Coming from the Midwest, bars, or bar cookies as we call them are in my blood. Rich and gently chewy with a soft layer of nuts suspended in maple caramel, these walnut bars are one of my all-time favorite maple syrup recipes. They're a special occasion treat perfect for maple sap season, or your next church basement potluck.
An outtake from my first book, originally my goal was to make a version of the Quebecois tarte au sucre using maple syrup. Instead of rolling out a crust, I turned it into bars using the simple press-in method most bar cookies use. While the maple custard was great by itself, adding nuts gives it more heft and helps me not eat the whole pan in a day.
Looking back, the recipe that testers worked on back in 2019 was a little overkill, calling for half a pound of butter in the crust and 1.5 cups of maple syrup with nuts only in the crust.
The only big changes I've made were swapping half the butter for an egg, and replacing half the maple syrup with brown sugar to prevent some of the issues testers had with boiling maple syrup, which can turn it grainy if it isn't done just right. A few handfuls of black walnuts add richness and texture, but you can use any nuts.
The end result is an addictive, slightly fudgy maple nut bar perfect for snacking on or bringing to your hard working friends at the sugar shack. My favorite part is how the filling interacts with the crust. Maple contains more moisture than typical sugar which allows it to partially soak into the crust, creating a strata of textures that will disappear faster than you can say maple sap.
Chef's Tips and Variations
There's lots of ways to get creative with the crust here. In the recipe I use 25% ground, toasted walnuts for a softer result, but you can use any nut you like, or skip the ground nuts and use something like acorn flour, dock seed flour, whole wheat flour, or oatmeal. I try to keep it at around 25% of the total volume of flour.
I'm using black walnuts but just about any nut can be used. Hazelnuts and pine nuts are particularly good with caramel-flavored desserts.
Instructions
First, make a simple crust. There's lots of versions here, but for this recipe I like a cookie-like crust as opposed to all-butter shortbread.
Walnut Crust
Toast some walnuts and grind half to a fine meal. Beat sugar and butter until fluffy, then add an egg. Meanwhile, mix ground walnuts with flour, then work into the egg-butter mixture to make a soft dough. Make the crust first so it hydrates while you make the filling.
Pack the dough into a 9x9 pan lined with parchment. The parchment's magic, ensuring the filling stays in contact with the crust and preventing the sticky syrup from adhering to the sides of the pan. Alternately, grease the pan and prepare for a little scrubbing afterwards. Pierce the dough all over with a fork, then bake until just cooked through and set aside.
Maple-Walnut Filling
Mix the maple syrup, brown sugar, heavy cream and a knob of butter and bring to a rolling boil for 3 minutes. If you have it, a splash of my wild vanilla extract is great here. Turn the heat off and let the mixture cool until there's no danger of cooking the egg. Beat the eggs into the maple mixture.
Pour the filling onto the still-warm crust and bake for 30 minutes. The filling is essentially a custard, and for the best result it I like to cook it as such, meaning as soon as the filling moves as one when jiggled it's done. As it cools the filling will solidify, keeping the center goey and delicious, this is right around 200F if you put a thermometer in the center of the filling.
The bars must be completely cooled before cutting. Gently remove the bar from the pan using the parchment, then carefully pull off the parchment and discard. Portion the bars using a bench knife or a butter knife. The finishing touch is a generous sprinkle of crunchy Maldon sea salt. They travel well, and will last covered on a counter with cling film for at least a week.
Also, it should go without saying if you have memories of eating things like this in a church basement after service with bad coffee, I want to hear about it.
Related Posts
Maple Walnut Bars
Equipment
- 1 9x9 baking pan or similar
- 1 Sheet of parchment
- 1 beaters or stand mixer
- 1 2 quart sauce pot
- 1 Medium mixing bowl
Ingredients
Crust
- 1.5 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup maple sugar or granulated sugar
- ½ cup walnuts
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 oz butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon wild vanilla extract or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Filling
- 1 cup walnuts 7 oz
- ¾ cup maple syrup
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 2 T unsalted butter
- Pinch of kosher salt
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
Crust
- Toast the nuts for 15 minutes at 325F, cool and reserve. Grind ⅓ of the nuts to a meal in a spice grinder or food processor.
- For the crust, whip the sugar and butter until pale, then add the egg and whip until incorporated, about 4-5 minutes on high, scraping down the bowl occasionally.
- Mix or sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
- Add the flour to the egg mixture and work into a smooth dough.
- For the most even bake, allow the dough to hydrate overnight, vacuum sealed or wrapped in cling film in the fridge (optional). Press the dough into a 9x9 baking pan or similar lined with parchment, making it as even as you can. Pierce the dough all over with a fork to ensure even rising.
- Bake the crust for 15 minutes at 375F, then remove and cool. Turn the heat down to 350F.
Filling
- Meanwhile, bring the maple, brown sugar, butter, cream and vanilla to a boil in a small pot and cook at a rapid boil for 3 minutes.
- Turn the heat off and allow to cool until it’s around 100F or 30 minutes. The syrup needs to be cool enough to not cook the eggs.
- Beat the eggs into the maple mixture then pour onto the crust.
Baking
- Bake the bars for 30 minutes, or until the filling is just barely set and moves as one. This should be just under 200F if you check it with a thermometer.
- At this point it may still seem slightly liquid in the center-this is ideal and ensures they’ll be fudgy in the center. As the bars cool they’ll be easier to cut.
- Add a generous sprinkle of crunchy salt to the top before the bars cool.
- Cool the bars completely to ensure the filling’s set, then cut into small 2 inch squares and serve. Great with a cup of unsweetened coffee.
Nancy Oviatt
These look so decadent! Asking because I have some, would wild rice flour work to sub for part of the flour?
Thanks
Alan Bergo
Yes. I’d make sure it’s finely ground and sifted and I’d make the crust the night before to ensure it’s evenly hydrated.
Mike D
Alan, acorn flour is such an interesting suggestion. How would you go about using both black walnuts and some acorn flour?
Alan Bergo
Well, if it’s hot leached I’d substitute it for the black walnuts in the crust. If it’s cold leached I’d add 1/2 cup in place of the flour.