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    Home » Recipes » Cookies

    Nut Bar Recipe

    Sep 3, 2020 · Modified: Oct 5, 2021 by Sandra Flegg

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    Nut bar cookies on wooden board with fall leaves in background

    Soft, sweet and spicy with chunks of delicious walnuts, this recipe was inspired by a local bakery from my childhood. This Nut Bar Recipe is easy to make and delicious with a glass of milk or dunked into your morning coffee.

    Nut Bar cookies on wooden board surrounded by fall leaves and tea towel with blue strips. this recipe!

    Pilon's Bakery

    Growing up in Vankleek Hill, Ontario, we made several visits to Pilon's Bakery It was always the highlight of our day.

    The aroma of their freshly baked bread, a distant memory comes to the front of my mind in an instant. It was THE best bread I've ever had. Their baked goods were equally irresistible. Jelly rolls, cinnamon buns, chocolate chip cookies, and my personal favourite, Nut Bars.

    Close up photo of 5 nut bar cookies on wooden board.

    Over the years, living in Hamilton, hubby and I would drop by bakeries with our boys anytime we were in a small town. Seeking the charm and goodness that only a small-town bakery seems to have, I always felt that you could really get a sense of the community when you went into their bakery. The minute I would cross the threshold, I would think about Pilon's Bakery Nut Bars. I have recreated the recipe as I fondly remember it.

    Pilon's Bakery changed hands a few times and sadly closed many years ago, however, if you live in Vankleek Hill or are visiting, be sure to check out The Broken Kettle Bakery and Barkery (doggie treats too!) - they have delicious muffins, date squares and Kawartha Lakes Ice Cream! They offer the same small-town friendly service. We are making memories now with our boys as we drop in for treats. 🙂

    Eureka!

    To the best of my memory, this recipe is how I remember the Nut Bar Cookies. My parents tried them out yesterday when I dropped off a batch and my Dad said they were 99.9% the same! 🙂

    If you've have never tasted Nut Bar Cookies, then you're in for a treat. This recipe is really easy to make and yields a nice batch of about 40 cookies. I've added them to the fall category, but they are delicious 12 months of the year 🙂

    The elementary students have just started back to school and that always triggers fall in my brain. My Mom and Dad have maple trees and the leaves have changed colours already and started dropping. I scooped them up on my way to the car and knew they would be beautiful with my favourite Nut Bar photos.

    Enjoy this recipe and if you make it, please be sure to comment below and give it a star rating!

    How to Make Nut Bars

    Overhead photo of blue mixing bowl with wooden spoon and dry ingredients for cookie recipe. A small white bowl with walnuts is beside the blue bowl. To the right is a Kitchenaid stand mixer with creamed butter, brown sugar and white sugar and eggs.
    1. Preheat the oven to 350F.

    2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. (If you have no parchment paper, don't sweat it - you will just need a good spatula to carefully lift them from the pan. I tried it and it worked fine. Parchment just makes it a little easier).

    3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and allspice.

    4. Using the bowl from a stand mixer, or large mixing bowl with hand mixer, cream together butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar. ( dark brown sugar is best as it will enhance the molasses flavours). Beat until light and fluffy.

    5. Add in two large eggs and beat until well-combined.

    6. With the mixer running on medium speed, gradually add in molasses.

    7. Slowly add in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix on low speed until well-combined.

    8. Turn out onto a very lightly-floured board and add in the walnuts. Shape into a ball.

    9. Divide the ball in half, then divide each half into two pieces. You will end up with four pieces.

    10. Shape each ball into a log and lay them across the cookie sheets. (Two per sheet)

    11. Sprinkle the tops of the logs very lightly with granulated sugar.

    A baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Two unbaked shaped logs of cookie dough sit on the parchment paper.

    12. Bake one cookie sheet at a time in 350 for 20-23 minutes. The log will be a little soft in the middle.

    13. Cool on baking sheet for five minutes.

    14. Carefully transfer one log to cutting board. Slice diagonally into one-inch pieces. Repeat with second log.

    Makes 36 to 40 cookies.

    A baked log of cookie dough sits on a wooden cutting board. In the background is a beige and blue striped tea towel. Fresh maple leaves in orange and red colours sits to the side of the cookie dough.
    close up photo of 5 Nut Bar cookies sitting on a wooden board with an orange maple leaf on the left-hand side. In the background is a beige and blue striped tea towel.

    Sweeten them up with a little glaze

    Combine 6 tbsp. of icing sugar with two tsp. of milk and ½ tsp. of vanilla. Add a little more milk or icing sugar until you reach desired consistency. Place in icing bag and drizzle over top of cookies.

    6 nuts bar cookies sitting on a wooden board. The tops of the cookies have been drizzled with glaze. The icing bag with the glaze is behind the cookies.  In the background is a beige and white striped tea towel and maple leaves that have turned orange and red for fall.

