Name: Hello Dollies
Ingredients: 35 Ritz crackers smashed into small crumbs, plus 8 additional crackers, crushed, divided; ¼ cup (57 g) unsalted butter, melted; 1 cup (168 g) semisweet chocolate chips; 1 cup (168 g) peanut butter or butterscotch baking chips; 1 cup (109 g) chopped pecans, walnuts, or macadamia nuts; 1 cup (186 g) sweetened shredded dried coconut; 6 oz. (180 ml) sweetened condensed milk

Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne

My brilliant friend Michal makes the traditional layered bars—called Hello Dollies or Hello Dolly Bars—with Ritz crackers instead of graham crackers. They’re a potluck and bake sale favorite since they’re easy to make by simply layering the crackers with chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, and other goodies. Bar cookies are always brilliant because you can bake them up in one tidy batch, but these bars are extra brilliant because those salty Ritz crackers add balance to an otherwise strictly sweet treat.

Tip

You can double this recipe in a 9 x 13–inch (23 x 33–cm) pan. Sometimes it’s best to double if you don’t want a half of a can of sweetened condensed milk in your fridge. Sometimes it’s best to double if you want to share with friends.