When I attended Clarion University of Pennsylvania, I studied Elementary Education. I use the term, “study,” loosely because I don’t remember much about education, but I do remember the Seven Layer Cookies my roommate, Margaret brought back with her.
Her mom, Mrs. Spratt, lined a box with aluminum foil and filled it with homemade cookies everyone in the dorm swooned over — if they could pry one from my hands.
We stayed in a freshman dorm called Forest Manor, which sounds way nicer than the concrete bunker it was, located about half a mile from the rest of campus. Detainees are kept in better looking places. The floors were concrete, covered by very thin, ugly gray, scratchy floor coverings (I can’t really call them rugs). We were given two beds, two desks and little potential for cuteness, but we tried; warming it up with cheerful red checked curtains and red bedspreads.
But since college boys do things like flood entire floors for fun and girls are notorious for never cleaning, it makes sense to give them the minimum. It didn’t matter, we had fun anyway, probably too much fun.
It’s been too many years, and yet, when I make Mrs. Spratt’s cookies for holidays or any other time, I fondly remember my college days (most of them anyway). These sweets are called Seven Layer Cookies because they actually consist of seven layers (or possibly because they add seven layers to your waist).
Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk used to have the Magic Cookie Bar recipe inside its label, but that recipe didn’t call for butterscotch chips, which I think, makes them fabulous.
I call them heaven, especially if you eat them when they’re still warm. If you’re a peanut fan, you could substitute Peanut Butter Chips for the Butterscotch and use peanuts instead of walnuts.
This is a recipe worth revisiting because these cookies are fantastic. The buttery, slightly salty layer on the bottom holds the sweet top ingredients and the nuts give them a nice crunch. I just made them and was tempted to eat five but forced myself to stop at two.
They’re really easy and through the years, the only tweak I’ve made is to sprinkle a little salt on top when they’re done, so they’re the perfect combination of sweet and salty. Thank you Mrs. Spratt!
Mrs. Spratt’s Seven Layer Cookies
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