These easy vegan nut bars (German Nussecken recipe) are delicious cookie corners made with a pastry base, apricot jam filling, and crunchy caramelized hazelnut topping. It’s a super simple baking recipe that everyone will love!
Vegan Nut Bars – German Nussecken
Christmas is already over, but the poinsettia is still in my living room and smiles at me every day! This beautiful red plant has really taken part in quite a lot of photoshoots like in this cookie butter chocolate cake or this coconut rice pudding cake. However, I originally bought it to decorate these delicious nut corners.
To be honest, I wanted to put this recipe on the blog earlier because these vegan nut bars are a popular German Christmas treat but for any reason I forgot it. Fortunately, when I was browsing through my pictures, I came across these photos so I hope that you are still happy about the recipe!
Anyway, I really don’t know why nut corners are usually served just at Christmas time because they’re so delicious and super easy to make! I love any cookie or pastry that contains a lot of nuts and there are plenty of them in these nut corners.
Which baking pan can I use?
The amount specified in the recipe is sufficient for a small 7×11-inch brownie pan. If you don’t have a similar baking pan, feel free to double the recipe to make a larger tray our use my cake pan conversion calculator to adjust the measurements for your individual baking pan.
Simple Ingredients
All you need for this recipe are a few simple ingredients that you may have already at home. For the dough, you need flour, sugar, baking powder, vegan butter, and a flax-egg. For the fruit layer, you need a bit of apricot jam but you could also use another jam as desired. Furthermore, you need ground hazelnuts for the nut layer and vegan dark chocolate for coating the corners.
How to make Vegan Nut Bars (Cookie Corners)
Start to line the desired baking pan with parchment paper. I prefer to grease the pan with a bit of vegan butter (or margarine) first which helps the baking paper sticks to the pan.
Mix together all the ingredients for the dough and press it evenly into the prepared pan. Next, spread the apricot jam over the dough. Finally, prepare the nut layer and spread it evenly over the jam. To make the layers evenly, I prefer using a glass with a flat bottom or a silicone spatula.
Now put the nut bars in the preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes. Once done, let them cool briefly. Then carefully lift the whole nut bar out of the mold using the overhanging parchment paper. It‘s very important to cut it into bars or corners while it’s still warm. Otherwise, the caramelized nut layer will get too hard.
You can actually cut the nut bars in your favorite form. But to make the traditional triangle shape, start to cut the nut bar into squares, then cut each square in half across the corners. Transfer the nut corners to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
When the nut corners are cooled, roughly chop the chocolate and melt it over a water bath. Then dip the pointed corners of the nut triangles into the melted chocolate. Place on a piece of parchment paper and allow the chocolate to set.
These Vegan Nut Bars are
- Dairy-free (lactose-free)
- Egg-free
- Can be made gluten-free
- Easy to make
- Crispy
- Moist
- Nutty
- Flavorful
- Chocolatey
- So delicious!
How to store and freeze Nut Corners
Nut corners are really long-lasting! Stored in a sealed container, they stay fresh and moist for up to 3 weeks. After that, they do not spoil, but slowly become dry. You can also freeze the nut corners as desired. It is best to separate the individual corners with a piece of parchment paper, then place them in a sealed freezer bag. When ready to serve, remove them individually and let them thaw at room temperature or place them in the fridge overnight.
Vegan baking can be so tasty and easy! Be sure to try these simple recipes that are perfect all year round:
- Carrot Cake
- Best Vegan Banana Bread
- Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Best Vegan Brownies
- Mini Apple Pies
- Cherry Crumble Cheesecake
If you do try this easy vegan nut cookie bars recipe, I would love to read your feedback in the comments below. And if you take a photo of your German Nussecken and share it on Instagram, please don’t forget to tag me @biancazapatka to make sure I won’t miss your post. Enjoy!
Vegan Nut Bars (German 'Nussecken')
Author:You do not have a fitting cake pan at hand right now? Try my Cake Pan Conversion Calculator!
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 ⅓ cup (160 g) all-purpose flour or sub gluten-free flour (*see note)
- ¾ tsp (3/4 tsp) baking powder
- ¼ cup (60 g) + 1 tbsp of sugar
- 2.3 oz (65 g) vegan butter
- 1 flax-egg or 3 tbsp applesauce or another egg substitute (*see note)
For the topping
- 2 tbsp apricot jam
- 2.8 oz (80 g) vegan butter
- ¼ cup (65 g) + 1 tbsp of sugar
- 2 cups (200 g) ground hazelnuts or ground almonds
- 4.4 oz (125 g) dark chocolate
Instructions
*Note: Check out the recipe video + step-by-step pictures above!
Prepare the flax-egg
- Mix 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water in a small bowl. Then set aside for 5-10 minutes and allow to swell.
