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!
This recipe was originally developed in my continuing collaboration with Go Bold with Butter, where I am a paid contributor.