Brown Sugar Hazelnut Bars

It’s no surprise to folks who follow my blog, but I love chocolate and hazelnut together. In going through older recipes of which I had taken photos, I came across this recipe. Many of the recipes are from Christmas issues of magazines, but they don’t necessarily seem all that Christmassy to me. I think at times when you take things out of the context of the holidays, then cookies just seem like regular cookies. I knew I would have a winner with chocolate and hazelnuts!

This recipe uses a very small amount of ingredients for a 9” x 13” pan. I halved this recipe, and it was even less! I baked the half recipe in an 8” square pan, which has slightly more area, but it’s as close as I could get. There is enough dough to cover the pan in a thin layer, and it really it quite thin. I knew it would bake quickly so I adjusted the baking time to 15 minutes, and then added another 2 minutes for a nice golden brown. If you do make a full recipe, you’ll need to watch the baking time.

Since the bars are so thin, you don’t have to wait very long for the bars to cool and proceed to the topping. None the less, I made these bars in stages, which made very quick work of them. I think the dough was ready before the oven got to temperature, and then I topped them with Nutella and chopped hazelnuts right when I finished eating lunch. It may seem like these bars are simple, but they are so tasty. Again, you can’t go wrong with chocolate and hazelnuts!

Brown Sugar Hazelnut Bars
¾ cup butter, room temperature
½ cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
½ cup Nutella
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and salt on medium until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, stirring until the dough just comes together. With floured hands, press the dough into the prepared pan in an even layer.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Once the bars are cool, spread with the Nutella and top with the chopped hazelnuts. Remove from the pan and cut into bars.

Recipe from Good Housekeeping