Easy German Nut Corners | Nussecken
Nussecken are German shortbread cookie bars with a caramelized nut topping. The corners of these irresistible cookies are dipped in dark chocolate for the ultimate treat!
Ingredients
Shortbread Cookie Base
- 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature (1 stick)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt (use table salt or fine sea salt)
- 1 large egg
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup apricot jam
Nut Topping
- 12 Tablespoons unsalted butter (1½ sticks) ; ¾ cup)
- 1½ cups finely chopped hazelnuts or almonds (or a mixture of both nuts)
- 1½ cups finely ground hazelnuts or almonds (or a mixture of both)
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt (use table salt or fine sea salt)
Chocolate Topping
- 1 cup dark chocolate or bittersweet chocolate (about 6 ounces)
Instructions
Bake the Cookie Base
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl with an electric hand whisk or in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the softened stick of butter until it’s pale smooth and creamy, after 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat again until it’s smooth and fluffy, after 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the egg and beat again until it’s incorporated, after 1 minute.
- Add the flour mix on a low speed until it forms a crumbly mixture, and there’s no visible dry flour, after 1 to 2 minutes.
- Remove the parchment paper from your baking sheet and place it on the counter. Dump the dough onto the parchment paper, and press it in an even layer until it’s about 9-inches by 13-inches. (You can press the dough with your hands, or place a sheet of plastic wrap on the dough and roll it out with a rolling pin.)Lift parchment paper and rolled-out dough and place it into the baking sheet.
- Poke the dough about a dozen times with a fork. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until it’s starting to just turn golden on top. (Keep the oven on.)
- Spread the apricot jam in an even layer over the hot shortbread. Set aside to cool.
Prepare the Nut Layer
- Melt the stick and a half of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the chopped nuts and cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes until the nuts smell toasted.
- Add the ground almonds or hazelnuts, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and salt, and mix to combine. Cook for one more minute, then remove from the heat.
- Spread the nut mixture evenly over the apricot layer.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the nuts on top are caramelized and bubbling along the edges. Let cool for 15 minutes, then trim off any uneven edges and slice into triangles. Allow the cookies to continue cooling for at least 1 hour, then lift the cookies from the baking sheet, and re-slice them if needed.
Dip in Melted Chocolate
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave on 20 second intervals or on the stove with a double boiler.
- Dip the two pointy corners of each triangle cookie into the melted chocolate. Return the cookies to the parchment paper-lined baking sheet until the chocolate has set, after at least 2 hours. Enjoy!!
Notes
- Equipment: I recommend using a quarter sheet pan, which is 9-inches by 13-inches. Then you can press or roll your shortbread dough all the way to the edges of the pan for the perfect size. If you're using a large baking sheet, you can use a ruler to measure the side of the cookie base.
- Crumbly Dough: The cookie dough will look really crumbly at first, but the softened butter will make it all stick together as soon as you begin rolling it out.
- Even Baking: When rolling out the dough, try to get it in as even of a layer as possible. If the edges are thinner than the middle, they’ll turn brown before the center. If that happens, you can just slice off the crispy edges after it's baked.
- Cool Completely: Be sure to allow your cookie bars to cool completely after slicing them. Otherwise the nut topping will still be soft & could slide off.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 cookieCalories: 297kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 4gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 67mgPotassium: 130mgFiber: 2gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 316IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 40mgIron: 2mg
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