This is a cookie that I made a long time ago with my Mom and family growing up. Later on I learned that the recipe actually came from a Land O Lakes butter package. Recently I’ve seen the same recipe on Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk. It tastes good and only uses one pan so its easy to clean up afterwards. Takes about 10 minutes prep, 25 minutes to cook and then let it sit 10 minutes before initial cutting, you can then store in the fridge or in a cool place to complete. Takes 45 minutes and produces around 48 cookies.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter (salted, 1 stick)
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (I haven’t measured for a long time and just use one package from a normal box, I probably use less than 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 (14 ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk (I prefer Eagle Brand since they all taste slightly different)
- 1 (6 ounce) package of semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 (3 1/2 ounce) can flaked coconut (I normally by the bags and use about 3/4 cup)
- 1 cup chopped nuts (I prefer walnuts)
Use a 13×9 inch metal pan (seems to cook better than a glass one), put the stick of butter in the pan and put into the oven and set at 350 degrees (recipe says to use 325 degrees for glass). My oven beeps when it hits temperature and by that time the butter is nearly melted, watch carefully to keep it from browning and leave in oven until nearly melted. Take pan from the oven and use a fork to mix up the butter to get all of it melted. Put a package of the graham crackers (normal size box has 3 packages) into a zip lock bag (gallon size) and use either a rolling pin or a wine bottle to crush to a fine powder. Put the crumbs in the pan and mix around until all buttered and then spread out and press to the bottom of the pan.
I seem to assemble the rest of the ingredients differently each time but this is how I did it the last time. Add the chocolate chips and the nuts and spread evenly over the top. If the nuts are whole you can put them in the same ziplock used for the graham crackers and crush with the rolling pin. You should only have a small amount of the graham cracker visible. Then sprinkle the coconut on top and lightly press down (using a metal spatula) to flaten and compress the ingredients. Alternatively you can crush the nuts finer and mix the chocolate, coconut and nuts in a bowl first and then spread the mixture on top of the graham crackers (less distinct flavors, personal preference which one to do).
Then open the can of condensed milk and drizzle evenly across the top (if for some reason the milk is too thick you can place the can in the oven for a few minutes to warm up). Place in the oven on the middle rack for about 25 minutes (or until lightly browned in the center, edges will be darker brown.
Let sit for about 10 minutes and then cut into small squares (about 1 1/2″x 1 1/2″, or 6 rows by 8 columns), at this point you don’t need to cut all of the way through but it’s easier to do the first cut while it’s warm (just use a table knife), if it’s too warm the chocolate will ‘pull’ too much. Let sit for at least 30 minutes or overnight to cool completely (or put in the fridge). Then use a metal spatula to cut through again and take out of the pan. Makes about 48 cookies.