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 to 16 minutes* or until lightly brown around the edges.
*Ovens cook differently so keep an eye on them. This is a shortbread recipe. You want them done and not doughy tasting. This means there has to be some browning. I my previous oven, the browning would start around the edges. My new oven cooks evenly and it browns evenly. It is showing the browning starting at 15 minutes 30 seconds.
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 (caramel colored) and the center is firm. Keep a good eye on it. (Mine gets to this place at 13 minutes 30 seconds.) Cool 10 minutes.
Glaze
Ingredients
- 2 cups (8 oz) powdered sugar (spoon into cup*)
- 3 – 5 tablespoons milk (This is going to depend on how much powdered sugar you have. Start with 3 and add 1/2 tablespoon at a time until the glaze will fall off of a spoon. It will be thick. You don’t want it runny.)
- 2 tablespoons melted butter (Some butters are very yellow. Use a light colored butter to have a white glaze
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
*If you scoop the sugar out of the container or bag, you may end up needing to add more milk to get
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 inches) 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.
