Walnut-Cherry Cookie Bars

By garciamoss

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted*
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, chilled, cut up
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups cherry preserves
• Powdered sugar for sprinkling

Preparation

Step 1

1 Heat oven to 350˚F. Spray 9-inch square baking pan with cooking spray. Pulse walnuts in food processor until chopped to medium consistency. Add flour, sugar, baking soda and salt; pulse to combine. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg and vanilla; pulse until blended and moistened.

2 Press 3 cups of the crumb mixture into bottom of pan; spread with preserves. Sprinkle remaining 2 cups crumb mixture over preserves, squeezing slightly to form clumps.

3 Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.

24 bars