Coconut shavings and graham cracker crumbles scattered along the counter tops of the kitchen lead to a masterpiece of deliciousness… and a later clean up.

Hello Dollies are a rich and sweet combination of all sorts of ingredients adding up to a moist and melt-in-your mouth treat. These delectables come from the online recipe website, Allrecipes.com. However, as you eat them it feels like they have been around for centuries. My family tends to make the Hello Dollies around Christmas time, and sometimes Thanksgiving. 

However, The Hello Dollies are a tradition for other families as well, just with different names and slightly different ingredients. Some call them angel bars, magic bars, and seven layer bars, and the list goes on and on. It’s fascinating to see this recipe come from many different families each with their own unique twist. 

Now, despite the theatre name of Hello Dollies, these goodies don’t have any direct trace to the musical “Hello, Dolly!” The treats were around long before the musical debuted; however, they went from being called the seven layer bars to Hello Dollies when the musical tracked attention. In my family, it's said the name of the bars came from my great aunt who brought the dessert into my family decades ago.

The best way to enjoy the Hello Dollies is sitting at a table with your loved ones, laughing, smiling and, of course, enjoying this homemade dessert!

For this recipe you’ll need…

• 1 ½ cups of graham cracker crumbs

• ½ cup of butter (melted)

• 1 can of sweetened condensed milk (Make sure it is 14 ounces!)

• 1 ½ cups of semisweet chocolate chips (In my family, we normally eyeball the chocolate chips!)

• 1 cup of chopped walnuts

• 1 cup of shredded coconut

• OPTIONAL : ½ cup of white chocolate chips

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Instructions : 

1. First, preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2. In a bowl, mix all of your graham cracker crumbs with your melted butter until everything is evenly moistened. 

3. Press the Graham cracker mix into the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. 

4. Pour ½ of the sweetened condensed milk over top of the graham cracker foundation. Sprinkle your coconut, walnuts and chocolate chips over top. (If it doesn’t feel like enough, feel free to add more!) Push these toppings into the coated base.

5. Drizzle your remaining sweetened condensed milk over top.

6. Cook the dessert in your oven until the coconut is golden brown and fragrant which tends to be 25 to 30 minutes.

7. Let the dish cool completely before cutting it into squares for serving.

And with that, you have yourself a delicious holiday treat, enjoy!