Honey walnut bars are a buttery and rich dessert treat. Crunchy walnuts are coated in a gooey honey caramel, then baked on top of a buttery and tender shortbread cookie crust.
Heather's recipe summary
Flavor/texture: Tender shortbread cookie crust is topped with a layer of rich and sweet honey caramel filled with crunchy walnuts.
Pan size: 8x8
Yield: 20-24 bars
Similar to: Peach Crumb Bars and Pumpkin Pie Bars
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Butter - Unsalted butter and the listed salt can be substituted with salted butter if desired.
- Nuts - Any nuts will work in this recipe. Cashews, peanuts, and pecans are great choices.
How to make Honey Walnut Bars
- Mix shortbread crust ingredients with a hand mixer. Dough will look crumbly, this is normal.
- Press into a lined 8x8 pan.
- Prick a few times with a fork.
- Par-bake while preparing the caramel topping.
- Add heavy cream to boiling butter, sugar, and honey.
- Remove from heat and add vanilla extract and salt. Stir in walnuts.
- Pour mixture over par-cooked shortbread crust in a parchment lined baking pan, then finish baking in the oven.
- Use parchment to remove from pan and allow to cool completely. Slice into small squares and serve.
Heather's Top Tip
For accurate results every time, use a kitchen scale to measure flour by weight. If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method. Stir the flour (especially if it's been packed down in a bag/container), then gently spoon into the measuring cup, leveling off the top with a knife. Scooping with a measuring cup compacts flour into the cup and adds up to 25% extra to the recipe, resulting in dry, bland baked goods.
Tips and tricks
Crumbly dough is okay - Shortbread dough will look a little crumbly when mixing the ingredients together, but will hold together when pinched between two fingers.
Dough too crumbly? If you've added too much flour to the dough, it may look very dry and crumbly. To fix a dough with too much flour, add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing until your dough sticks together when pressed between two fingers.
Use a medium-sized saucepan - Your caramel will double in size while boiling, so don't pick a saucepan that's too small.
Allow bars to cool completely - Once your bars come out of the oven, allow them to cool to room temperature. The caramel topping needs time to thicken before slicing into your bars, and will look thin straight from the oven.
Frequently asked questions
Any nuts will work in this recipe. Cashews, peanuts, and pecans are popular substitutions.
Honey walnut bars are sticky and topped with a thick layer of caramel, which will stick in an unlined pan. If you don't have parchment on hand, spray your pan with cooking spray and loosen the edges of your bars from the pan after they're done baking but before they've cooled. This makes them much easier to remove from the pan later on.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Honey Walnut Bars
Ingredients
Shortbread crust
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ⅓ cup (66 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups (150 g) all-purpose flour
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Topping
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter
- ¾ cup (160 g) brown sugar
- ½ cup (168 g) honey
- 2 cups (226 g) chopped walnuts
- ⅓ cup (76 g) heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Shortbread crust
- Preheat oven to 375℉. Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add vanilla and stir to combine. Add flour to butter mixture and mix until a dough forms. Dough may be crumbly, but will hold together when pinched between two fingers.
- Press dough into an even layer in prepared baking pan. Prick the top of the dough with a fork, then par-bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned around edges and top. Remove bars from oven and set aside until topping is ready.
- Leave your oven on.
Topping
- In a saucepan over medium heat, add butter, sugar, and honey. Bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, then add heavy cream. Boil for 1 more minute.
- Remove from heat and add vanilla extract and salt. Stir to combine. Add walnuts and stir to coat.
- Pour topping over shortbread crust.
- Place bars back in the oven and bake for about 18-22 minutes, or until entire top is bubbly. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before slicing (topping needs time to firm up).
- These bars are very sweet, so small slices (20-24 for this size pan) work best.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Nuts: Walnuts can be substituted with your favorite nut. Cashews, peanuts, or almonds are great choices.
- Storage: Bars will keep for 3-5 days at room temperature in a sealed container or 3 months in the freezer. To thaw, place on the countertop to bring to room temperature for 1-2 hours.
Absolutely loved these bars. I have made them twice in the last month. Last time, I doubled the shortbread and made 1 1/2 times the caramel layer to fill an 13x9 (3 quart) baking dish and make them a little flatter. Because I didn’t have enough walnuts, i used a cup of toasted pecans the last time I made them and think I’ll use all pecans next bake around!
The recipe did not specify the temperature for baking the topping so I assumed it was the same as the base. I hadn’t kept the oven hot so it had to heat up again and the topping sat on the base while it did.
Hi Keith, we hope you enjoyed the bars! Thanks for the feedback, I will reword the recipe to make it more obvious to leave the oven on while pouring the topping on the shortbread base.
Wondering of I can make this recipe without using the parchment paper?
The parchment allows you to lift the bars right out of the pan without any sticking. It's possible to make these without parchment, but I'd be sure to grease the pan very well before baking. Otherwise, the caramel layer sticks to the side of the pan.
Can you make the topping without the honey? As in, replace honey with more brown sugar or no?
Hi Jasmine, I haven't tried it myself, but honey could potentially be substituted with maple syrup in equal amounts. The honey helps to bind the topping together, and another sticky sweetener would be best for that.
Have you ever made this recipe with whole milk?
I have only made this with heavy cream so I can't say for sure if whole milk would work.
Hi there. These are delicious bars. I have a question. I am going to be making these for a wedding and I have to do 80 bars total. I am hoping I can make them before. Any recommendations? Are these somethings you can make before and freeze or refrigerate before they are needed? or prep before baking?
Any helpful information would be great. Thank you so much!
Hi Lisa, glad to hear you like the bars! Yes, you can make these ahead. Prepare the bars as directed. Once they've fully cooled, cover and refrigerate for up to a week. They can also be frozen for up to three months. Simply remove from the freezer and thaw overnight on the counter.
Thank you so much!!!