German Mini Nut Bars (Nussecken)

By
Jennifer McGavin
Jennifer McGavin
Jennifer McGavin learned to cook German food while living in Germany for 11 years and has worked in the food industry for many years.
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Updated on 10/6/19
German mini nut bars.
congerdesign / Pixabay
Prep: 40 mins
Cook: 25 mins
Total: 65 mins
Servings: 40 servings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
99 Calories
6g Fat
9g Carbs
3g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 40
Amount per serving
Calories 99
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 6g 8%
Saturated Fat 2g 10%
Cholesterol 25mg 8%
Sodium 116mg 5%
Total Carbohydrate 9g 3%
Dietary Fiber 1g 3%
Protein 3g
Calcium 41mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

These easy German mini nut bars (Nussecken) recipe looks like you worked all day but only take about 1 hour total to make. 

Nutcakes and nut bars are popular German bakery products. Cut on the diagonal, they are often called Nussecken or nut triangles (where nuss means "nuts" and ecken means "corners").

Hazelnuts, butter, and sugar make this nut bar recipe with a butter crust very rich, so cut them small. You can bake these nutbars in an 8x8-inch or 7x11-inch pan with a 40-bar yield, or double the recipe for a 13x9-inch pan for an 80-bar yield.

Hazelnuts can be a bit pricey, so substitute filberts, almonds or your favorite nut instead.

Ingredients

  • Crust:
  • 5 tablespoons/65 grams margarine (or butter-flavored Crisco)
  • 1/3 cup/65 grams sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 large room-temperature egg
  • 1 cup 3 tablespoons/150 grams​ all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon​ baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons apricot jam
  • Nut Filling:
  • 7 tablespoons/100 grams butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 cup/100 grams hazelnuts (ground)
  • 3/4 cup/100 grams hazelnuts (whole, chopped, or 1 extra cup ground hazelnuts)
  • Decoration (Optional):
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 1 teaspoon butter

Steps to Make It

Make the Crust

  1. In a medium bowl, cream together the margarine or Crisco and the sugar until well incorporated. Beat in 1 egg and vanilla extract. Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt until the dough forms a ball.

  2. Press the dough into a buttered pan. The bigger the pan, the thinner the nut bars. Spread the dough with apricot jam and set aside.

Make the Filling

  1. Heat oven to 350 F. In a medium saucepan, bring butter, 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla extract, and water to a boil on the stove. Stir and cook for several minutes until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is foamy.

  2. Stir in all the nuts. Remove from heat. Spoon the nut filling over the crust and smooth.

Bake, Cool, Cut

  1. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until light brown around the edges and set in the middle. Cool completely, then chill.

  2. Cut the bars into 20 squares, then cut across the diagonal into triangles to make 40 pieces. Remove the cookies to a work surface lined with parchment paper.

Decorate the Nut Bars

  1. In a heatproof bowl, melt the chocolate chips and 1 teaspoon butter in the microwave on high in 15-second intervals, stirring after each 15 seconds. This should take about 4 intervals before the chocolate chips are smooth and hot.

  2. Dip the bottoms of the nutbars into the hot chocolate chips and remove excess chocolate with a table knife or similar tool. Place back on the parchment paper and allow the chocolate to harden.

  3. If the chocolate in the bowl cools too much before you are done, microwave again for 15 seconds and stir.

  4. If you wish, you can add chocolate drizzles to the top of the nutbars with extra melted chocolate squeezed out of a decorator bag or a sandwich bag with a corner cut off.

  5. After the chocolate has hardened, store the nutbars in an airtight tin between layers of wax paper. You also can freeze them.