Seven-Layer Cookies

Part cookie, part bar, these Seven-Layer Cookies offer the best of both worlds in every bite!

Table of Contents

My friend Dave is a real-life Cookie Monster. We met while brushing our teeth in the dorm bathrooms during our first year in college. He asked if I liked Oreos and The Simpsons, and that sealed our friendship fate. However, it wasn’t just Oreo crumbs that we left on the floor. Keebler, Chips Ahoy!, and Mother’s Circus Animal Cookies also made an appearance, along with homemade peanut butter delicacies that Dave’s girlfriend would send him in the mail. Dave would analyze each cookie for taste, mouthfeel, and whether it had the coveted crispy-on-the-outside, gooey-on-the-inside texture. We became cookie connoisseurs.

Today, Dave now wrangles three kids, and in between diapers and story time, he conducts science experiments on cookie batter ingredients and bake times. Being the cookie expert that he is, I’m confident these seven-layer cookies would earn his stamp of approval. Inspired by a recipe published in the 1966 issue of Southern Living, these seven-layer cookies are a scrumptious delicacy. They are reminiscent of old-timey butterscotch desserts and grandma’s baking. A cookie-bar hybrid, they are chewy around the edges, but soft, moist, and impossibly tender in the middle. Featuring a sweet and flaky layer on top, with an ooey gooey center, layered on top of beautifully bitter chocolate and crunchy graham crackers, these are quite possibly seven layers of heaven.

Are Seven-Layer Cookies Healthy?

Rich and calorie-dense, these cookie bars are not exactly the epitome of healthy food. Sweetened condensed milk is full of calories, sugar, and fat. Butterscotch, chocolate chips, and graham crackers are also calorie and sugar bombs, and butter has saturated fat. Your saving grace here are the pecans, which are rich in vitamins and minerals. Still, these are best enjoyed in moderation. My advice? Enjoy a seven-layer cookie today, and eat a salad tomorrow.

Butterscotch vs. Caramel

I consider myself a caramel fiend and usually make my own batch once a month. I also love to try out different caramel recipes. While they are commonly confused, butterscotch and caramel are closely related, but they have one notable difference. Where caramel is made with white sugar, butterscotch is made with brown sugar. Both are delicious, so choose your own adventure if you’d like to swap out the butterscotch chips with caramel bits.

INGREDIENTS

2/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 1/4 cup chopped pecans

INSTRUCTIONS

Prep
Preheat oven, prepare pan with butter and crumbs.
Layer
Assemble coconut, chips, condensed milk, and pecans.
Bake
Bake until set and golden, cool and slice.

Devour!

FAQs & Tips

How to Make Ahead and Store

Seven-layer cookies are easy to make ahead of time. Once baked and cooled, wrap them in parchment or wax paper and transfer to an airtight container. That should keep them fresh at room temperature for 3 days, or store them in the fridge for up to a week. The cookies can also be frozen in a freezer-safe container for 3 months.

A Few Flavor Twists to Try

If you’d like to change up the layers, feel free to experiment with different ingredients. For example, instead of using graham crackers, try replacing them with Biscoff, shortbread, or chocolate cookie crumbs. White chocolate chips, potato chips, M&Ms, toasted nuts, cornflakes, and pretzels are also common additions.

Serving Suggestions

There’s so much deliciousness in every bite that these seven-layer cookies can be enjoyed completely on their own. However, they’re also equally tasty when served with a scoop of Coconut Milk Ice Cream With Rum and Eggnog or a piping hot mug of Vegan Hot Chocolate.

Planning to serve them for a delicious dessert bar? Try these other bars on for size: Tropical Paleo Lemon Bars, Chocolate Paleo Pecan Pie Bars, Apple Pie Bars, Homemade Twix Bars, Cookies and Cream Paleo Protein Bars, and Caramel Apple Peanut Kettle Corn Bars.