Fudge Nut Layer Bars are a popular dessert bar recipe that my family has been baking for over 50 years!
My mom added these Fudge Nut Layer Bars to her holiday baking list before I was even born. They’re not truly a “holiday” bar since they don’t have any festive red and green sprinkles or anything like that, but they’re the perfect addition to a holiday treat platter. They’re so delicious that they get gobbled up rather quickly. And they’ve been a favorite holiday bar recipe in our family for as long as I can remember.
How to make Fudge Nut Layer Bars:
You’ll be making two layers- a chocolate layer and a crust layer. The chocolate layer is a combination of chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, butter, salt, chopped walnuts and vanilla. That’s all melted together and then set aside to cool while you make the dough for the crust.
The crust dough is a buttery oatmeal type of crust. Most of it is pressed into the bottom of your baking pan. Then the chocolate is spread on top of the bottom crust. Then you’ll take the rest of the crust dough and crumble it on top of the chocolate. A few more chopped walnuts are sprinkled on top. At this point, it’s ready for baking!
Can the nuts be left out of the recipe?
Yes! If you’re not a fan of nuts (or if you’re allergic), go ahead and leave them out of the recipe entirely. I’ve made these bars with and without nuts many times… and they’re just as good both ways.
What can you do with leftover sweetened condensed milk?
I have a great solution for what to do with leftover sweetened condensed milk. If you area coffee drinker, sweetened condensed milk is AMAZING when added to coffee. It’s even better in my recipe for How to Make Cold Brew Coffee.
Also, leftover sweetened condensed milk will keep in the fridge for about a month– and even longer in the freezer. Just be sure to transfer it from the can to a safe container for refrigeration (glass or plastic).
How do you store fudge nut layer bars?
These bars may be kept in a treat tin at room temperature or in the freezer. I like to separate layers with parchment or plastic wrap. They freeze well… so that means you can bake them ahead and freeze them, and then take them out of the freezer to defrost as you’re ready to eat them, serve them or gift them. Also noted: frozen bars are pretty delicious too!
Here are a few more recipes for bars that you might like to try:
- Nutella Shortbread Bars
- Royal Chocolate Marshmallow Bars
- Cranberry Bliss Bars
- Easy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Apricot Bars
- No Bake Monster Cookie Bars
- Seven Layer Bars
- Apple Butter Oatmeal Bars
Fudge Nut Layer Bars
Ingredients
CHOCOLATE LAYER:
- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
CRUST:
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
- 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x9-inch or 11x7-inch pan with nonstick spray.
PREPARE THE CHOCOLATE LAYER:
- Melt the chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, butter and salt in the top of a double boiler or carefully over low heat (or microwave in a glass bowl). Remove from heat and add the 1/2 cup walnuts and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Set aside.
PREPARE THE CRUST:
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate, large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together the butter and brown sugar. Mix in the egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in the sifted dry ingredients and the oats.
- Press 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread with the chocolate filling mixture. Crumble the remaining batter over the filling and sprinkle with the walnuts.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool completely and then cut into small bars.
Notes
- This recipe is one that my Mom used to make all the time when I was little. I'm sure she probably got the original recipe from a magazine or from one of the Pillsbury bake-off booklets.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My husbands favorite! I double the recipe, use 9×13 pan, and also add 1/2-1 t baking powder. Adds tenderness. A little butter, too
A classic wonderful recipe. I double it, put in 9×13, and use the whole can of sweetened condensed milk.
Aloha Lori,
Are these bars suitable for mailing?
Mahalo and happy holidays!
Mynda
Yes! They are quite a sturdy bar, so I’d say they’d do well for mailing!
Just made these, absolutely amazing! I substituted some of the flour out for ground flax seed, and used dark chocolate. Love the recipe! Will be making these for family get together’s! It will crush their chocolate cravings!
OMG! I have been looking for this recipe for years. My Mom use to make these bars. They were my favorite. She did not make them as often as her other treats because they took a little bit more time to make. They are worth it! Thanks for posting it.
I tried this recipe and it was pretty good! I thought the “cookie” layer was just a tiny bit dry, so made it again added 2-3 more tablespoons of butter and more brown sugar for moisture. It was a HUGE hit – thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe!! (Oh, I also doubled the nuts – i used pecans – but I double nuts in most recipes. we are nutty kinda people! ha!!)
This looks amazing! Do you know if I can make these using old fashioned oats instead of quick-cooking? What adjustments would you make?
Anna-
I believe if you sub old-fashioned for quick cooking, the texture will be a bit different… perhaps not as soft and a little on the grainy side. I know it’s a hassle to keep both in your pantry, but I usually do. If you try the old fashioned kind, do let me know how they worked out!
Anna, you can put rolled oats in a food processor and blitz them to create quick oats or even oat flour.