Try Out This Nussecken Recipe For A German Twist On Nut Bars!
If you’ve got a craving for a sweet treat shaped like a triangle, you’re definitely going to like Nussecken!
Nussecken literally translates to “nut corners” and it’s easy to see why that is.
Also known as German nut bars, these baked bars are the perfect combination of sweet, nutty, and flakey crust with a hint of chocolate!
Our Nussecken recipe is easy to follow, fun to make, and creates a large batch.
They are a baked good that also lasts for a while so they are worth the effort to have sweet treats on hand for weeks!
Recipe Tips/Substitutions
These nut corners are delicious but there are a few different ways you can tackle the recipe. Here are out tips and tricks:
- For starters, you can use different nuts than we used. Often, Nussecken are made with hazelnuts but we typically use whatever we have at home. This includes almonds and walnuts.
- For the ground nuts, you don’t have to buy pre-ground nuts. You can – but you can also just grind them in a food processor at home if you have one. Basically, don’t stress if you can only find whole nuts at the grocery store or whole food store.
- As for the jam, traditionally Nussecken are made with apricot jam and this is what we usually use. It doesn’t matter if the jam has some fruit chunks in it or not – just use what you have at home. Alternatively, you can also use another jam that you have available.
- Also, feel free to skip the chocolate glaze if you’re not a fan of chocolate. We usually make half of them with and half of them without chocolate since some members of the family just like them better without chocolate.
How to Make Nussecken – Step by Step Instructions
To make delicious Nussecken, you can check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post for exact ingredients and measurements.
If you’d like to follow along with the step by step process photos, you can see them below.
This way, if you are unsure about any steps in the recipe, you can refer to the photo to see how we did it!
First, grease and flour your baking pan. We use a baking pan with approximate dimensions of 13.5 x 9.5 inches. Set it aside.
Next, add the flour to a medium-sized mixing bowl. Then add the baking powder and stir it into the flour.
Now also add the egg, butter, vanilla extract, and sugar. Mix everything together using the spiral dough hooks of your electric mixer. At the same time, slowly pour in the milk.
Keep mixing until you have a dough that you can easily form into a ball.
Sprinkle some flour onto the countertop, then roll out the dough usuing a rolling until it is approximately the size of your baking pan.
Place the dough into the baking pan and make sure that it fits nicely.
Then, gently spread apricot jam on top of the dough so that it is covered.
You can use jam with fruit chunks or without, it doesn’t matter much for this recipe.
At this time, also preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Now it’s time to prepare the nut topping. For that, add butter, sugar, water, and vanilla extract to a medium-sized pot.
Heat it on the stove until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.
Remove the pot from the heat and add the ground as well as the chopped nuts.
Stir until everything is well mixed, then let the mixture cool for around 5 minutes.
Once the nut topping as cooled slightly, gently spread it onto the dough with the apricot jam.
Make sure it is evenly spread out so that the nut bars will be done baking at the same time.
Bake the Nussecken on the medium rack of your oven for around 25 minutes until cooked and nicely browned – but not burned – on top.
Remove the baking pan from the oven and let the nut bar cool fully.
Once fully cooled, cut them first into large squares and then into smaller triangles.
If you want to cover (some) of your nut bars in chocolate, melt the baking chocolate in the microwave or in a hot water bath.
Then dip two of the corners – or one of the sides – into the melted chocolate.
Place the nut triangles onto a cooling rack with parchment paper underneath to capture any drips. Let the bars sit until the chocolate has hardened.
Storage Tips
When you make a batch of Nussecken, you can store them in a sealed contained – ideally a cookie tin but a sealed plastic or glass container also works.
Store them in a cool and dry place, such as your basement or garage. This way they should stay fresh for 1-2 weeks.
If you have way more bars than you can eat, you can always freeze some of the Nussecken in a freezer container of bag. We would recommend freezing them without chocolate glaze after they have fully cooled.
You should know that freezing the nut bars might change their flavor slightly, but we still think they taste delicious – and it’s way better than having to throw leftovers away.
FAQ
Nussecken are German nut bars. They are made from ground nuts, jam, and a shortbread like dough. After baking, they are cut into triangles, the corners are then dipped in chocolate.
Nussecken literally translates to “nut corners” – which makes sense given they are made from nuts and cut into triangles.
Related Recipes
For more classic German dessert recipes, have a look at these other tasty classics:
- Dampfnudeln (w/ Vanilla sauce!)
- Franzbrötchen (Hamburg Cinnamon Roll)
- Bavarian Cream
- German Apple Cake (Apfelkuchen)
- Krapfen (German Jelly Donuts)
Nussecken
Ingredients
The Dough
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 medium-sized egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon milk
The Topping
- 3 tablespoons apricot jam
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup ground nuts, e.g. almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts
- 1 1/2 cup chopped nuts, e.g. almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts
The Chocolate Glaze
- 6 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate
Instructions
- First, grease and flour your baking pan. We’d recommend a baking pan with approximate dimensions of 13.5 x 9.5 inches. This will make 12 large or 24 medium-sized triangles.
- Add the flour to a medium-sized mixing bowl. Then add the baking powder and stir it into the flour. Now also add the butter, egg, vanilla extract, sugar. Mix everything together using the spiral dough hooks of your electric mixer while slowly pouring in the milk. Keep mixing until you have a dough that you can easily form into a ball.
- Sprinkle a little bit of flour onto your countertop and roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it fits the size of your baking pan.
- Place the dough into the baking pan, then add the apricot jam on top and gently spread it so that the top of the dough is covered.
- At this stage, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Now prepare the nut topping. For that, heat the butter, sugar, water, and vanilla extract in a medium-sized pot on the stove until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pot from heat and add the ground nuts as well as the chopped nuts. Mix well.
- Let the mixture cool for around 5 minutes, then gently spread it onto the dough with the apricot jam. Make sure that it is evenly spread so that the bars will all be done baking at the same time.
- Bake the nut bars on the medium rack of your oven for around 25 minutes until cooked and nicely browned.
- Remove the baking pan from the oven and let the Nussecken cool fully. Then cut them first into large squares, then into smaller triangles.
- For the chocolate glaze, melt the baking chocolate either in the microwave (make sure to take it out and stir it around approximately every 30 seconds) or in a hot water bath. Dip the corners of the nut triangles, or one of the sides, into the melted chocolate. Then place the triangles onto a cooling rack with parchment paper underneath. Let them sit until the chocolate has hardened.
Notes
- Nussecken are often made with hazelnuts, but we sometimes also use almonds and walnuts. It really depends on what we have on hand.
- You can grind your own nuts in a food processor if you have one and don’t want to buy pre-ground nuts.
- You can skip the chocolate glaze if you want to.
- Store the nut bars in a container, ideally a cookie tin, in a cool and dry place (garage or basement for example). This way they will easily last for a couple of weeks.
Nutrition
This nutritional information has been estimated by an online nutrition calculator. It should only be seen as a rough calculation and not a replacement for professional dietary advice.
Loved it. I had some dark ganache left over from another project and drizzled it over the top after it was cooled, popped it in the fridge for 10 minutes to harden it up and it was sublime. The hazelnuts crunched back up after the pop in the fridge too.
Took it to a family gathering and brought this instead of nuisse bitte and got almost as warm of a greeting.
So happy to hear that – thanks for leaving a comment, Bec! /Lisa