Friday, December 23, 2011

Five Layer Bars

Well maybe just one more sweet.  


So every year my Uncle Mike and Aunt Deb send my parents an assortment of AMAZING Christmas cookies.  It's hard to pick my favorite, but the ones I tend to dig around for most are the Five Layer Bars.  Ah-may-zing-zing-zing.  I made the mailing list this year I demanded they send me some and intend on being a permanent fixture on their list.  Send.  More. Cookies.  

So, as you can imagine, there are five layers to these fabulous goodies and the list of ingredients is pretty simple.

Graham Cracker Crumbs
Butter
Chopped Walnuts
Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
Butterscotch Chips
Coconut Flakes 

Oh helllooooo there.  What's your name?  Come around here often?  I'm sorry.  I'm tired.

So obviously, we need to melt the butter before we mix it with the graham cracker crumbs to make our crust.  I didn't want to dirty an extra dish, so while the oven was preheating I just threw the stick in the pan and popped it in the oven for a few minutes.



Add the crumbs to the butter and mix....


...and then pat it down firmly with your hand.

The next part is easy.  Throw both chips, nuts, and coconut down and grab your sweetened condensed milk.  You can layer the ingredients however you want.  I LOVE the way toasted coconuts tastes so I put it on top.  Just make sure the crumbs are the bottom layer.  Obvi.

I also left the walnuts sort of big.  That is a personal preference.  You can use whatever nut you want though - pecans, almonds, whateva.  I'm a sucker for walnuts though  - they are so buttery.

Ok so pour the condensed milk on top of everything.  This will gel everything together as it bakes.

Wiggle the pan around so it's as even as possible but if you have spots that aren't covered, it doesn't matter.

What uuuuuuuup.  I am OBsessed with toasted coconut.  Actually.  This reminds me of a funny story.

So about seven years ago, I was hanging out with my sister at her old house in Maine and we decided we wanted to make something that included toasted coconut.  I think we were making sundaes.  Anyway, I decided to put coconut in the oven and I completely forgot about it.  It was in there for so long that it literally caught on fire.  Like any calm, normal adult, I grabbed the pan, ran through the living room with the flaming coconut and threw it out onto the front lawn and then ran back into the house and slammed the door.  Moral of the story:  Do not call me in a crisis and warn your neighbors when I'm coming to visit.

Hello yum yums.

You can tell that I didn't let this cool before I served myself a big honking piece because the bar is sorta slanting to the side.  Let these cool completely, maybe over night, before cutting them.  


Okey dokey smokey pokey.

So remember that time I said I didn't really like sweets?  Yeah don't believe a word I say.  Make these this Christmas weekend and watch them go like hot cakes.  Stay hungry!

Five Layer Bars Recipe
1-1/2 Cups of Graham Cracker Crumbs
1 Stick of Butter
1 Cup of Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 Cup of Butterscotch Chips
1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts
1 Cup Shredded Coconut
1 Can of Sweetened Condensed Milk (14 oz)

Preheat oven to 350.  Melt butter.  In a 9x13 dish, mix melted butter and crumbs and form a crust by patting down firmly.  Add chips, walnuts, and shredded coconut.  Pour the sweetened condensed milk on top of all of the layers as evenly as possible and throw it in the oven for about 30 minutes.  Let rest until completely cool before cutting and serving.  Overnight if possible.  ENJOY!

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