Add a touch of decadence to your holiday cookies with these Maple Walnut Bars. A shortbread base topped with a creamy maple filling stuffed full of walnuts.
Who loves bar cookies? Well, I’m a huge fan. Cookies like these, my Apple Pie Crumble Bars and the Partrigeberry Crumble Squares are always the first I’ll choose on a cookie plate. Growning up, I remember lots bar cookies and I have vague memories of some with walnuts. I have to say, as kid I wasn’t a huge fan of the walnut ones. But then I grew up….hahaha.
I’ve been wanting to get these Maple Walnut Cookies on the blog for a long time now. I made them first a few years back and ate way too many to count. They have been on my mind ever since, so this year I made it happen. Keep reading to see how to make these delicious little bites.
Here’s What we Need to Make the Maple Walnut Bars
For the base
- Butter
- White sugar
- Plain flour
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Salt
For The Filling
- Eggs
- Brown Sugar
- Flour
- Salt
- Maple Syrup
- Whipping Cream
- Vanilla extract
- Walnuts
REMEMBER, The full recipe and instructions is always found at the end of the post in the recipe card.
How to Make The Bar Cookies
First, Make The Crust
- Combine butter and sugar– in the bowl of your electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and mix on high until smooth. This will take about 2 minutes.
- Add dry ingredients – add the flour, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg to the mixture. Mix on medium speed until a crumble mixture forms.
You can also use a food processor to make the crust if you prefer. Just add the ingredients and pulse until it starts to come together.
- Pour crumble mixture into baking dish – This mixture is crumbly like a pie crust and that’s exactly what you are looking for. Just pour in and then using your fingers, flatten it out evenly to cover the entire bottom of the baking pan.
BAKING TIP – If your fingers are sticking to the dough, just simply dampen then slightly and then continue. It helps a lot.
- Bake crust – Bake the cookie base in a preheated 350 degrees f/180 degrees c oven for 15 to 20 minutes. It will be set and lightly golden in colour.
- Set aside the crust – set aside on a cooling rack while you make the filling.
Make The filling
- Add ingredients to a bowl – add the eggs, cream, sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, salt and flour to your mixing bowl. Mix on high speed until foamy, about two minutes.
- Add walnuts – sprinkle chopped walnuts over the crust.
- Pour over filling – evenly pour over the filling.
- Bake the bars – Bake for about 30 – 35 minutes or until golden and set in the middle.
- Allow the bars to cool – leave the bars in the baking tray until they have completely cooled. This will take at least an hour.
- Remove from tray can cut into bars – lift the parchment paper out of the baking tray. I cut mine into 16 equal squares. You could choose to do larger rectangles if you prefer.
BAKING TIP – If you want them even firmer before you cut them, put them in the fridge for about 1/2 hour. This will ensure a cleaner cut when you cut them into bars.
So, What are These Bar Cookies like
Think Pecan Pie. The texture is a little similar and there are even similarities in the flavour. The bottom layer is a shortcrust layer and it’s buttery and flaky. The filling is creamy and chewy. The maple flavour is amazing and the walnuts add a fantastic texture.
How Do I store These Bars and How Long Will They last
- Store in the fridge – you can store these in and airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. It’s best to layer parchment paper between layers. They are good cold, but better at room temperature.
- Store at room temperature – they can also be stored on the counter in a container for about three days.
- In the freezer – they can also be frozen up to two months in a freezer proof container. It’s best to layer parchment paper between the layers.
Are There Any Substitutions I can Make To these Bar Cookies
- For the cookie base – This recipe uses a shortcrust base which I love. You can use a graham wafer base if you prefer. It will work for this recipe.
- Walnuts – I used walnuts for this recipe, but you could just as easily use pecans.
- Maple syrup – okay, so I recommend sticking to the maple syrup if you can. But you can use corn syrup. Just keep in mind it won’t have the maple flavour.
Are These Bar Cookies Suitable For Gift Giving
Yes, just be sure to tell your friends/family that they contain nuts. Always important. As well as shortage instructions, how long they will keep and so on. You have to remember that not everyone is familiar with storing home baked goodies and might need a little assistance along the way.
And if you want to dress them up with a pretty gift tag, The Fresh Cooky has some great printables for edible gifts. It’s always nice to add a special detail.
Well, that’s all for now friends. See you in a few days with another (yes another…hahaha), sweet treat from my kitchen to yours.
Get the Recipe!
Maple Walnut Bars
Ingredients
For the bottom layer
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 cup plain flour
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- pinch salt
For the top layer
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon plain flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup walnuts roughly chopped
Instructions
For the crust
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees f/180 degrees c. Grease and line with parchment paper an 8 x 8 inch baking dish. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Mix on high until well combined and smooth. About 2 minutes. Add the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix until it starts to combine and starts to clump together, about another minute.
- Pour the crumbly mixture into the prepared baking dish. Using you fingers, press it evenly over the bottom of the pan. Ensuring that it's as even as you can make it and the entire surface is covered. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until lightly golden and set. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack.
For the filling
- In a clean bowl, combine the eggs, brown sugar, maple syrup, cream, vanilla extract, flour and salt. Whisk on high speed until light and foamy, about 2 minutes.
- Evenly sprinkle chopped walnuts over the cookie base. Pour over the mixture.
- Bake for 30 – 35 minutes until the filling is set. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Lift the bars out of the baking tray when they have cooled. Cut into 16 equal squares.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge up to a week.
*A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
Thanks For Stopping by & Hope To See You Soon!
What great looking bars!! These flavours are my husband’s favourite…he loves the old school maple walnut combo. Another one to add to the ‘to bake’ list.
We loved them. My son said they are his new favourite bar cookie. Thanks Bernice!
They look so chewy gooey good! Plus, I love anything maple!
They were wonderful. Thank Lily!
it’s maple walnut bar is everything – soft, chewy and flaky from the sb!
They were fantastic. Thanks Nancy!
I thought I was finished my holiday baking and then I saw this recipe. I love everything about it and will be making it this weekend. Thanks for sharing!
Bars are one of my fave treats! I love the maple walnut flavour in these!
Thanks Terri. We love the bars too.
The price of maple syrup stopped me from making them. That’s almost $5.00 just for syrup plus other ingredients.
Yes, maple syrup is expensive pretty much everywhere. These are for sure a real treat. I am going to be making them soon using a small amount of maple extract and corn syrup to see how they turn out. I’ll keep you posted!