Walnut Bars

Dancing burns calories, especially when singing "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavor." We enjoyed into these yummy Walnut Bars from Mary Nomenilli.

Tastes & Treasures has Macaroon Nut Tarts on page 115. It has some nice variations of Walnut Bars.

Walnut Bars

Ingredients for crust:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter

Mix together like pie crust. Pat into 9x13 pan. Note: Put a sheet of parchment on the bottom of the pan so they don't break up when taking them out.
Bake 375 for 15-20 min. Let cool.

Ingredients for topping:
2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoon flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder

Directions:
Mix together and spread on crust.
Bake 2nd time 375 for 15-20 min. Let cool.

Ingredients for frosting:
3 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon creamer
1 1/2 cup powder sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
Cream butter and sugar. Add creamer and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

Cut into squares. Freezes well.

Easy Sticky Buns

Love the sticky buns from historic El Chorro restaurant? Here is a simpler version. The education department at the Arizona Historical Society also gives us a mini lesson about the Arizona Walnut tree at www.arizonahistoricalsociety.org

EASY STICKY BUNS

The Arizona Walnut is a type of tree that grows in Arizona. The Arizona Walnut grows very slowly and can live well over 20 years. When this tree is fully grown it can be 50 feet tall. In the spring and summer, the Arizona Walnut has yellow-green leaves and small brown flowers. During the fall and winter, the tree looses its leaves and the brown flowers become brown seeds, called walnuts.1 With these walnuts you can make delicious goodies like sticky buns.

You need:

1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1 package frozen yeast rolls (about 18)
1 ½ cups butter (2 ½ sticks)
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 (4 oz) package butterscotch pudding and pie filling mix
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Step 1: Spread the walnuts over the bottom of a bundt pan sprayed with nonstick
cooking spray and top with the yeast rolls.

Step 2: Cook remaining ingredients, butter, brown sugar, butterscotch mix, and cinnamon, in a saucepan until blended, stirring frequently.

Step 3: Pour over the prepared layers.

Step 4: Let rise, covered with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel, for 8 to 10 hours.

Step 5: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Step 6: Let stand for 15 minutes and then turn upside down onto a serving platter.
Serve immediately. Serves 12.

*Recipe from Tastes & Treasures: A Storytelling Cookbook of Historic
Arizona by the Historical League, Inc. Available for purchase at the Arizona
Historical Society Museum at Papago Park, (480) 929-0292.