White Chocolate Hello Dollies--A Classic Dessert With a Modern Twist

Why are these delicious treats called Hello Dollies? Most likely, it is from a recipe published in a food column around 1965 while the musical Hello, Dolly! was enjoying its reign as the longest running musical in history. Following the practice of naming cakes after British monarchy, food columnist Clementine Paddleford named this recipe, submitted by a reader, after the popular musical.

The original recipe called for a graham cracker base topped with chocolate chips, chopped walnuts and shredded coconut.  My recipe keeps the chocolate, nut, and dried fruit topping with some slight flavour changes.  Both versions are incredibly decadent in this baker's opinion, but others seem to prefer the white chocolate version.

If you can't get your hands on graham cracker crumbs--I know they were hard to come by in the United Kingdom and here in Australia--just use a packet of digestives or similar cookie.  Pop about fifteen cookies into a food processor and process until the cookies are a finely crumbed.  As for the nuts and chocolate, just chop coarsely with a knife.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Line a square 8x8 pan with baking paper.
2. In a saucepan, gently melt the butter over low heat. Be careful not to let it boil.
3. Remove from heat and stir in graham cracker crumbs until well blended.
4. Press crumb mixture firmly into pan and chill for at least 20 minutes to help set the base.
5. Sprinkle cranberries, then macadamias and then the chocolate evenly on top of crumb base.
6. Pour condensed milk over everything and let it settle evenly throughout.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the milk is golden brown on top.
8. Let cool before cutting into squares.

It is crucial to layer the toppings is the above order to allow the condensed milk to seep through--otherwise, it may fail to spread throughout the toppings and the square will crumble when cut. Allowing the butter to boil will likely cause the base to crumble instead of being hard and crunchy. These squares freeze very well so you can take a few out when company drops by unexpectedly.