Butter Tart Cookie Bars
As seen on The Great American Baking Show, these butter tart cookie bars are a hybrid of a Canadian gooey butter tart and a mouthwatering cookie bar with a buttery, crumbly shortbread base! Make these cookie bars to find out why I received a Hollywood Handshake for them!
Ingredients
For the Shortbread Base
- 226 g good quality unsalted butter room temperature
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 1 tsp good quality vanilla extract 4g
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 245 g all purpose flour
- 1 large egg for egg wash
For the Top Layer
- 3 large eggs
- 85 ml dark corn syrup
- 85 ml good quality maple syrup
- 25 ml white vinegar
- 2 tsp good quality vanilla extract 8g
- 30 g all purpose flour
- 220 g brown sugar
- 112 g good quality unsalted butter cold
- 65 g raisins
- 60 g walnuts roughly chopped
Instructions
For the Shortbread Base
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (roughly 180°C) and line a 8” x 8” pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, place 226g of room temperature butter and 100g of granulated sugar. Using a spatula, mix butter and sugar together until well combined.
- Add 1 tsp (4g) of vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp of salt to the bowl and mix in.
- Add 245g all purpose flour and mix with a spatula until just starting to come together.
- Pour dough out onto a clean surface and finish bringing it together by hand.
- Place shortbread dough into lined 8” x 8” pan and press down with your fingers to spread it out, sprinkle a little flour if it is sticking to fingers.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until shortbread is golden brown.
- Whisk 1 egg and brush it over the slightly cooled shortbread base. Return to the oven for 5 minutes, then set aside to cool.
For the Top Layer
- While the cookie base is baking, prepare the filling by adding 220g of brown sugar and 112g of cold unsalted butter to a saucepan.
- Place the saucepan over medium heat until the butter has melted and the mixture begins to bubble a bit. Sit the mixture aside.
- Add 3 large eggs to a medium bowl. Whisk the eggs by hand using a whisk to break up the yolks.
- Add 85ml of dark corn syrup, 85ml of good quality maple syrup, 25ml of whitevinegar and 2 tsp (8g) of vanilla extract to the eggs and whisk until combined.
- Pour a small amount of the egg mixture into a separate small bowl and add 30g all purpose flour to the bowl. Whisk together until smooth, then pour back into the egg mixture.
- Carefully pour the egg mixture into the saucepan and continuously stir over low/medium heat until the mixture has thickened slightly.
- Spread 65g of raisins and 60g of chopped walnuts over the cooled shortbread base. Then pour the slightly thickened topping over the nuts and raisins making sure to spread in an even layer.
- Bake for 30 minutes, remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes. If you cut the bars right away the filling will not have set properly.
- Cut, serve and enjoy!