Author, journalist, poet and blogger BV Lawson is one of the authors featured in our dessert recipe book Bake, Love, Write : 105 Authors Share Dessert Recipes and Advice on Love and Writing.

This is my very last recipe post before Christmas…and it’s a cracker! (Sorry, couldn’t resist the Christmas cracker jokes :) )

Thanks for sharing your brilliant recipe for Hello Dolly Squares, BV. I love the name!

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One of my favorite holiday recipes comes from my childhood (don’t most of our favorites date back to those golden years?). I was the chief cookie and dessert baker during Christmas time, and I recall whipping up no less than a dozen different types of goodies in one weekend. Ah, the aromas! The plates of red, green, and golden-brown decadence! The calories!

Through the years, I’ve come to appreciate recipes that are simple and easy timesavers, so there is one particular treat that fills that bill: Hello Dolly Squares. Although no one really knows the origin of the recipe, it became famous during the ‘60s when Hello Dolly was on Broadway, and the recipe was included in a column by the country’s first food journalist, Clementine Paddleford.

HELLO DOLLY SQUARES

Melt ½ c. butter/margarine in 8×8 pan

Press 1 cup crushed graham crackers into the melted butter to form the “crust” (British: graham crackers are like digestive biscuits)

Sprinkle over it, in the following order (do not stir):

1 c. finely shredded coconut

1 c. chocolate chips (or 1/2 chocolate, 1/2 butterscotch)

½ c nuts (I like pecans or walnuts)

Then pour over all:

1 can sweetened condensed Eagle Brand milk
Bake 350 degrees F/ 180 degrees C / gas mark 4 oven for 30 minutes until lightly browned (check half-way through, and if necessary, cover the edges with foil to keep them from burning). Cool thoroughly.

Note: for a less sweet and gooey treat, use a 9×13 pan and double all of the ingredients except the sweetened condensed milk.

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A three-time Derringer Award finalist and 2012 winner for her short fiction, BV was also honored by the American Independent Writers and Maryland Writers Association for her Scott Drayco series. BV currently lives in Virginia with her husband and enjoys flying above the Chesapeake Bay in a little Cessna.

The just-released novel Played to Death is the first in her Scott Drayco Series, a perfect fit for fans of PBS and BBC Mysteries. Still suffering nightmares from his last case, former FBI agent-turned crime consultant Scott Drayco considers retiring from crime solving altogether. Then a former client bequeaths Drayco a rundown Opera House in a Virginia seaside town—complete with a body inside, a mysterious “G” carved into the man’s chest. To solve the murder, Drayco must dodge the seductive wife of a town councilman, a wary sheriff, and hostility over coastal development before the tensions explode into more violence and he becomes the next victim.

Amazon buy link

Additional purchase links on BV’s website

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Thanks so much for sharing this delicious recipe, BV. And it really does seem simple to make – ideal for the busy days leading up to Christmas. And your thriller sounds a totally gripping read. Congratulations on release!

If you’ve enjoyed BV’s post, or have any questions or comments at all, please get in touch. We’d love to hear from you!