Chocolate Coconut 7 Layer Bars Recipe

A while back, I made Chocolate Coconut 7 Layer Bars for the first time.  I had eaten them a couple times, usually bought from little bakeries and coffee shops as a rare treat.  I was blown away by how easy and delicious they were!  The real secret to why these 7 Layer Bars bars are so incredible is dulce de leche: the caramel-y, sticky, heavenly result of cooking sweetened condensed milk.

My version was adapted from this recipe to suit my tastes and available ingredients better.

Prep time: 10 min                                 Cook time: 25 min

Ingredients
1 stick (8 tablespoons, 1/2 cup) salted butter
1 1/2 cups crumbled shortbread cookies (I used Keebler brand)
1 1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 cup sliced almonds
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Melt butter in a saucepan and pour into a 9x13" glass pan.
3. Use your finger or a paper towel to smear some of the melted butter up the side of the pan.
4. Sprinkle cookie crumbs evenly over butter.
5. Layer half the coconut on top of the butter-cookie base.
6. Sprinkle almonds over coconut.
7. Layer chocolate chips over almonds.
8. Add remaining coconut.
9. Drizzle the sweetened condensed milk as the last layer.
10. Bake for 25 minutes.  The coconut should be lightly browned and the sweetened condensed milk should look sticky and bubbly.
11. Cut into squares and refrigerate up to 1 week.

A closer look at the sweet, gooey wonderfulness:

Have you ever tried Chocolate Coconut 7 Layer Bars?  What other dessert bar recipes do you recommend?  Leave your recipe links below!