Seven-Layer Bars
Seven Layer Bars, aka Magic Bars – Seven glorious layers of graham crackers, nuts, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut and sweetened condensed milk!
Seven Layer Bars, also known as Magic Bars, have a graham cracker crumb base and are topped with a combination of nuts, chocolate chips, white chocolate, butterscotch and coconut, and held together by sweetened condensed milk.
In other words: Sweet. Rich. Delicious.
Grab a tall glass of milk and get your oven ready!
Save This Recipe
Enter your email address, and we'll send it straight to your inbox!
This recipe requires very few ingredients and a minimal amount of steps, which means that it can be thrown together in no time at all. If you keep an assortment of chips and coconut in your pantry, you could whip these up any time the mood strikes. I love that the sweetened condensed milk holds these bars together so well and that you get a mouthful of chips, nuts and toasted coconut in every single bite. SO good.
Earlier this summer, I attempted to recreate a version of a chocolate caramel bar that is sold at a nearby bakery… if you can’t get enough of seven layer bars, then check out those ultimate magic bars.
(The first time I made this recipe, I did so to cross them off of my baking bucket list – I’ve made significant progress since then!)
One year ago: Slow Cooker Chocolate-Covered Peanut Clusters
Four years ago: Classic Gingerbread Cake
Seven Layer Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 9 whole graham crackers, crushed (about 1½ cups crumbs)
- 1 cup (99 g) finely chopped pecans, can substitute walnuts
- 1 cup (180 g) semisweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup (90 g) white chocolate chips
- ½ cup (85 g) butterscotch chips
- 1 cup (85 g) sweetened flaked coconut, toasted
- 14 ounce (396.89 ml) can sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13-inch baking pan with non-stick spray. Line the pan with two overlapping pieces of foil or parchment paper, leaving the overhang to act as handles for lifting the bars out of the pan. Spray with non-stick spray.
- Combine the melted butter and graham cracker crumbs in a small bowl. Toss with your fingers until the butter is evenly distributed. Spread the crumbs evenly over the bottom of the prepared pan (this is not meant to be a crust, so you don't need to press it flat and there will be some small bare spots along the bottom, that's okay).
- In this order, sprinkle the pecans, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and coconut over the graham crumbs. Pour the condensed milk evenly over the entire dish.
- Bake until the top is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours.
- Remove the bars from the pan using the foil or parchment handles and transfer to a cutting board. Using a sharp knife or bench cutter, cut into 2 by 3-inch bars.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
[This recipe was originally published on June 17, 2009.]
Hey was wondering the same thing about the soggy bottom. Mine just came out of the oven and was thinking we never toasted the gramcracker. Most recipes you do…. I guess I’ll see. Also I made these bars tonight for Super Bowl Sunday, do you think they will still taste just as good in 2 days???
Thanks love your site too!!!
Hi Rebecca, Yes, these should be just fine as long as you cover them tightly or store in an airtight container.
Can these be frozen? Thanks!!
Yes, definitely!
I make these every year if I can, ever since my mom taught me how to make them. I have fond memories of bringing them to school at age 7 and sharing with friends. I think I made up my own name for them, because they asked what they were. I called them something like “ultra mega deluxe bars”. :-) I am from Georgia, so of course we always used pecans. Went to the store yesterday for my ingredients and pecans – well, I heard it was a bad year for them since we got so much rain this year, and they were $19 a pound. I may end up supplementing with walnuts! Oh, and my mom calls them seven layer bars, with semi-sweet chocolate and butterscotch chips. Oh, and to those who scoff at calling them seven layer, they actually are because butter is an ingredient!
I love thus recipe. A friend and I made them a few years ago and I finally found the recipe! So excited, I bought all the ingredients. They are so good! Now if can make them look as good as the picture i will be happy. = ) Thank you.
Made these last night. I am not the best baker, but the recipe looked simple enough. I was so happy with the results!!!!! Looks just like the picture and tastes sooo delicious. A perfect combination of flavors. Kept a few bars for myself and taking the rest to work for my coworkers to enjoy!
i followed the directions, but the graham cracker bottom is very soggy. is this normal for this recipe? i have eaten magic bars before and they have never been soggy, but have never made them myself so i am not sure what happened.
Hi Sarah, The crust bottom should not be soggy.
How do you think these would be with cinnamon chips instead of butterscotch? I ask because a) I have a bag of cinnamon chips to use; and b) it is so cold, I don’t want to run to the store just for a bag of butterscotch chips! thoughts?