    If you like this recipe, then I think you might also enjoy these:

    Old-Fashioned Gingersnap Cookies

    Pecan Butter Tart Squares

    The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

    closeup photo of five nut bar cookies sitting on a wooden board. In the background is a blue and beige striped tea towel. There are two maple leaves in the background that have turned fall colours.
    Print
    clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
    nut bar cookies sitting on a brown board. A blue and beige tea towel is folded in the background. Fall-coloured maple leaves are place to the side and behind the cookies as a garnish.

    Nut Bar Recipe


    ★★★★★

    5 from 3 reviews

    • Author: Sandra Flegg
    • Total Time: 38 minutes
    • Yield: 36
    Print Recipe
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    Description

    Soft, sweet and spicy with chunks of delicious walnuts, this recipe was inspired by a local bakery from childhood. This Nut Bar Recipe is easy to make and delicious with a glass of milk or dunked in your morning coffee.


    Ingredients

    1 and ½ cups granulated sugar

    ½ cup dark brown sugar

    1 cup butter softened at room temperature

    2 large eggs

    ¼ cup molasses

    3 and ¼ cups all purpose flour

    2 tsp. baking powder

    1 tsp. baking soda

    1 tsp. ground cinnamon

    ¼ tsp. ground ginger

    ⅛ tsp. allspice

    1 and ½ cups whole walnuts (not chopped)

    Glaze (optional)

    6 tbsp. icing sugar

    2 tsp. milk

    ½ tsp. vanilla.


    Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 350F.

    2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. (If you have no parchment paper, don't sweat it - you will just need a good spatula to carefully lift them fro the pan. I tried it and it worked fine. Parchment just makes it a little easier).

    3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and allspice. 4. Using the bowl from a stand mixer, or large mixing bowl with hand mixer, cream together butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar. ( dark brown sugar is best as it will enhance the molasses flavours). Beat until light and fluffy.5. Add in two large eggs and beat until well-combined.6. With the mixer running on medium speed, gradually add in molasses.

    7. Gradually add in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix on low speed until well-combined.

    8. Turn out onto a very lightly-floured board and add in the walnuts. Shape into a ball.

    9. Divide the ball in half, then divide each half into two pieces. You will end up with four pieces.

    10. Shape each ball into a log and lay across cookie sheets. (Two per sheet)

    11. Sprinkle tops of the logs very lightly with granulated sugar. (optional)

    12. Bake one cookie sheet at a time in 350 for 20-23 minutes. The log will be a little soft in the middle.

     13. Cool on baking sheet for five minutes.

    14. Carefully transfer one log to cutting board.Slice diagonally into one-inch pieces. Repeat with second log.

    Glaze (optional)

    Combine 5 tbsp. of icing sugar with two tsp. of milk and ½ tsp. of vanilla. Add a little more milk or icing sugar until you reach desired consistency. Place in icing bag and drizzle over top of cookies.

    Makes 36 to 40 cookies

    Store in covered container for up to one week.

    Notes

    Substitutions

    Pecan may be substituted for the walnuts.

    • Prep Time: 15 minutes
    • Cook Time: 23 minutes
    • Category: Cookies
    • Method: Baked
    • Cuisine: American

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size: 1 cookie
    • Calories: 178
    • Sugar: 14.2 g
    • Sodium: 41.6 mg
    • Fat: 8.7 g
    • Saturated Fat: 3.6 g
    • Trans Fat: 0 g
    • Carbohydrates: 23.7 g
    • Fiber: 0.7 g
    • Protein: 2.3 g
    • Cholesterol: 23.9 mg

    Keywords: fall baking, cookies

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

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      Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

    1. Natasha

      September 21, 2021 at 2:15 am

      Can it be baked in a square tin and then cut into squares or bars?

      Reply
      • Sandra

        September 21, 2021 at 4:04 pm

        I've only ever shaped the into logs but I think it should work!

        Reply
    2. Audrey Amell

      November 17, 2021 at 8:19 pm

      I found this recipe on your blog last year & it is now my ALL TIME favourite! Thank you for all the wonderful recipes you post & share. Your photos & web site are awesome!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Sandra

        November 17, 2021 at 8:20 pm

        Thanks so much Audrey!! I'm SO HAPPY to hear that!! 🙂

        Reply
    3. Virginia Barone

      November 30, 2021 at 11:24 am

      I made these today and they are delicious, but the logs spread so thin when I cooked them. Did I do something wrong?

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Sandra

        December 02, 2021 at 9:28 am

        Hi and thanks for commenting. Sorry to hear that you had trouble with this recipe. Assuming that all of the ingredients were measured correctly, the only other thing that comes to mind is that the butter might have been too soft? Sandra

        Reply
    4. Tim

      January 24, 2023 at 12:51 pm

      Another big surprise cookie hit this year. Love cookies with walnuts and these hit on just the right amount of spice. Thanks for sharing!!

      ★★★★★

      Reply

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    Hi, I'm Sandra! Welcome to my kitchen. A self-taught cook, I love being in the kitchen. My inspiration is the people who I love the most - my family. Here you will find simple family recipes to enjoy year round.  More about me

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