Dulce de Leche Layer Bars

Magic Cookie Bars, Seven Layer Bars, Hello Dolly's... all the same delicious childhood favorite just called by different names.  They still hold a special place in my repertoire as one of the very first things I learned to bake.  This new grown-up version is made slightly more sophisticated - yet equally as decadent and addictive - with the addition of a gooey dulce de leche center. 

Makes 16 bars

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
7 tablespoons of butter
12 ounces of semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup of slivered almonds

1 1/2 cups of sweetened shredded coconut

1- 14 ounce can can of dulce de leche*

1- 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk

*Look for dulce de leche in the latin foods section of your grocery store.  You can make it from scratch by essentially caramelizing a can of sweetened condensed milk if you can't find it.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut the butter into pieces and place in the bottom of a 9 x 9 square pan or baking dish.  Once the oven is hot, put the pan into the oven to melt the butter- takes roughly 4 minutes.  Meanwhile mix the cinnamon into the graham cracker crumbs.  Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the melted butter and press down to form a crust in the bottom of the pan.

Next sprinkle half of the coconut, chocolate, and almonds over the crust.  Then spoon the dulce de leche evenly over the top.  The dulce de leche was thicker in consistency than I expected.  I transferred it to a bowl and microwaved it for one minute or two minutes (stirring every 30 seconds or so) to make it a bit more pliable. 



Next, repeat the layers with the remaining coconut, chocolate chips, and almonds.  Lastly drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over the top as evenly as possible.  Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown.  Let cool completely before cutting into bars or sampling.  I was not so patient and burned my mouth with hot caramel which I'm still paying for a day later...

They are delicious but very rich so small bars will go a long way.  The caramel and cinnamon gives them a little hint of something new and different from the bars you remember.  The almonds add a great toasty crunch in contrast to the smooth chocolate and sticky dulce de leche.  I bet you can't eat just one!