Brown Sugar Nut Bars

This recipe is perfect for when you want to bake something, but you haven't gone grocery shopping in three weeks and you have barely anything to cook with. There are very few ingredients because it is essentially cookie dough sans chocolate chips baked in bar form. In other words: so. good.

It is adapted from this old-school cookbook The New and Complete Encyclopedia of Cooking by Madame Benoit. According to the note on the inside page, my dad gave this to my mom on some sort of special occasion as a present. Now, not to be too judge-y, but if my significant other gave me a cookbook as a present, I would be like THIS ISN'T THE 1950s BI-ATCH. That's like getting your wife a book about how to iron men's shirts properly. But it does have interesting old-fashioned recipes, as well as tips on how to throw a "luncheon," so I can't hate. It's like a primary source from the olden days.

Brown Sugar Nut Bars (makes 16 squares)

1/2 cup Earth Balance shortening
2 cups firmly-packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon egg replacer mixed with 1/4 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup coarsely-chopped walnuts
Icing sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x9 pan.

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the shortening until fluffy. Add the brown sugar and beat very well. Beat in egg replacer mixture and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients and chopped nuts. Gently fold into butter/sugar mixture.

Scoop dough into prepared pan and press down until it is flat and even. Bake approximately 30 minutes; the edges should be brown and pulling away from the pan. Sprinkle with icing sugar while still warm and cut into squares. It may seem like it is still raw inside, but the squares are supposed to be gooey in the middle.