These high altitude tested, old fashioned fudge nut bars have layers of buttery oatmeal crust and crumble topping, filled with fudgy chocolate ganache and crunchy walnuts.
You might also love these recipes for cranberry almond crumb bars, caramel pecan coconut shortbread bars, and apple blondies.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
No Sweetened Condensed Milk. Many recipes for old fashioned fudge nut bars use sweetened condensed milk in the chocolate filling. But I wanted a richer chocolate flavor that wasn’t too sweet, so I used heavy cream and chocolate instead, so the texture is more like a ganache. So good and not overly sweet at all.
No Mixer Needed. The dough and filling is quick and easy to mix up with just a bowl and spoon.
Perfect for Parties and Potlucks. This is the sort of dessert that’s ideal for taking to holiday office parties and potlucks. The bars travel well, and you can make them the night before so they’re ready to enjoy the next day.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Sugar. I used light brown sugar to sweeten the dough, but didn’t actually use any sugar in the filling at all. If you taste the chocolate ganache and want it a little sweeter, add some powdered sugar, a small spoonful at a time.
- Oats. The combination of oats and flour gives the crust a bit more structure and hearty texture to complement the nuttiness of the walnuts. Do pulse the oats in a food processor first, so that they’re finely ground. And while I haven’t tested this recipe without the oats, the crust may work just fine if you simply use more all-purpose flour in place of the oats. You may need to use slightly more flour, since oats absorb more liquid than flour does.
- Chocolate Chips + Cream. The base of the filling is semi sweet chocolate chips and heavy whipping cream, just like a chocolate ganache. A bit of butter keeps it soft and fudgy.
- Walnuts. Use walnuts or pecans in the filling to add more crunch, or just leave them out if you want a nut-free nut bar.
Instructions
Crust and Crumble
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line an 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, and salt.
- Use a small food processor or ninja to finely chop the oats, then add the oats and flour to the butter mixture. Stir into a soft dough.
- Set in the refrigerator while you make the filling.
Filling
- In a bowl, combine the chocolate chips, cream and butter. Warm the mixture in the microwave for about 2 – 2 1/2 minutes on 50% power, then stir until smooth.
- Stir in the vanilla and chopped walnuts. If it’s not sweet enough to your taste, add the powdered sugar (I didn’t add any additional sugar).
Assembly and Bake
- Press 3/4 of the dough into an even layer in the bottom of the pan.
- Spread the chocolate filling over the dough, then crumble the remaining 1/4 of the dough over the chocolate.
- Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until the topping is golden brown.
- Cool completely, then lift the bars out of the pan by the paper to cut them into squares. Although if preferred, you could serve the bars while they’re warm and messy, topped with ice cream.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Store leftover fudge nut bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3-6 months.
For a double batch, use a 9×13 pan, and bake for approximately the same amount of time.
The walnuts are just mixed into the chocolate filling, and can be left out, if preferred.
While I haven’t tested it without the oats, the crust may work just fine if you simply use more all-purpose flour in place of the oats. You may need to use slightly more flour, since oats absorb more liquid than flour does.
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High Altitude Fudge Nut Bars
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
Ingredients
Crust and Crumble
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 ½ cups old-fashioned oats (pulsed to a fine texture)
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
Filling
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- 1-2 tbsp powdered sugar, optional
Instructions
Crust and Crumble
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line an 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, and salt.
- Use a small food processor or ninja to finely chop the oats, then add the oats and flour to the butter mixture. Stir into a soft dough.
- Set in the refrigerator while you make the filling.
Filling
- In a bowl, combine the chocolate chips, cream and butter. Warm the mixture in the microwave for about 2 – 2 1/2 minutes on 50% power, then stir until smooth.
- Stir in the vanilla and chopped walnuts. If it's not sweet enough to your taste, add the powdered sugar (I didn't add any additional sugar).
Assembly and Bake
- Press 3/4 of the dough into an even layer in the bottom of the pan.
- Spread the chocolate filling over the dough, then crumble the remaining 1/4 of the dough over the chocolate.
- Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until the topping is golden brown.
- Cool completely, then lift the bars out of the pan by the paper to cut them into squares. Although if preferred, you could serve the bars while they're warm and messy, topped with ice cream.
Delicious! I love the crunchy shortbread cookie part with the healthy oats embedded in the dough and the decadent, soft, ganache middle! They were a hit at the party I brought them to! I only had a 9″ x 9″ pan and my timing was the same as the recipe states. I live at 6,100 feet and didn’t need to change anything in the recipe. Thank you for a great recipe!