With a shortbread-like base and crunchy topping these walnut bars are satisfying in a sweet, buttery way, with a good dose of nuts to make them feel a bit healthy.
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| With a shortbread-like base and crunchy topping these walnut bars are satisfying in a sweet, buttery way, with a good dose of nuts to make them feel a bit healthy. |
Back in the days when you could send nuts to school these pecan squares would get tucked in our lunch as a treat.
Funny how times change. When we were little, staying at school for lunch was the biggest thrill. Normally we’d walk home for lunch, playing in puddles or rolling in ditches along the way. Somehow we’d get home in time to eat a good lunch and be back to school within the allotted time.
But once in a while mom would go to town for the day and we’d get to stay at school for lunch. It was a novelty and opening our lunch to see what mom packed was like unwrapping a surprise.
This recipe came out of a weekend insert in our local paper at the time, the Times Globe, sometime in the early 1970s. I’m sure it caught mom’s eye because the recipe makes such a big batch. You can mix them up in a flash and the sprinkling of nuts overtop makes them more filling than your average cookie which meant they’d last longer.
With a shortbread-like base and crunchy topping these walnut bars are satisfying in a sweet, buttery way, with a good dose of nuts to make them feel a bit healthy.
Crunchy Walnut Bars with a wholegrain shortbread base
Course: DessertsDifficulty: Easy24
servings15
minutes25
minutes40
minutesWith a shortbread-like base and crunchy topping these bars are satisfying in a sweet, buttery way, with a good dose of nuts to make them feel a bit healthy.
Ingredients
- Bar base
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 large egg, room temperature
½ tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour, spooned in (use half whole wheat or spelt)
- Topping
1 large egg, well beaten
1 cup walnut pieces or pecans
1 cup brown sugar, divided
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Line an 11”x16” sided pan with parchment paper
- For the base, beat together the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well. Stir in the flour and mix well. Spread in prepared pan.
- Brush uncooked base with beaten egg and sprinkle over ½ cup of the brown sugar. Spread the nuts over the base then sprinkle with the remaining brown sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
