Maple Nut Bars

Much like butterscotch, I never thought I liked maple syrup. The taste just wasn’t appealing to me at all. It was a bit too sweet without a lot of substance. Then at some point I realized that I was basing my opinion on pancake syrup. Trust me, that’s not maple syrup.

But once I tried real maple syrup, I realized that it is actually quite lovely. A good quality maple syrup has a nice sweetness and a rich flavor that’s tough to beat. Now I happily embrace it and use it in my baking and even in making granola. It’s good stuff!

These Maple Nut Bars are a delicious twist on traditional pecan pie bars. The maple syrup adds a wonderful flavor while still maintaining that trademark gooeyness of the bars. You’ll get a great sweet/crunchy combo that is really irresistible.

I used a combination of nuts from my pantry – pecans, cashews, almonds. You can, of course, just use one kind of nut or a few of your favorites. I like the look of whole nuts with these. But chopping them works just as well and will make them a little easier to cut.

If you don’t already have a favorite maple syrup, there are a few things you need to know for choosing one. First of all, check the ingredients and make sure it’s maple syrup. Then, there are the grades of maple syrup. Just remember that the darker the syrup, the bigger the flavor. For baking, I tend to like Grade A Medium Amber (also known as Grade A Amber Color with Rich Taste) but that’s just my preference.

Whether you have a long-standing love of maple syrup or are a newbie fan like me, you’ll enjoy these sweet, nutty, rich, crunchy bars. They are great year round, but they seem to say fall to me in a big way!

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Maple Nut Bars

Yield 24 bars

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Maple syrup gives these bars a wonderfully sweet, rich flavor!

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Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1 & 1/2 cups (180g) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (150g) firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

For the filling:

• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup (59ml) maple syrup
• 1/4 cup (57g) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup (100g) packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 & 1/2 cups coarsely chopped assorted nuts (pecans, cashews, almond, hazelnuts, etc.)

Instructions

To make the crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9”x 13” x 2" baking pan, and line with parchment paper so that the ends overhang by a couple of inches on the two short ends.
2. Whisk together the flour, brown sugar, and salt. Add the butter and mix using a pastry blender or a fork until combined. The mixture will be crumbly but will hold together when pinched.
3. Press the crust mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
4. Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Set aside.

To make the filling:

1. Place the eggs in a large bowl and beat lightly. Add the maple syrup, melted butter, brown sugar, sugar, and salt, stirring until combined. Stir in the nuts.
2. Pour the filling over the partially baked crust. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until the filling is set.
3. Cool the bars completely in the pan on a wire rack. Once cool, use the overhanging parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan and onto a cutting board and cut into bars.

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