Christmas Cookies 1: Hello Dollys!

 

Merry Christmas and Happy Cookie to all you bits!

Christmas is official cookie season, try your darndest not to gain 5 lbs season. Cookies are one of Bit-J's favorite things about the Christmas season. Growing up, mi mamacita would make tons of cookies around Christmas (and quite frankly, all year long). One of my favorite Christmas traditions was me and my sister, Bonnie, helping her to cut out the sugar cookies in wonderful Christmas shapes- wise men, bells, angels, camels, Christmas trees, reindeer- and helping her decorate them in wonderful red, green, yellow and brown icings, red and green sprinkles and red hots (for rudolph's nose and tree ornaments)!  And eating the cookies was equally as delightful. Oh such memories.

Baking takes time folks. It isn't easy. But 2Bit will try to give some awesome cookie recipes for you to make these next couple of weeks. 

We are starting with gooey, hurt your stomach, yumo, rich Hello Dollys. 2Bit-C has been making these for years, and they are freaking awesome. Unless you are allergic to nuts, or chocolate for that matter. I met someone last night who was truly allergic to chocolate. What the hizzeck? Poor guy I thought, but I am sure he is doing just fine without chocolate. But he could think poor Bit-J because I am allergic to cats, but trust, I am doing just fine without cats. I would choose chocolate over cats any day. 

Love my old seventies kitchen floor, will you?

So back to hello dolly's. They are fantasticly easy to make and magicly delicious for to eat.  

 Recipe: 
(taken from Bit-C and southernfood.com)
 

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 cup chocolate chips*

1 cup coconut flakes
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 (15 oz) can sweetened condensed milk (SCM)

Melt the butter and mix with graham cracker crumbs until moist. You are making a graham cracker crust, basic stuff. Once they are well mixed, pat down into the bottom of a preferably 9x13 inch baking pan. If you haven't yet built up your cook/bakeware collection, use whatever similar size you've got. Sprinkle all of the ingredients over the graham cracker crust in layers, in the order given- choco chips, coco flakes, nuts. DO NOT MIX. You want them to be layered. Next drizzle the SCM over the entire, delightful mess of ingredients. 


Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until the SCM is bubbling and the top is golden. Let cool completely before cutting into bars. Or you could spoon some into a bowl while it's still hot because you have to go to core group soon and can't wait until later to taste them.


*The classic recipe calls for butterscotch chips as well, but Bit-C omits this because the recipe it rich enough without them. I think it's a smart decision. 

A really good idea I got from Smittenkitchen is to place the cut bars into cupcake liners. This way, they look great and you can cut them into smaller more bit-sized bars so that the richness isn't too overwhelming.

Look at that yumminess. The SCM carmelizes as it bakes. These are pure decadence.