Hi Sooze, It won’t taste the same, but I think that’s a perfectly good substitute!
thanks for the quick response. I’ll let you know how they turn out :)
Please specify how you would like thew two pieces of foil to be placed I overlapped them and it didn’t turn out well
Hi Franny, Here is a good little tutorial on how to line a baking pan with foil: http://www.thekitchn.com/easy-lifting-using-aluminum-fo-62733
Michelle, you’ve done it again. This is another amazing bar recipe you have here. I made it on Sunday and they’re so yummy!!! Unfortunately, I’m from Australia as well and we can’t get Butterscotch Chips. So, I made my own (unsuccessfully) and used it in this recipe. Can’t taste it. Next time, I’ll just use caramel chips instead. But thank you again. With so many tasty recipes on your website, I’m a frequent visitor. Hope Pittsburgh is far enough inland that you’re safe from Hurricane Sandy. And hoping everyone on the east coast will be safe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the bars, even without the traditional butterscotch chips! Thank you for the well wishes; we are far enough inland that we haven’t been affected very much by the hurricane – rain and wind yesterday, but everything has seemed to calm down today. It looks like we’ll be wet for the remainder of the week though!
I made these yesterday. They are very tasty. I would love to try them with the peanut butter chips rather than the butterscotch chips next time, I think they would be better. It’s a very rich tasting bar.
I’ve used chopped up pretzels instead of nuts. They worked well and the added salt made for a yummy salty sweet combo!
I looove 7-layer bars and grew up eating them at family gatherings and miss them so!! I live in Australia and want to make them for a party this weekend so my friends here can try BUT… they dont have Graham Crackers in Australia (or peanut butter chips or funfetti and lots of other things :( ). Any recommendation what to use other than graham crackers? Would be super helpful, Aussies must experience the magic bar amazingness…thank tou!!
Hi Corinne, I’m not sure what’s readily available in Australia, but I suppose any type of cracker or cookie that you typically would use the crumbs of for things like cheesecake crusts, pie bars, etc.
I would use digestive biscuits as a substitute for the graham crackers.
Any suggestions of what to use in place of walnuts if, like me, you are allergic to nuts? I was thinking maybe cocoa nibs, any other suggestions?
I made them without any nut substitute and they were still divine, but I think that extra crunch would really take it over the top.
Hi Zainub, Would cocoa nibs stay crunchy when baked, or would they soften like chocolate chips? I’m racking my brain, I’ve thought of something like Rice Krispies or Special K, but they would probably soften when baked.
My husband is allergic to nuts, so I used pretzels for some crunch and substituted peanut butter chips for the butterscotch – they turned out great!
These turned out beautifully! Very sweet, of course, but perfect with black coffee or milk. I used semi-sweet chunks instead of chips (probably did not melt as much as the chips) which left these wonderful chocolately pockets in the bars. I also let the bars sit overnight before cutting.
Just made two batches to take to my meeting in Dallas next week. Yummy goodness!
These bars are delicious. We found that the longer you let them cool, the easier they are to cut and they don’t fall apart. We left them in the pan for nearly 24hrs before cutting and they were fantastic!
I made these for my Christmas Party baking contest and took home 2nd prize. These guys are delicious, I’ll make another batch for the co-workers who didn’t get a taste tomorrow.
I have one question, I baked these guys for about 40 minutes before they turned golden brown. I don’t normally have any oven issues. Are they suppose to be moist at all?
Thanks for helping me win today!
Congrats on your win! They should be a bit moist, yes.
My kids love these! Since I’m allergic to walnuts, I use pecans instead and they are delicious too. :)
…the “not sure why” was Not sure why we call them Hello Dollies…I know why they remind me of my childhood! lol. :)
My family calls these bars “Hello Dollies”. Not sure why but they remind me of my childhood. Oh so tastey!!!
These were THEEEEEE best 7 layer bars I’ve ever had. THE END.
Questions – can you freeze these bars? thanks
Hi Leana, Definitely!
Thank you, I just took a batch out of the oven an hour still cooling until I can cut.
I am so mad! I was planning on sending you this recipe for the ramadan competition LOL i have made it a few times in the past, and it was always a HIT!
I just wanted to say that I found this recipe on your site and made them today. They are A-MAZING! So easy and fast! My co-workers will be happy because I’m taking the leftovers to work tomorrow… I can’t afford to have them around for fear of eating the whole batch!!
My grandma makes these, and they are pretty much the ultimate dessert! I love them.. I think she may use less ingredients (making it not 7 layers) But I cannot wait to make these, everyone in my house will be thrilled!
More like seven layers of yummyness :)
SEVEN LAYER MAGIC COOKIE BARS!!!! My mom used to make these when I was little. They’re SO good! Your website is wonderful. I found it via a link my friend posted on facebook.
thank you for reminding me about this recipe. i haven’t made it in a long time. i remember using brownie mix for the bottom layer instead of graham crackers. (ghiardelli (sp) chocolate browine mix works well)
Could almonds or pecans be substituted for walnuts?
Definitely! Some people also use peanut butter chips instead of butterscotch.
Absolutely!
I made these with my grandmother all the time growing up, and they were always a favorite of mine (plus are easy for kids!) We made ours with five layers (only chocolate chips, not white or butterscotch) and she always called them “Hello Dollies” – I don’t know where that name came from, but I’ve never heard anyone else call them that.
So funny you mention that you’ve never heard anyone else call them “Hello Dollies” because that is the only thing we called them growing up! I didn’t hear the terms “magic cookie bars” and “sever-layer bars” until much later!