Traditional seven-layer bars have a graham cracker crust, walnuts, coconut, a few chocolate chips and mini marshmallows. These have none of that. With a pretzel and graham cracker crust, enough chocolate to fill a CVS, marshmallow fluff and—most importantly—no coconut or walnuts, these bars are more akin to all of my favorite snacks in a pan than to a traditional seven-layer bar. That being said, there is a method to my madness: No walnuts equals allergy-friendly, no coconut equals people-pleaser, marshmallow fluff equals gooey forever and more chocolate equals just better. All of these together make a delicious dessert guaranteed to make you want another (and another).
Ingredients for the crust:
- 1 ½ cups (160 g or about 11 sheets) finely crushed graham cracker crumbs
- ¾ cup (90 g) finely crushed pretzels
- 1 egg white
- 1 cup and 4 tbsp. melted butter (salted)
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
Ingredients for the bars:
- 6 oz. sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
- ¾ cup dark chocolate chips
- ½ cup caramel chips
- 1 cup pretzels broken into small- to medium-sized pieces
- 7 oz. marshmallow fluff
- 5 sheets of graham cracker broken into small- to medium-sized pieces
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9×9 tray with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, fold together crushed pretzels, crushed graham cracker, butter, egg white and vanilla until well combined.
- Spread the mixture into the pan and use a rubber spatula to compress and even out the crust.
- Pre-bake the crust for five minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and use a spoon to evenly spread 5 oz. of sweetened condensed milk over the crust.
- Add half of the pretzel and graham cracker pieces to the crust along with half of the chocolate and caramel chips. Drizzle 1-2 oz. of sweetened condensed milk over the toppings, and return the tray to the oven.
- Bake for ten minutes.
- While the bars are baking, add the marshmallow fluff to a piping bag (you can also use a freezer bag with a corner cut off).
- Remove the bars from the oven and pipe the marshmallow fluff over the bars. Add the remaining toppings on top of the marshmallow and bake for an additional ten minutes.
- Cool the bars in the pan for at least 30 minutes.
Tips and tricks:
These bars can get very sweet. A few ways to tone down the sugar:
- Leave out the caramel chips or replace the milk chocolate with more dark chocolate.
- Use less sweetened condensed milk (I would not recommend going below 2 oz., or the toppings will not stick to the crust).
- Use less marshmallow fluff or replace the fluff with mini marshmallows.
The measurements in this recipe are very loose. Measure with your heart.
While I have removed some of the traditional aspects of seven-layer bars, you can also return this recipe to the classic version:
- Replace the crushed pretzels in the crust with ¾ cup (90 g) of graham cracker crumbs.
- Replace the additional graham cracker topping with walnuts.
- Replace the marshmallow fluff with ¾ cup of mini marshmallows.
- Add one cup of coconut flakes. Add the coconut flakes along with the marshmallow. To make the coconut flakes crispy, increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees for the last ten-minute baking period.