7 Layer Bars for Christmas

Coconut has to be one of my new favorite foods and so of course I had to make something with coconut for our Christmas party as well as the little holiday gifts my mom was giving.   In Europe, I happened to indulge myself in a few too many gelato experiences.   Every time seemed to be about "the experience," and I didn't want to miss out on a single thing.  So, moving on, I happened to subconsciously order dark chocolate and coconut every time.   So, why not make something for the holidays with those two flavors?

This is a SUPER easy recipe and is quite a crowd pleaser.

7 Layers of Pure Bliss
Total Time: ~40
Servings: ~36 (depends on how you cut the bars)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1.5 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or dark chocolate depending on your preference)
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (or substitute other nuts)
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/3 cups shredded coconut

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C for all those metric lovers)
2. Place butter in a 13x9" pan and melt it in the oven.  Swirl around to coat bottom and sides as it melts

Instead of using a food processor or even placing the crackers in a bag to crush them, I simply placed a few sheets in a bowl and used a avocado masher to do the job.

Worked out pretty well if you ask me. Less mess, less clean up.

 3. Spread crumbs evenly over the bottom of the pan.  Layer chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and nuts over crumbs.  Pour condensed milk over nuts. Sprinkle coconut over last layer (condensed milk)

Three more ingredients: chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, pecans (my substitution for walnuts because that is all we had in the house)

4. Bake until edges are golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let it cool

Tip: Before you cut the bars, let them cool out of the oven, then place them in the freezer to allow the ingredients to harden.  Otherwise, the condensed milk will help create a mush pit out of your beautiful bars.

There was a sweet crumb taste (very buttery of course) along with an interesting and intriguing mix of chocolate and butterscotch.  I know this seems very self-explanatory especially if you just look at the ingredients, but it's worth a test for the full effect.  I loved these bars room temperature or even better, FROZEN.  I tend to enjoy my desserts on the frozen side :)