I love 7 Layer Bars. For the most delicious dessert you could imagine, they are the oddest combination of ingredients. Think about it...graham crackers, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut, condensed milk, walnuts and let's not forget...a stick of butter. If someone tried to explain a 7 Layer Bar to you, with everything that is in it, you might refuse to try it. But put it in your mouth and you are hooked. 100% sugar addiction. What is it about the combination of chocolate, butterscotch and coconut.
As I was baking on Saturday, I was thinking about a bar I make that is similar to a 7 layer bar called Peanut Butter Chocolate Coconut Bars. I wanted to make a few more bar cookies for my cookies trays and I had 3 bags of coconut. I already made 7 Layer Bars and I was thinking about using some chocolate cookie crumbs I had left from Thanksgiving. That would make a great base for a bar cookie. Then, for some strange reason, I was looking at a jar of raspberry jam and thought...coconut, raspberry, chocolate...this might work. I grabbed an 8 x 13 pan and began melting a stick of butter. Before I get ahead of myself, I'll give you the ingredients you need.
1. Let's get the ingredients -
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter
- 1-1/2 cups of chocolate cookie crumbs with 1 tablespoon of sugar added
- 1 cup of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3 cups of shredded coconut, sweetened
- 1 can (14 ounces) of condensed milk
- 1/2 cup of raspberry jam
- 1 cup of sliced almonds
2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
3. Melt the stick of butter in an 8 x 13 bar pan. I put it on the stove for a minute and let it melt.
4. Sprinkle the chocolate crumbs over the butter. I use a cup first and then add 1/4 cup at a time to fill in so the bottom is covered. Gently pack down crumbs with a fork.
5. Sprinkle the cup of mini chocolate chips evenly over the crust, then the coconut.
6. In a small bowl, mix the condensed milk with the jam. Pour the mixture over the coconut.
7. Finish with the sliced almonds.
8. Bake for 30-35 minutes or when the sides begin to brown and the top is slightly golden.
9. Take out of oven and cool. I find if I run a knife around the pan after about 15 minutes, they are easier to cut out.
10. Enjoy...and share!
So, I started by serving them to some friends who came for dinner. When the first thing out of their mouth is , "Oh, my GOD! These are delicious! They taste like Almond Joys with a hint of raspberry", you know they are good. We cut more sliced and enjoyed the sugary goodness. Yes, like 7 Layer Bars, these are ADDICTING!
I posted the photo on instagram this morning and my daughter, Danielle, called, "I'm coming home this week, save me some of those!" The requests are starting to come in, I think I'm going to have to make another pan of Raspberry 7 Layer Bars.
If you are looking for something different, that looks great with its holiday colors, think Raspberry 7 Layer Bars with Chocolate, Coconut and Almonds. You can't go wrong!
