Thursday, July 30, 2009

Christmas Recipe Swap: Walnut Bars

Today at Life As Mom, Jessica is continuing "Christmas in July" with a Christmas Recipe Swap. Our ultimate Christmas must-have is Toffee Dream Pie. Oh my, is it good! But, it is so full of sugar (marshmallow creme AND toffee/chocolate bits) that I can't really justify making on a regular basis. But, it is oh so perfect for a holiday indulgence! But seeing as I already posted that recipe, I'm going to share something else today - the recipe for Walnut Bars.

When I was in high school, my best friend Amanda and I both wanted to give a small gift to our numerous friends but we needed it to be economical. So, we joined forces to make goody bags and then delivered them together to our friends in the days before Christmas. It was great fun to decorate gift bags (just simple lunch bags with paint), bake and package the goodies up together. We included many different kinds of treats like:
However, as a special treat, I also included Walnut Bars from a special family recipe. I closely guarded this recipe in my high school years since I gave it out for gifts often. Many of my friends just loved these and wanted the recipe! At high school graduation, I relented and gave out the recipe as a gift. So, as a Christmas in July gift to you all, I thought I'd share the recipe with you today!

Walnut Bars

2 eggs
2 cups brown sugar (lightly packed)
3 rounded Tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups walnuts (coarsely chopped)
  1. In a medium bowl, stir eggs with a fork. Add brown sugar and stir until all lumps are gone.
  2. Sift flour, salt and baking powder into mixture. Stir well.
  3. Add vanilla and nuts. Stir until combined.
  4. Pour into a greased and floured 8 x 8 pan. Bake at between 325 - 350 degrees for 20 - 30 minutes or until golden brown.
  5. The bars will puff during baking and flatten out during cooling. Once you take the bars out of the oven, use a knife to separate them from the side of the pan so that they flatten evenly while cooling.
  6. Cool them completely and then cut into squares. They usually taste better the second day - a little more chewy and carmelly. You can package them for gifts by wrapping individual squares with plastic wrap.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

I really like bar cookies, everything goes into one baking pan and bakes all it once. I don't have a recipe for walnut bars, so THANKS!!! for the recipe. Geri

UnfinishedMom said...

Oh Yummy. I'm going to have to try these.

Alison Beanum said...

I waited 6 years for this recipe, and now you're giving it away for free???? Life is so unfair :)

Janel said...

Ah, Alison...you've got your math a little wrong. You only had to wait 2 years! I only started making them at the end of our sophomore year. (I remember coming home from an AP Test and having them for the first time.) Look at it this way, you got the recipe 14 years BEFORE I started giving it away for free. :)

Unknown said...

I'm so glad I saw mention of your walnut bars on facebook! Here I am, ready to print out and treasure this recipe. I bet we'll be eating walnut bars by the end of the week!