Gluten-Free Maple Walnut Squares

A reliable recipe for gluten-free Maple Walnut Squares, made with lower-calorie natural sweeteners. These bars have a delicious chewy maple walnut filling on a tender shortbread crust. These squares freeze well.

After one bite of these gluten-free maple walnut squares, I knew they'd be added to my list of favourite square recipes! They're sweet, but not too sweet, they slice easily, and they have a slightly chewy filling on top of a shortbread base. Simply and utterly delicious.

Denis and I have a hard time swallowing fish oil to get our essential Omega3 fatty acids. We know we need it, it's good for us, but the taste leaves much to be desired.  I decided to do a quick search to find other food sources of Omega3's. We eat a lot of chia and hemp seeds, salmon, shrimp, prawns and scallops, which are all good sources, but I wanted to find something else besides seafood.

Walnuts!

With a Costco-sized bag of walnuts in my pantry, that seemed like a logical choice. I found a recipe from Snixy Kitchen and I tested it a couple of times, adapting it to use lower-calorie sweeteners. We loved the result and I'm sure you will, too.

Let's get started!

A note about ingredients for these Gluten-Free Maple Walnut Bars

• This recipe uses a combination of different flours (millet, sweet rice, oat, and tapioca) for the shortbread base. It tastes very similar to a shortbread crust made with all-purpose flour.
• The shortbread base for these squares holds together nicely. The Sweet Rice flour in it is often called "sticky rice."  It works well as a binder in gluten-free recipes like this one. While it is called glutenous rice flour, it is naturally gluten-free.

Possible substitutions

• If you do not need this recipe to be gluten-free, simply substitute 2 cups of all-purpose flour for the millet flour, oat flour, sweet white rice flour, tapioca and xanthan gum.
• If you do not need to use zero-calorie sweeteners, you can substitute equal amounts of coconut sugar or brown sugar and pure maple syrup instead.

Use a food processor to make this recipe for Maple Walnut Squares!

1. First, pulse to combine the flours, baking powder, salt and sweetener, then add the butter and vanilla and pulse until it resembles coarse meal.
2. Next, press the dough firmly into a baking pan and bake until golden brown.
3. Wash the food processor bowl. Add the eggs and tapioca starch and process until smooth. Then add the maple syrup, coconut sugar, melted butter and vanilla and combine well. Lastly, add the walnut pieces and pulse to chop coarsely.
4. Finally, pour the filling on top of the cooled crust and bake. Cool before slicing into squares.

I know the two of us will continue to suffer through our daily dose of fish oil.  However, these Gluten-Free Maple Walnut Squares are a much tastier way to get those essential fatty acids! If you make this recipe, leave a comment below or tag me @flavourandsavour on Instagram!

Gluten-Free Maple Walnut Squares

A reliable recipe for gluten-free Maple Walnut Squares, made with lower-calorie natural sweeteners. These bars have a chewy maple walnut filling on a shortbread crust. These squares freeze well.

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Course: Bars and Cookies

Cuisine: American, Canadian

Prep Time: 12 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 52 minutes

Servings: 16 squares

Calories: 311kcal

Author: Elaine

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Ingredients

Shortbread Base

• ▢ ½ cup millet flour
• ▢ ¾ cup oat flour
• ▢ ½ cup sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour)
• ▢ ½ cup tapioca starch
• ▢ 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ½ cup granulated golden Monkfruit sweetener (or coconut sugar or brown sugar)
• ▢ 1 cup cold, unsalted butter diced
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Maple Walnut Filling

• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ 2 tablespoon tapioca starch
• ▢ ¾ cup Lacanto 0-calorie maple-flavoured syrup or pure maple syrup
• ▢ ¾ cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• ▢ 2 cups walnuts coarsely chopped

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a 9-inch square pan with parchment paper.
• In the bowl of a food processor, combine the millet flour, oat flour, sweet rice flour, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, sea salt, baking powder and Monkfruit granulated sweetener by pulsing a few times.
• Add the vanilla and butter and pulse until a crumbly dough forms. 
• Transfer the dough to the parchment paper lined pan and press firmly to form the base. 
• Bake for 15 - 18 minutes or until it begins to turn golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 - 15 minutes.
• Wash the food processor bowl, add the eggs and tapioca starch and process until well combined. Add the Lacanto maple-flavoured syrup, coconut sugar, melted butter and vanilla and process until well combined. Add the walnuts and pulse until coarsely chopped.
• Pour the filling on to the cooled base. Spread evenly.
• Bake for 20-24 minutes or until completely set. Cool completely before slicing.

Nutrition

Calories: 311kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 58mg | Sodium: 76mg | Potassium: 142mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 415IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 1mg

Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @enessman or tag #flavourandsavour!

I adapted this recipe from Snixy Kitchen's delicious Maple Walnut Bars. I doubled the recipe, used a larger sized pan to make a more sturdy base, and I substituted natural 0-calorie sweeteners for much of the sugar. Changing the mixing method to allow this recipe to be made in a food processor makes it quick and easy.

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