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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 difficult 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 favorite dessert bars:
Did you try this Baklava Cookie Bar Recipe? Let me know by leaving a comment and rating below!
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Easy Spiced 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.
I’m having a party with a 5 course meal so there is a lot of cooking involved. I really want to add these amazing sounding bars to my menu but I need to know if they can be made ahead of time. Hopefully freezing is an option since there is a lot of day before things to do. Any ideas?
Thank you for posting your recipes and for your time and effort in reading and answering your comments.
Hi Lynda, dessert bars are a great make-ahead option. Let the bars cool completely before wrapping well and freezing. I usually wrap with a layer of plastic wrap or foil, and then pop in a freezer bag. The day ahead of the party, thaw the bars on a wire rack at room temperature (still wrapped to prevent condensation from forming on the surface).
I never leave comments on recipes but this is one of the best dessert recipes I have ever made. I keep coming back to it, and depending on what I have in the house I’ll switch up which nuts I use and it still turns out perfect. I am obsessed with these bars. 10/10
Thank you so much, thrilled to hear this! 🙂
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!