March is For Maple

 

Let's get this month off to a sweet start with a delicious Maple Nut Bar! Amy Traverso with Yankee Magazine came by Tonia's Kitchen with a delicious recipe for those bars. Amy told Tonia these bars have a healthy dollop of maple syrup and a golden brown crust. The ingredients are simple and the recipe is very easy to follow. The end result is delicious! 

• 1-1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/3 cup plus 1/2 cup granulated maple sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature, plus extra for pan
• 3/4 cup maple syrup (preferably Grade B)
• 1 large egg, beaten, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1 cup chopped almonds, pecans, or walnuts

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°. Make the crust: Whisk together 1-1/2 cups flour and 1/3 cup maple sugar; then cut in softened butter. Using a standing mixer, or a fork if you're working by hand, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal, dry and crumbly. Press mixture into the bottom of a greased 8- or 9-inch square pan. Bake 15 minutes.

To make the topping, combine 3/4 cup maple syrup, 1/2 cup maple sugar, beaten egg, melted butter, cream, vanilla, 1 tablespoon flour, and salt. Beat well; then stir in nuts. Pour batter carefully over half-baked crust.

Return crust and topping to the oven. Bake until set, about 35 minutes. Cut into small bars and remove from pan to cool.

Toby Keith Would Love This Bar!

And no, not because there's adult beverages here (sorry). But this bar is great for a party. It's the Pumpkin Pie Bar, and it's great if you're having a Halloween or other fall party where there's a lot of people. That's because the recipe makes a lot! Molly Gilbert, who wrote the new cookbook Sheet Pan Sweets stopped by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about this fall recipe. She told Tonia she likes the idea of bars for dessert because they're so portable. Molly begins with a Graham Cracker crust, topped with pecans and hazelnut, and then some melted butter. Then just top that with a classic Pumpkin Pie filling and bake. It's not the only bar here. In fact, there's enough bars in this book to fill a bar district!