This is an old recipe from Better Homes and Gardens with kind of a healthy slant to it. It's a whole wheat bar cookie with a ton of nuts, dark chocolate and maple syrup as the major sweetener. So far I've only made it once, but it's a recipe with potential. I need to make the bars again now that I'm older and like things a little less sweet.
Old Notes
The recipe had only one review from a person who thought the bars had no flavor. Hmmm, maybe because the recipe doesn't call for salt? I don't know, but if I see a recipe that lacks salt and doesn't have any salted butter, I usually add it anyway.
I cut the recipe in half, made it in an 8 inch pan, then quibbled over the icing because I thought it would be too sweet and weird without the butter. In the end, I made it as written (with a little extra Nutella) then piped it over the bars.
Here's the recipe! I wouldn't bring these bars to a cookie exchange, but I'd make them again for myself to go with a cup of coffee.
Recipe
Two Nut Maple Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour (130 grams)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg white
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup canola oil or light tasting olive oil
- ¼ cup milk
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ cups toasted hazelnuts and pecans
- ½ cup dark chocolate pieces or dark chocolate chips
Chocolate Hazelnut Frosting
- 2-3 tablespoons chocolate-hazelnut spread Nutella!
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 ½ tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 inch square metal pan with parchment or foil and grease the bottom.
- Combine flour, baking powder, soda and salt in a large mixing bow; set aside.
- In medium bowl whisk together egg white, maple syrup, oil, milk and vanilla; add to flour mixture. Stir to combine. Stir in the cooled toasted nuts and the chocolate. Spread in prepared pan.
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack and then lift from pan. Spread with Chocolate-Hazelnut Frosting or put the frosting in a freezer bag, snip off the bottom corner, and pipe stripes of it over the top.
Hazelnut Frosting
- Stir together the hazelnut spread, powdered sugar and cocoa powder, then stir in the maple syrup and milk and beat until smooth.
Mackenzie@The Caramel Cookie says
I'm not usually a fan of nuts in baked goods but these look delicious!
iva says
These look fantastic! I bet they taste fantastic too (where is nutella you can't go wrong :D)
Anna says
Martha, thanks! It's 2-3 tablespoons.
Martha in KS says
I like the name "Two Nut". lol. How much Nutella do you use - 2-3 Tablespoons, cups, teaspoons? Thanks
Anna says
Lisa, you would love these!
Meredith, have you tried grade A maple syrup? It's not as strong as grade B. However, if you hate the flavor you might still detect it. Honey would probably work, but it would be super strong. Maybe you could try agave or a mixture of honey and agave?
Dawn, the combination of maple and Nutella reminded me of the glaze they use on chocolate doughnuts.
vanillasugarblog says
nice combo here.
i love maple syrup.
and i love nutella, never used them both at the same time but i am game!
Meredith says
Okay-I HATE maple flavor; there seem to be so many recipes at this time of year that call for maple syrup as the primary sweetener. What's your experience; think that I could sub honey? Thanks for your thoughts.....
Lisa Ernst says
Looks like my kind of cookie! I love the combo of hazelnuts and chocolate and I've found a less sweet alternative to Nutella -- Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut spread. This recipe would make a good holiday cookie, so I'll need to bookmark this one.