Seven Layer Bars

I'd always eaten theses sugary confections when others made them, but never endeavored to make them on my own. I don't know why I waited so long because they're such simple, inexpensive little bits of goodness. I got some amazing photographic inspiration from one of my favorite blogs, Brown Eyed Baker.  Brown Eyed Baker's recipe is divine, but I made a couple of adjustments from her original post to suit my personal tastes: 1. I do not recommend foil for the pan liner unless you want to spend time peeling the aluminum from the cracker and, 2. I cut the bars a bit smaller.  They're incredibly sweet and rich. You can always come back for seconds.

This recipe has a proven track record of success!  I originally made a batch for my hard working co-workers and for my brother and sister-in-law, who are busy new parents.  They were gobbled up quickly.  I made another batch up at the cabin this weekend and two men took almost the whole pan down handily. Try the recipe out on the ones you love and let me know how it goes.

Prep time: 25
Cook time: 25
Servings: 18 (2 bars each)

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
9 graham crackers, ground to sand consistency
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Spray a 9 × 13 inch baking pan with non-stick spray. Then line the pan with two overlapping pieces of parchment paper (you can use foil, but it's not as easy to release from the bars after cooking), leaving some overhang to help you lift the bars from the pan later on. Spray the paper with non-stick spray.

3. Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and bake until the outer flakes just begin to brown (about 3-5 minutes). Keep your eyes peeled; do not let the delicate flakes burn. Remove from the oven and let them cool.

4. Melt the butter in a pot over low heat. Once melted let the butter cool a bit.  Then add the graham cracker crumbs and stir until combined.

5. Press the crumb butter mixture evenly onto the bottom of the prepared pan.

6. Sprinkle the ingredients over your graham cracker crust in the following order: walnuts, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut. Then pour the condensed milk evenly over top.

7. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Remove from the over and cool in the pan on a wire rack until you can handle the baking pan, about 2 hours.

8. Remove the bars from the pan by the parchment paper and transfer to a cutting surface. Cut into 5 rows and 7 columns.  They'll come out to be perfect little no guilt two bite rectangles.