Lifestyle
Recipe: Walnut Creek Cookie Bars
Walnut Creek Cookie Bars
At Neiman Marcus we love a good chocolate chip cookie, and as you might know, the origin of our tasty recipe is legendary in itself. In honor of the opening of the 42nd NM store, in Walnut Creek, California, NM Executive Chef Kevin Garvin and team tweaked the famous NM Chocolate Chip Cookie and created the Walnut Creek Cookie Bar. Here’s the recipe so you can bake a batch in your kitchen.
WALNUT CREEK COOKIE BARS
Bakes approximately 48 bars.
Dough:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) softened, unsalted butter
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons water
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees
1. In a mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the flour and salt together.
3. Add the flour and salt to the mixer in 2 batches on low speed. Mix just to incorporate.
4. Add the egg yolks one at a time, then the vanilla and water. Mix just to incorporate.
5. Form the dough into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
6. Line a 12″ x 17″ jellyroll pan with parchment paper. Roll out the dough to 1/4′ thick and place in the pan. Prick the dough all over with a fork, and bake for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and cool on the wire rack while you prepare the filling.
FILLING:
2 cups (4 sticks) butter
2 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup honey
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 cups walnut pieces (2 1/4 lbs.)
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1. Combine the butter, sugars, and honey in a medium saucepan over medium heat and stir until the butter is melted and sugar is dissolved.
2. Stir in the heavy cream and the walnuts and remove from the stove.
3. Pour onto the dough and spread evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the filling is slightly thickened and bubbly. The mixture will look a bit runny and sticky but will set up once it cools.
4. Cool completely before cutting into desired-size bars.
The Walnut Creek Cookie Bars will be available for purchase at Walnut Creek‘s NM Cafe on Level Two.
