The Great Cookie Swap!

My Gram was not a cook. She was many things, a stubborn divorced during the depression raising four boys and two girls woman on her own, but a cook? No. Christmas was the one time when Gram always made homemade things. These cookies and Gram's date-nut bread were the things I looked forward to the most. The date-nut bread I still have not found the "proper" recipe for, so far none has turned out like Gram's.

These cookies were very popular, there are recipes all over for them, everyone has probably had some version or other, they are simply my favorite cookie. I had no idea what they were called until my Mom pointed me to the recipe in the ancient church cookbook I have. I make them once a year or I would be a plus size woman, I can't NOT eat them if they are there.

Hello Dollies (magic cookie bars)

1/2 cup butter/margarine
11/2 cup crushed graham
cracker crumbs
1 cup chocolate chips
1 can (14oz) condensed milk
1 can (3 1/2oz) coconut
1 cup chopped nuts (Gram used walnuts, I use pecans alot too)

Preheat oven to 350 (325 for glass dish)
13x9 inch baking pan:
Melted butter
Sprinkle crumbs over butter (you can compress them if you like, or not)
Pour condensed milk over crumbs
Top evenly with chocolate chips, coconut and nuts

Bake 25-30 minutes or until light brown.

The picture doesn't quite look like mine do, but hey, yours wouldn't look like mine either. I couldn't find a picture of them made in a 13x9-- I imagine the ones in the picture are just thicker...I like mine in the 13x9. I just realized, these have no eggs! They sure don't qualify as healthy in any way either! My Mom told me to just buy the box of already crushed graham cracker crumbs which makes these so easy to make it's just sinful.

Go on over to Trying Our Best and you get to travel around cookie recipes! What a nice change of post!