Red Velvet Seven Layer Bars from Sally's Baking Addiction

Red Velvet Seven Layer Bars - made December 10, 2022 from Sally's Baking Addiction

1 1/4 cups (156 grams) all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon (5 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (115 grams) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon liquid red food coloring

1 1/3 cups (120 grams) sweetened shredded coconut

1 cup (180 grams) semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup (90 grams) white chocolate chips

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup (130 grams) chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13" baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until creamy, about 1 minute. Add granulated sugar and beat until combined. Add egg and vanilla extract, beating until combined. Add food coloring and mix until uniformly colored. Add dry ingredients in two additions, mixing until just combined after each addition.
4. Press dough into an even layer into prepared pan. Bake for 8 minutes.
5. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle top evenly with coconut, semisweet chocolate chips and white chocolate chips. Spread sweetened condensed milk evenly over top. Sprinkle with pecans.
6. Return pan to oven and bake until set, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting and serving.

I'm a little ambivalent about this recipe, which is unusual as I normally rave about anything from Sally's Baking Addiction.

First, I love Seven Layer Bars or Magic Cookie Bars or whatever you want to call them. And I like red velvet so it seemed like the perfect bar cookie to make for the holidays, both for care packages and holiday gifts. It was good, don't get me wrong. But I didn't love it.

Second, I think it's because I'm just too attached to the graham cracker crust in magic cookie bars and this didn't have that because of the red velvet/holiday twist. 

Third, I would recommend making this in a 9 x 9-inch pan rather than 9 x 13 so you have a thicker crust. I did like the red velvet base itself but it was a bit too thin for me. I think I just prefer a graham cracker crust to go with the topping and as a thicker base layer. Also, I recommend baking the crust longer than 8 minutes. If it's not baked enough and is still raw/too soft when you put on the topping, some of the unbaked crust bubbled through the top and mixed with the sweetened condensed milk to leave pink patches.