Spread 6 ounces (1 cup) butterscotch chips evenly over the chocolate chips.

    Spread chocolate
    The Spruce Eats / Victoria Heydt

  6. Sprinkle 1 lightly packed cup sweetened flaked coconut over the butterscotch chips.

    Spread coconut
    The Spruce Eats / Victoria Heydt

  7. Drizzle 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk evenly over the mixture in the pan.

    Melted chocolate chips
    The Spruce Eats / Victoria Heydt

  8. Sprinkle 1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped over the mixture in the pan.

    Sprinkle with chopped pecans
    The Spruce Eats / Victoria Heydt

  9. Bake until set and lightly browned, 25 to 30 minutes.

    Baked bars
    The Spruce Eats / Victoria Heydt

  10. Cool the bars in the pan. Pull the bars out of the pan by the parchment handles and place on a work surface. Peel off and discard the parchment.

    Cool bars
    The Spruce Eats / Victoria Heydt

  11. Cut the cookies into 35 bars, about 1 1/2 inches square (or larger, if you like), and serve.

    7 layer bar
    The Spruce Eats / Victoria Heydt

Feeling Adventurous? Try This

  • Use more chocolate chips or white chocolate chips instead of butterscotch chips.
  • Replace the chocolate or butterscotch chips with toffee chips, peanut butter chips, or other favorite chips.
  • For a holiday twist, replace the nuts with crushed peppermint or use peppermint chips instead of butterscotch chips.
  • Replace the pecans with chopped walnuts.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
328 Calories
19g Fat
37g Carbs
4g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 18
Amount per serving
Calories 328
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 19g 25%
Saturated Fat 10g 52%
Cholesterol 24mg 8%
Sodium 93mg 4%
Total Carbohydrate 37g 14%
Dietary Fiber 2g 6%
Total Sugars 31g
Protein 4g
Vitamin C 1mg 4%
Calcium 102mg 8%
Iron 1mg 5%
Potassium 205mg 4%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)