I am not being clever, I just happened to have a Costco-sized bag of walnuts and no place to go… and then I got invited to a dinner party and suddenly walnuts became the perfect dessert. I LOVE pecan pie, I went through a pie phase a couple years ago and I swear I made pecan pie four times in so many months, which is way too often for such a rich dessert. Now, I haven’t had the pie since but I remembered making pecan pie squares once and thought these would be the perfect substitute. Again, I used walnuts instead of pecans, so there is a bit of a difference, but not so much to make a fuss about. The bottom of the bars are a bit cakey (ie not shortbread) and the top is rich, nutty, gooey deliciousness.

Walnut Pie Bars

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp milk

• 2/3 cup flour mixture
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tbsp cream (or milk)
• 2 cups roughly chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 inch cake pan with parchment paper (curses, I ran out of parchment paper today, greasing it works too).
2. Whisk together the flour, sugar, and baking powder. Scoop out 2/3 cup and set aside.
3. Add butter and egg to the remaining flour mixture, and combine until crumbly. Press evenly (if possible…) into the pan and bake for 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown.
   

   Baked and ready to be topped!

4. While the base is baking, beat together the 2/3 cup of the flour mixture, brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, and beaten eggs. Pour over the base when it is done baking. Sprinkle the walnuts evenly (if possible…) over the top. Bake 30-35 minutes, until filling is set.