Friday, May 22, 2015

Hello Dolly Bars

Messy Messy Fail - 
   The Toddler - "Mom mom my baby spilled sugar on the floor!!!!" 
   Me - "Actually he's my baby, but ok, what do you mean sugar?" 
   The Toddler - "It's on the floor mom mom he spilled it." 
   Me - "Ah yes, you mean cornmeal, he spilled cornmeal on the
      floor.  Awesome.  An entire container of cornmeal." 

Tidy Victory - 
   Me - "Hey vacuum obsessed boy - get the vacuum and clean that
      up please." 
   The Toddler - "Yay thank you mom mom I love to vacuum!" 








One of my FAVORITE treats that my mom, Nana Patti, used to make for us all the time when we were kids is Hello Dolly bars.  I think they have also been called Magic Bars, but I prefer the former, probably because of my enthusiasm for Dolly Parton.

Anyways, a few weeks back I posted here in my Tidy Victory about the 4 pans of these delicious little sweeties I made for a reception at the Spring Gala concert I sit on the board for.  There are a few different variations of this recipe floating around on the World Wide Web (when was the last time you heard the internet called that?), but I will share my go to recipe with you!

What you need:
9x13 pan
microwave safe bowl
15 graham crackers (full size)
1 stick unsalted butter
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. butterscotch chips
1 c. shredded coconut
1 c. chopped walnuts
1 can of sweetened condensed milk

Here's what you do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a food processor or mini chopper (used my red mini!) chop up the graham crackers completely until they look like sand (sigh, makes me think of the beach).




In a microwave safe bowl, melt the stick of butter.  Pour the graham cracker crumbs into the bowl with the butter and mix well.










Dump graham cracker/butter mixture into the 9x13 pan and press evenly with the back of a spatula.




Now this is where you really have to focus:  lovingly sprinkle the cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips over the graham crackers, followed by the butterscotch chips, the shredded coconut, and finally the chopped walnuts.  













With a flourish of artistic imagination, pour ribbons of the sweetened condensed milk over the entire pan with all of the goodies in it.  Make sure to get the sweetened condensed milk in every crack and crevice possible.




Into the 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes.  Let cool, cut and enjoy with a tall glass of yummy milk (we go through about 4 gallons a week in our house, crazy!).




Again, this is a great baking recipe that toddlers can help with.  Mine loved watching the graham crackers getting pulverized in my sweet little mini chopper.




Enjoy this recipe - it's great to have a pan of it around the house or to take to a picnic!

Did you notice all of the different filters I used on my pictures for this post?  Went a little crazy I think, but it's so FUN!







Linking up with...






The Diary of a Real Housewife








My Pinterventures

The Resourceful Mama


Take Two Tapas








































10 comments :

Parsimonious Décor Darling said...

These sound delicious! Thank you for sharing!

Katie said...

No problem - yes they truly are and so easy. Pan is gone in a day :)

Unknown said...

Yum! These look delicious. Thanks for sharing with the #made4kids linkup.

Katie said...

Thanks for stopping by Heather, they REALLY are so yummy, a family favorite here!

Unknown said...

Anything with chocolate and sweetened condensed milk is a winner in my book! Thanks for sharing. :)

Katie said...

You've got that right! I ALWAYS have a can of sweetened condensed milk in my pantry, no brainer! Thanks for stopping by!

Unknown said...

Love magic bars. Hopefully your toddler is just as happy to help you in about 10 years.Thanks for joining us at Throwback Thursday. Can't wait to see what you bring to the party this week. ~Quinn

Frugal Hausfrau said...

These have always been one of my favorites, but I never heard them called Hello Dolly Bars. I wonder if that might have been from the movie Hello Dolly? I noticed you put in chips twice and left the coconut off the index. Thanks for sharing these on Throwback Thursday!!

Katie said...

Hi Quinn - these are so tasty and so easy, I love them too :) We'll see, although I hear they always come back for mom's baking ;) Thanks for stopping by to say hello Quinn!

Katie said...

Hello Hausfrau - honestly I have no idea why my mom called them that, we just always did. Then I saw people calling them magic bars and was like "What the heck?!?!?! Those are hello dollies!" :) Ahh the never ending editing - thanks for the catch I think I fixed it. I have a problem that I see only what I want to :) Thanks for stopping by, love your TBT linkup!