Hello Dolly Bars

Yesterday we decided to spontaneously invite Jarryd's parents over for supper! (The apartment was clean, so why not?) :P We have been dying to watch The Crown series on Netflix, and we knew that it would be a type of show that my in-laws would like, so we thought we'd make a whole evening of it! (I think that anyone who fancies Downton Abbey would certainly like The Crown). I mean, I was HOOKED already on the first episode--and it may or may not have been Hans Zimmer's astounding score that did me over. (Fun fact about me: I have a serious love for film score composers such as Hans Zimmer, John Williams, and James Horner to name just a few).

ANYWAY...with our dinner menu already all planned out, we hopped on over to the grocery store to pick up some steaks, sweet potatoes, and asparagus (did you know that the plural form of asparagus is actually just asparagus? Surprisingly, I didn't). Unfortunately we had the meal all figured out but had nothing for dessert! Not having dessert isn't the end of the world or anything, but I hate having guests over and not having any dessert or post-dinner sweets to offer them. I feel like it's so not me to not have sweets around.

It's always a little intimidating cooking/baking for my father-in-law because he's such a foodie and an incredible cook. But it's so nice to have people in my life who are not afraid to give me an honest opinion on my creations. And because they've tried so much of my baking already, I wanted to offer them a recipe that was tried-and-true, one that they'd never had from me before, and ESPECIALLY one that I could realistically and effortlessly whip together in a short amount of time. Standing there in the fresh meat aisle of the grocery store it suddenly came to me--Hello Dolly Bars!

I have made these bars a handful of times and they're always incredibly satisfying! My in-laws had never even heard of them before, so I wouldn't be surprised if you hadn't either. They're sweet, rich, and decadent bars made of the most amazing layers, starting with:

a buttery graham crust

semi-sweet chocolate chips

crunchy chopped pecans

sweet and chewy coconut flakes

and then poured over these layers is a can of sweetened condensed milk. *insert heart eyes here*

SO FAST. (10 minutes prepping, 30 minutes baking)

SO EASY. (The most "laborious" thing I had to do was grind the graham crackers in the food processor because I didn't buy the already-made graham crumbs, and melt butter on the stove!) Oh, and even better, they only require six ingredients!

AND SO DELICIOUS. (Anything made with sweetened condensed milk is going to taste AH-MAZING right?!)

Therefore, it was the perfect dessert to make for a spur-of-the-moment dinner party! And thankfully, these bars were a hit! Even the two non-coconut lovers loved them!

So, if you're looking for a dessert recipe that's simple, quick, freezes well, and has an amazing array of textures and incredible mouthfeel, this is the one for you!

HELLO DOLLY BARS RECIPE (Yields 12 bars)

(Recipe from Serious Eats)

1 cup of butter/2 sticks (I used salted butter)

3 cups graham cracker crumbs (14 oz box)

2 cups dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 cups chopped pecans

3 cups sweetened shredded or flaked coconut

1 (14 oz) can of sweetened condensed milk

1. Adjust oven rack to middle middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Melt the butter and then combine melted butter with graham crumbs in a bowl until thoroughly combined.

3. Press mixture into an even layer on bottom of 9 x 13 baking dish.

4. Top crust with chocolate chips, then pecans, then coconut, and then drizzle with sweetened condensed milk.

5. Bake in oven for about 30 minutes (or until coconut is a beautiful golden toasted brown). Remove from oven and let cool completely. To cut easily, let sit in refrigerator for 1 hour, and then cut and serve. (Best served chilled!)

Thanks for reading, guys! And seriously, let me know if you make this or if you've tried them before. I'd love to know what you think! Oh, and the steak, roasted sweet potato, and parmesan asparagus dinner tasted pretty good too. ;) OH and we managed to watch three episodes of The Crown before deciding to be smart, responsible adults and call it a night. I can't wait to get together and watch more!!