Seven Layer Cookies — 🍪🙌 These seven layer cookies are loaded with graham crackers, coconut, butterscotch chips, and chocolate chips. Chewy around the edges, but soft in the center!
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Easy Seven Layer Cookies
I brought the flavors and texture of the classic Seven Layer Bars into these cookies, and they’re some of my favorite cookies ever. They have some chewiness around the edges but are soft, squishy, tender and moist in the middle.
All the textures and layers of flavors just do it for me. The more, the merrier, and these cookies are loaded with graham crackers, two kinds of baking chips, and coconut.
The cookies are a couple layers short of seven, missing nuts and sweetened condensed milk, but I don’t like nuts in bars anyway and always omit them. And sweetened condensed milk is just not cookie-friendly.
There’s something about the combination of butterscotch with coconut, chocolate with graham crackers, and tossing it all together in one recipe that’s so satisfying. Marriage of complementary flavors, at their finest.
The cookies remind me of the potlucks, church basement bake sales, Girl Scout troop meetings, graduations, and so many of the celebrations and parties I attended growing up in rural Minnesota. There was always a pan of Seven Layer Bars.
I’ll always have a soft spot for the original bars, but these seven layer cookies have my attention now. Soft, chewy, melty, tons of textures and flavors.
Ingredients in Seven Layer Cookies
To make these seven layer magic bar cookies, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Cornstarch
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Graham crackers
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Butterscotch chips
- Sweetened shredded coconut
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Seven Layer Cookies
- Cream together the butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla until light and fluffy. This will take about 5 minutes.
- Then, mix in the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt, followed by the mix-ins.
- Scoop the cookie dough into balls, then flatten them slightly between the palms of your hands. Chill the dough for at least 2 hours.
- Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, or until the edges are set but the centers are still glossy. (Do NOT bake longer than 9 minutes for soft cookies because they firm up as they cool!)
Baking Tip
Keep a close eye on the cookies and don’t overbake. Coconut is prone to burning and the cookies taste best when they’re a bit underbaked, pillowy soft, and gooey.
Recipe FAQs
If you’re not a big fan of coconut, not to worry, it’s not a pronounced flavor and doesn’t dominate. It’s present but not overwhelming, and while you could possibly omit it and add more flour (I know I’ll be asked), it’s a key ingredient in Seven Layer Bars and something I recommend keeping for flavor, texture, and authenticity.
I’m sure you can! Chopped nuts, peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, and dried fruit are all options. Just make sure not to add too many mix-ins, otherwise the dough won’t form balls.
Yes, you MUST chill the dough. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter.
Technically, yes, but it’s really hard to do. Once the dough is chilled, it firms up and becomes slightly crumbly (note that it doesn’t result in crumbly cookies though!). It’s a pain to form into balls once chilled, so I recommend scooping the dough into balls and then chilling it.
Once baked, these seven layer cookies can be kept on your counter in an airtight container for up to a week. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.
Yes, you can freeze the raw cookie dough as well as the baked cookies. If you freeze the dough, you can bake it directly from frozen.
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Seven Layer Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- 1 cup coarsely chopped graham crackers and crumbs, about 4 full-size cracker sheets
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ¾ cup butterscotch chips
- ¾ cup sweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugars, egg, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until well-creamed, light and fluffy, about 5 minutes (or use a hand mixer and beat for at least 7 minutes).
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, optional salt, and mix until just combined, about 1 minute.
- Add the graham crackers (include the fine crumbs too, they act as flour here and are important), chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut and beat momentarily to incorporate, less than 1 minute, or fold in by hand.
- Using a 2-inch cookie scoop, form heaping two-tablespoon mounds (I made 22). Place mounds on a large plate, flatten mounds slightly with your palm, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat, or spray with cooking spray. Place mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet).
- Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set, even if slightly undercooked, pale and glossy in the center. Do not bake longer than 9 minutes for soft cookies because they firm up as they cool (The cookies shown in the photos were baked with dough that had been chilled overnight, allowed to come to room temp for 15 minutes, and were baked for 8 minutes, with trays rotated at the 4-minute mark. They have chewy edges with soft, pillowy, gooey centers).
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- Store cookies airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.
- Recipe adapted from my Chocolate Chip and Chunk Cookies and Soft and Chewy Smores Cookies.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Can you believe I’ve never had a seven layer magic bar? That being said, I MUST try it in cookie form!
Whattttt??!! Girl you have to make the original version of the bars. They are so ridic easy and there is nothing like them. You will be in heaven!! And then of course make these cookies too :)
Loving the addition of the graham crackers, plus it allows me to eat a few out of the box along the way!
That’s exactly what I did!
Beautiful cookies Averie! I fell in love with magic bars after visiting DisneyWorld for the first time, love the idea of making a cookie version :-)
I have never had the Disney version but I bet they’re wonderful!
As if I needed another way to eat 7 layer bars, but now just with less mess! Thanks for sharing!
This is such a great idea! Looks delicious
Ummmm… yes please! I love the 7-layer bar, but made into cookies? Yum!
Such a great idea making these into cookies! My mom always made these growing up – we called them Hello Dollies :)
I just made some bars with a seven layer theme. I am actually clueless as to what to call them, but they were so good! Anyway, I obviously love 7-layer bars and these cookies are making me drool! What a fun idea!! I love, love, love that you kept the coconut, that’s one of my favorite layers! These sound and look awesome, Averie!
Can’t wait to see your bars. I am the layered and gooey bar queen :) If I could write a book with that theme, I would!
These cookies are so clever, Averie! I never would have thought of this idea, but I’m not surprised you did. You come up with so many great treats!
Thanks, Laura! I had been mentally playing around with this cookie for probably 6 mos or so…trying to figure out how I was going to do it, and finally figured it out :)
I’ve seen so many variations of 7 layer bars, but I’ve never seen anyone turn them into cookies! What a wonderful, delicious idea!
Thanks, Faith! It have never seen them as cookies, either. It was an I had and tinkered with for about 6 mos before getting it right!
I’m a fan of every ingredient in this cookie. They look scrumptious!
Seven layer bars are such a classic–it’s hard to beat that combination of graham crackers, chips and coconut. I think if I were tinkering around with the original recipe, it might be fun to swap gingersnaps for graham crackers or PB chips for butterscotch. Your cookie version looks so good–that wonderful dough base stuffed to the max!
Oh gingersnaps would be excellent! And if we’re going there – then white chocolate is a must, too. Sort of like a 7 layer bar meets slightly holiday themed cookie. Hmmmm, may need to remember that one :)
Mmmm these look amazing!! I looove seven layer bars
What a fun alternative to seven layer bars!
I liek coconuts :D And I am in need for something sweet :D
Enjoy :)
What a great idea to turn seven layer bars into cookies! My mom used to make those bars and I always loved them. I’ll definitely be trying these!
Given we’re from the same part of the country, I am not surprised your mom used to make these :)