Walnut Dreams
These wonderful bars are somewhere between a cookie and candy and great for filling cookie tins and giving away as a gift. They really are dreamy. Everyone will want the recipe. They have been a big family favorite and no doubt a recipe that will be passed down from one generation to the next.
Walnut Dreams
Crust
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (1 cup) cold butter, cut into pieces
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 cups flour (10.25 oz)
Instructions
Place crust ingredients in a food processor and process until until butter is well blended, turning off before the crumbs start to stick around the bottom edge of the bowl. Spread crumbs evenly in a 12″ by 18″ jelly roll pan, pressing lightly. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 13-15 minutes*, until lightly browned around the edges.
*Ovens cook differently. Keep an eye on them. You want them done and not doughy tasting, but not dry.
Filling
Ingredients
- 1 pound light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 4 eggs, slightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups chopped walnuts (or pecans)
Instructions
Mix sugar, flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until blended, then add the nuts. Spread filling over crust and bake an additional 13-15 minutes or until lightly browned and the center is firm. Cool 10 minutes.
Glaze
Ingredients
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons melted butter (Some butters are very yellow. Use a light colored butter to have a white glaze
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
Mix everything together until smooth. Spoon the glaze in long strips across the warm bars the spread the glaze evenly over the top using a dinner knife. Let cool completely. Run a knife around the outer edges (about 1/8-1/4 inch in) to remove the part that caramelized too hard. Cut into bars.
*Ovens cook differently. Keep an eye on them. You want them done and not doughy tasting, but not dry.
