Raspberry White Chocolate Layer Bars Recipe

If you're looking for an easy to make dessert, perhaps for a upcoming summer picnic or just to have on hand, layer bars are the perfect solution. You've probably heard quite a few names thrown around in reference to layer bars — seven-layer bars, Magic Bars, or Hello Dolly bars, but they all come down to delicious, cookie-like bars. The distinct features of these kinds of bars is a graham cracker crust, a sweetened condensed milk layer, chocolate chips, and coconut. These raspberry white chocolate layer bars from developer Jessica Morone are a variation on the classic seven-layer bars, with all the distinct features you expect and a few twists to make them special. 

With a buttery graham cracker base, rich white chocolate chips, crunchy almonds, creamy sweetened condensed milk, and sweet-tart raspberry jam, these bars will give you a marvelous combination of flavors and textures. And with only a few ingredients, and almost no mixing, these bars are incredibly easy to make. Since these bars can be made up to three days ahead of time, these are a great option for parties, potlucks, or a special treat at home.

For the sweet buttery crust layer of these bars you will need graham cracker crumbs, melted unsalted butter, and granulated sugar. You'll top the crust with layers of crunchy silvered almonds, white chocolate chips, flaked coconut, sweetened condensed milk, and raspberry jam. Seedless jam is preferable, but if you like the kind with seeds you can swap that in here.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar until the mixture resembles wet sand.

Press the graham cracker mixture into the prepared baking dish.

On top of the crust sprinkle 1 ½ cups slivered almonds and 1 ½ cups white chocolate chips

Gently spread the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the almond and chocolate mixture.

Sprinkle the coconut evenly over the sweetened condensed milk layer.

Spoon the raspberry jam on top and gently spread it over the coconut layer.

Sprinkle the remaining almonds and white chocolate chips over the raspberry layer.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the jam is bubbly and the top is slightly golden.

Let cool (or refrigerate) completely before removing the parchment paper from the pan and cutting into bars.

Sweetened condensed milk is one of the most important components of these bars, because it helps to keep the layers together. It's essential that no matter what, you have a sweet creamy layer in these bars. But you can substitute the canned sweetened condensed milk with a few different options. Cream of coconut and sweetened condensed coconut milk are both good replacements for sweetened condensed milk because they have a similar texture, and since they are canned they are just as easy to use. The flavor will of course be different in these bars if you use a coconut substitute than if you were using regular sweetened condensed milk, but they are good options that add a subtle tropical flair to the mix.

The best replacement for canned sweetened condensed milk is to make your own. You only need two ingredients: 2 cups of milk and ¾ cup of sugar. Simmer these together in a saucepan for about 45 minutes until reduced to the thick consistency you expected from sweetened condensed milk. Allow your homemade milk to cool down before you proceed with the recipe.

One of the best things about dessert bar recipes like this is that you can make various swaps and still end up with really delicious bars. The main things that need to remain the same are the graham cracker layer and the sweetened condensed milk. The other layers can be switched up a bit. For the chocolate chips, if you want to use something other than white chocolate you can use any kind of baking chips that you like. Semi-sweet, dark, and milk chocolate will all pair well with the sweet-tart flavor of raspberry. There are some other fun flavors (like espresso) that are sold in stores you could also try in these bars. For the slivered almonds you could try using sliced almonds instead, or any other chopped up nut that you prefer.

The jam layer is also easy to switch up. Jarred jam is the easiest thing to use in this recipe, but if you want to be more adventurous you could make your own raspberry jam. You could really use any kind of jam in this recipe, but it would obviously change up the flavor. Strawberry would be a good jam to try in these, as it will go well with the chocolate and almonds, but feel free to try any options that you think you will like best.