7 Layer Cookies

7 Layer Cookie

My father Robert Haynes's family owns a cattle ranch far into the deep southwest corner of South Dakota, just south of the town of Keldron. At the time, say the late 80s, Keldron had a population of 11. The next town due west was Thunderhawk with a population of 35. Further on through endless miles of prairie, was the sleepy town of Lemmon, SD, sitting right on the border with North Dakota, then with a population of 1900. Lemmon had the highschool, the hospital, etc and was the largest town for a hundred or so miles. 

We visited the cousins on the Drieske/Haynes ranch for several summers during that time. What do I remember about those wonderful trips, these visits to the family ranch? Tons of cousins and family gathering for barbeques and horseshoes; long expanses of prairie; 1000s of locusts; horses and cattle; hunting for Sioux Indian arrowheads; seeing my first rattlesnake outside of a zoo; dry 105' summer heat; Lemmon South Dakota's Petrified Forest (look it up!); fun recklessness with fire crackers; brilliant sunsets; small town flavor; rich history and even richer foods! 

As part of my long running blog series "Cooking through Family", I am now finally tackling all of the baking recipes of my family. This one comes courtesy of my older cousin Helen Drieske whose mother Fern Haynes was my Dad's aunt. Helen has since passed on but I am so lucky to have some of her cookie recipes. 

This is a 7 layer cookie recipe but I think can be described more as a cookie "bar" or layered brownie. And just a precaution, it does have coconut and nuts in it. I think my Mom copied the recipe down wrong as the 9"x14" pan doesn't work well. The ingredients do not even fit across the bottom unless you make a double recipe. I would recommend something smaller. I used a 6" x 8" glass Pyrex. Since it was a bit thicker like a bar or brownie, I increased the cooking time to 35 minutes. I also used peanut butter chips instead of butterscotch. My family tasted the finished recipe and loved it. It's a pretty rich dessert! ENJOY. 

7 Layer Cookies by Helen Drieske

3/4 or 1/2 cup Oleo (This is a brand of margarine from the 50s to 70s. Use any margarine.)

1 cup of crushed graham crackers

1 cup (sweetened shredded) coconut

1 cup butterscotch chips (I used Reese's peanut butter chips.)

1 cup chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet chocolate chips.)

1 can sweetened condensed milk (I used 2/3 can.)

1/2 cup (chopped) nuts (I used walnuts.)

Ready for the oven!

Soften Oleo. Crush graham crackers. Mix Oleo and crackers and press into 9" x 14" pan. 

(I used a 6" x 8" spray buttered glass Pyrex baking dish.)

Layer next 3 ingredients on crust.

Dribble the sweetened condensed milk over all. 

Sprinkle with chopped nuts and bake in 350' oven 25 or 30 minutes. (I extended the time to 35 minutes.)

Freezes well. 

Make sure you cool completely! This was the hardest part. 😊