- Preheat the oven to 356°F (320°F fan). Lightly grease an 11x7-inch baking pan and line it with baking paper so that there’s an overhang on both sides. (If you want to make a larger tray, you can double the recipe or use the cake pan converter to adjust the amount for your desired pan.)
Make the dough
- For the best results, I recommend measuring the ingredients in grams. Simply click on the word "metric" right above the ingredient list.
- Mix the flour, baking powder and sugar in a bowl. Cut the cold vegan butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture along with the flax-eg. Knead everything until a dough forms with your hands. (If the dough is very sticky, you can wrap it in cling foil and put it in the fridge for 1 hour to firm up).
- Press the dough into the prepared baking pan to form an evenly bottom. (Alternatively, roll it out on a sheet using a rolling pin).
Make the topping (*see step-by-step photos above)
- Spread the apricot jam on the dough and smooth out.
- Melt the vegan butter and sugar in a saucepan. Add the ground nuts and 2 tablespoons of water and simmer briefly while stirring. Then spread the nut mixture over the apricot jam evenly.
- Bake the nut bars in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes. Allow to cool briefly, then carefully lift out the entire bar using the overhanging parchment paper. (Make sure to cut the bars while the nut layer is still warm and soft). First, cut into squares and then cut them in half across the corners. Let cool completely on a cooling rack.
- When the nut corners are cooled completely, roughly chop the dark chocolate and melt over a water bath. Dip the pointed corners into the chocolate. Then place on a piece of baking paper until the chocolate is firm.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Flour: I recommend using all-purpose flour or light spelt flour or a gluten-free flour blend 1:1.
- The egg substitute provides a softer and less crumbly pastry but you could also leave it out. Instead of the flax-egg, you can use 1 tbsp of soy flour + 3 tablespoons of wate or ½ mashed banana or 3 tbsp applesauce. If you are not vegan, feel free to use a regular egg.
- Please read my blog post for further information and step-by-step photos!
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I made these for one of my two desserts as part of a traditional Bulgarian charismas eve vegan feast. Those were exactly what I remembered from childhood, I will be making them again – recipe is spot on, needs nothing added and they keep well in an air tight container. You’re a genius lady, I love all your recipes, thank you for sharing them 🙂
Great, thanks for your feedback! Glad you love my recipes! 😘
Thank you for this recipe! Everyone loved them! We used almonds because the hazelnuts weren’t available, and they were very good. I will definitely make these next Christmas too!
Great! Thanks for your feedback! ☺️
absolutely delicious, and super easy to make. Will be adding this to the Christmas menu this year:)
That’s great! I’m super happy about it! 🙂
can i use coconut oil instead of vegan butter?
Yes! 🙂
absolutely delicious and super easy to make. Will be adding this to the Christmas menu this year 🙂
Great! I’m super happy about that. Many thanks.
Hi Bianca, I really love your recipes, this one looks really delicious and I really want to cook it, the only problem I have is that I tried to change the ingredients to metric system and couldn’t, it’s the first time it happens to me with your page, cause I’ve made other recipes and didn’t had any problems. Is it possible for you to help me out with this? I would deeply appreciate it! 🙂
Hi Maria,
can you please try it again?
It should work! 🙂
Best, Bianca
Ich habe dieses tolle Rezept gestern umgesetzt mit Haselnüssen und Mandeln und etwas weniger Zucker. Meine Mutter war so begeistert dass sie meinte diese Ecken seien das Beste was ich bis jetzt gebacken habe 😮🙏🤤
Danke daher an dich Bianca für das tolle Rezept!
Super, das freut mich sehr! Vielen Dank für das liebe Feedback. Ich wünsche dir ein tolles Wochenende! ♡
Super tolles Rezept! Einfache Umsetzung und total leckeres Endresultat. Wir waren begeistert von der veganen Variante der Nussecken😊👍🏼
Es freut mich sehr, dass euch dieses Rezept gefällt! ❤️
Vielen Dank für dein großartiges Feedback!
LG, Bianca 🙂
Sehr gutes Rezept, hat alles wunderbar geklappt! Ich habe bei den Nüssen nur Hälfte Mandeln/Hälfte Haselnüsse genommen. Wird auf jeden Fall ein Lieblings-Weihnachtsplätzchen Rezept!
Das klingt toll! 🙂
Ich danke dir vielmals für dein Feedback! <3
Hi!
I love nussecken and tried this recipe the other day 😋 Although it was very easy and delicious, the upper layer was not fully sticking to the dough below because of the apricot jam. Any recommendations? Thanks a lot for sharing!!
Hi Carlotta, maybe you’ve added too much of the jam? Honestly, I’ve never had this issue. <3
I remember eating them in Germany and loved them! Excited for this vegan version! 🙂
Thank you so much! Hope you’ll try them soon! 🙂