Lemon Glazed Walnut Bars

I live in an area where walnuts and hazelnuts grow in abundance and they are always available in local markets at a fair price. Ergo, I use them often in my cooking, especially in desserts and pastries. Bob really likes these lemon glazed walnut bars, and at his suggestion, I'm including them in this week's collection of adult cookie recipes. The cookies are made from a prize winning recipe that was developed by Chante Jones for a Taste of Home contest. Her recipe is straight forward and easy to follow, but I have a few cautions to share with you. I've found that the cookies have more flavor if they are allowed to age a day before serving. The wait time gives the ingredients a chance to marry and guarantees you won't be overwhelmed by the lemon flavor of the glaze. Fresh lemon juice should be the order of the day. I've found that commercial products have a lingering tinny taste that I find unpleasant. That could be my "princess and the pea" palate working overtime, but I think most of you would agree that fresh is best, and, hopefully, will use it when you make these cookies. These are not as sweet as most bar cookies and I love to make theme for friends who enjoy tea. I hope you will give them a try. I suspect you'll like them a lot. Here's the recipe.

Lemon Glazed Walnut Bars...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Chante Jones and Taste of Home

Ingredients:

Crust

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

Filling

2 eggs

1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1-1/2 cups chopped walnuts

Lemon Glaze

1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (I keep this to 2 tablespoons)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or spray a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. Set aside.

2) To make cookie crust: Combine butter and sugar in bowl of an electric mixer and cream until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour and salt and gradually add to creamed mixture, mixing well. Press onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned.

3) To make filling: Combine eggs, brown sugar, flour, vanilla, salt and baking powder in a small bowl. Stir in walnuts. Spread over crust. Bake for 25 minutes or until filling is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

4) To make glaze: Combine confectioners' sugar and enough lemon juice to achieve desired consistency; spread over filling. Let stand until set before cutting. Yield: 2-1/2 dozen.