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Baklava cookie bars are a scrumptious twist on traditional baklava, and far less time-consuming than layering temperamental phyllo dough. A soft cookie crust is baked until lightly golden, then layered with a spiced nut topping and baked once more until golden and fragrant. Recipe makes 16 bars.
Once baked, the bars are drizzled with honey-orange syrup, and then left to cool (obviously the most torturous part of the process!).
The decadent honeyed nut topping is made with brown sugar, melted butter, ground cinnamon, chopped pecans, and almonds. You can also use chopped pistachios or walnuts.
Filled with the flavors of warming spice and a hint of citrus, it’s easy to see why these golden baklava cookie bars are a must bake.
More baklava inspired desserts:
Did you try this Baklava Cookie Bar Recipe? Let me know by leaving a comment and rating below!
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Baklava Cookie Bars
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 28 minutes
- Total Time: 58 minutes
- Yield: 16 bars
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
Description
Baklava cookie bars are a twist on traditional baklava! The soft cookie crust is layered with a spiced nut topping and drizzled with honey. Recipe makes 16 bars.
Ingredients
Crust
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
Nut Topping
- 1/3 cup pecans, chopped
- 1/3 cup almonds, chopped
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp cloves
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Syrup
- 1/3 cup honey
- 3 Tbsp water
- 1 Tbsp fresh orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8-inch square metal baking pan with parchment paper.
- Make bars: Whisk together melted butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and orange zest in a large bowl until combined. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl; add to butter mixture and fold in until incorporated. Press dough evenly into bottom of parchment-lined pan and bake crust for 15 to 16 minutes, until lightly golden and set.
- Make nut topping: While the crust bakes, combine pecans, almonds, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg in a small bowl; add melted butter and stir until incorporated. Spoon nut mixture evenly over warm crust and return pan to oven. Continue baking another 10 to 12 minutes, until golden.
- Make syrup: While the bars finish baking, combine honey, water, and orange juice in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to low heat and let mixture simmer until syrupy, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
- Place baked bars on a wire rack and drizzle syrup over still-warm topping, tilting pan slightly to coat evenly. Cool bars completely in pan. Carefully lift parchment and place bars on a cutting board; cut into triangles with a sharp knife. If desired, serve with a drizzle of honey.
- Store leftover bars in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days, or freeze up to 3 months.
Notes
Larger Batch: For a larger batch of cookie bars, double the recipe and bake in a 9 x 13-inch rectangular baking pan.
Orange zest: I flavored the bars and syrup with orange zest and juice. You can also use lemon zest and juice.
Spices: Ground cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg flavor the nut topping. You can also add 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom.
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Absolutely delicious and turned out perfect! What a great way to gobble up all the yummy flavours of baklava. A huge favourite at our house. Double the recipe is just out of the oven for our Thanksgiving dessert table. Smells heavenly!
Thank you so much, Denise! 🙂 I appreciate your feedback!
Would a 9×13 glass baking dish (vs. 9×13 metal baking pan) also work for doubling the recipe?
Hi Melanie, I don’t usually recommend baking in glass as metal pans conduct heat much more evenly. Using a glass pan would be less of an issue here than in some recipes because you don’t have a lot of additional moisture to worry about. If you do try it, expect the baking time to be 5 minutes longer or so, just keep an eye on it. Hope that helps!
Wow, thank you for this recipe. This is probably my favorite thing I’ve ever baked. I love pistachios and saw a comment about adding them in. I have no regerts haha. I highly recommend making this, even if it’s just to fill your home with the wonderful aroma. Maybe next time I will make this with just almond and pistachio and sub lemon instead of orange similar to the Turkish version of baklava.
That’s so nice to hear, thank you! 🙂
These came out great! I made for a Christmas party initially and now making them again as we speak! I did follow the recipe exactly but I used pistachios instead of almonds and I used a tart pan rather then an 8in square pan.
Thanks so much, Tara! The pistachios sound delicious too. 🙂
We liked these! I mixed some buttered and toasted filo scraps with the topping. I also double the recipe, and baked in a 9 x 13 pan.
Thanks so much, Carole! That sounds delicious! 🙂
I made these amazing bars I used walnuts and pecans, lemon zest and juice (didn’t have orange on hand, pumpkin pie spice with extra cinnamon. I also added a pinch of salt to the topping! These are addictive and so tasty! Thx for the recipe
Sounds amazing, so glad you tried this recipe!
These are so delicious! They were easy and came out perfectly. I made some very small changes – used a mix of almonds, pecans, and walnuts and probably used about a cup in total. I also used 1/4 cup of orange juice instead of the water because I love orange.
I must say. .. I lose my husband after just the smell of baking these bars. I made them over the summer and we both agreed it tasted more like a holiday cookie with the orange, cinnamon and cloves. I just made them yesterday and yep. . .I lost my husband again 🤣 They will definitely be a new staple in our home for years to come. The funny thing is. . I’ve never had a baklava!
These are so good and hit the flavors and sticky goodness we love about baklava. The orange is so good without being overpowering and the spices help balance everything out with a buttery crust. It’s like baklava meets pecan bars and that is just plan delicious!
Thanks Holly, that’s wonderful to hear! 🙂
I just pulled these out of the oven and omggggggg! They are amazing. Super easy and very delicious. I cut the sugar slightly because I will be feeding them to my father … and they are still spectacular. Love the orange! I think next time I will make more nut
Topping- just personal preference
I’m so glad you tried these bars! 🙂