Buttery shortbread base and the gooiest nut and fruit filling make up these fabulous bars loaded with nuts and dried fruit. Incredibly delicious and such a crowd-pleaser!
A sweet, gooey, nut bar that can count as a snack or maybe dessert.
The loaded part of the title gives you permission to use whatever nuts or dried fruits you like. I like to make almost an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink version. All bits and pieces go into this masterpiece.
They're a close relative to the walnut squares with honey, and we love both. Don't make me choose.
The shortbread base
The base is a buttery shortbread.
A very standard one (using cups as the volume unit) with 4 parts flour, 2 parts butter, 1 part sugar, and a pinch of salt. Works every time for whatever type of square or bar you want to make.
It can be frozen before baking. You can line your pan with the shortbread base, prick it with a fork, and pop it in the freezer for a few days, or weeks until you're ready to bake the whole thing.
The butterscotch topping
And the topping, oh the butterscotch topping.
It has butter, sugar, and cream. Gooey, sweet, and the perfect vehicle for the citrus zest, nuts, and dried fruits.
What goes into the filling?
You can use whatever combination of dried fruit and nuts (or just nuts like the original recipe) and even substitute the cream for coconut cream like I did today. Just because I had some. I usually use good and faithful double fatty cream.
It's butterscotch after all.
It's my favorite, the one that also works time and time again. And I've made these bars a million times. I even sold them at the cafe at some point, and people went crazy for them. Seriously.
Related recipes you might like:
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Dried Fruit and Nut Bars
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- Large pinch of salt
For the topping:
- 5 cups nuts and dried fruits, I used 1 ½ cups whole almonds, 1 ½ cups walnuts, ½ cup dried pears, ½ cup dried cherries, raisins and macadamia nuts
- ½ teaspoon orange zest, about 1 orange
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest, about 1 lemon
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup honey
- 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup heavy cream
Instructions
For the crust:
- Line a 13x18-inch (23x33cm) metal baking pan with 2-inch sides with parchment paper that hangs a bit over the long edges, covering the bottom and both long sides but not the short sides. This will help remove the whole block of nut bars from the pan.
- In a bowl mix 1 cup butter and ½ cup sugar with a whisk or handheld electric mixer.
- Add 2 cups flour and large pinch of salt in two or three additions, mixing well. It will all come together in a shabby ball. Be sure the flour is well mixed and no dry patches remain. If using the electric mixer, do so at the lowest speed.
- Distribute the dough in small mounds on the bottom of the pan. With lightly floured hands, slowly and patiently pat the dough to cover the entire surface and go 1 inch up the sides. Start with the sides and work towards the middle, flouring your hands as necessary.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF/180ºC.
- Bake the dough for about 15 minutes, until beginning to color. Don't bake it all the way through.
For the topping:
- When the dough is baking, start with the topping.
- In a large bowl mix the 5 cups assorted dried fruits and nuts with ½ teaspoon lemon zest and½ teaspoon orange zest.
- In a medium saucepan, melt 1 cup butter with ½ cup honey.
- Add 1 cup light brown sugar and ¼ cup sugar, mix well, place over medium heat and cook until it starts to boil. Cook for exactly 2 minutes without stirring after it starts to boil.
- Remove from the heat and add the heavy cream carefully as it will bubble furiously.
- Immediately pour over the nut mixture and mix well to coat everything.
- Pour this caramel nut mixture over the pre-baked dough, carefully covering the whole surface. Don't dump everything in the middle because it will be hard to spread to the sides without tearing the dough. Some parts will have more caramel than others but it will even out in the oven.
- Bake for 25 minutes, remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.
- If the caramel spilled to the sides of the dough, run a thin knife around the edges after it's cooled for a few minutes so it doesn't stick. If it does stick and you have trouble removing it, simply pop it in the oven for 4 or 5 minutes until the caramel is warm again.
- Lift the parchment paper and place the whole block on an even surface to cut it. I make 12 large squares or 24 bars or triangles by cutting them in half again.
Notes
Adapted from Cookies, by Maida Heatter
Anne ~ Uni Homemaker says
Oh YUM, I can eat a whole batch of these! Thanks for sharing your recipe Paula. 🙂
Susan says
So since it's loaded with nuts and dried fruit, it's good for you right?