German Pecan Bar Recipe – Oma's Nussecken (2024)

This yummy pecan bar recipecomes from my German cousin, Ingrid. Once she immigrated to Canada, she found this easy method to try to recreate one of her favorite treats, Nussecken.

I've experimented with her recipe and the one I'm sharing is what I now make since it's absolutely so good.

Is it the same? Sort of.

Is it delicious? Absolutely!

This is such a tasty and pretty addition to a cookie platter and when chocolate icing is drizzled over, this almost tastes like a scrumptious, chewy, gooey chocolate bar!

My Mutti also experimented with Nussecken. They were cut into triangles and then we would then dip two of the corners into the melted chocolate chips. I actually have herNussecken recipe in my Christmas Cookies ecookbook.

Using graham crackers makes this easy. With the butter and sugar soaking into the graham crackers, it almost tastes just likea shortbread crust.

So good! In fact, when I ask people what they taste when they first try these, NO ONE has ever said they taste graham wafers. They all say it tastes just like shortbread. So yummy!

And fun! Certainly there's less to go wrong with this recipe. It's so quick and easy. Just make sure to keep the kids away from the butter/sugar mixture. It's HOT and sticky.

Make sure you keep stirring the simmering mixture, being careful to keep the temperature just at simmering. You don't want this mixture to brown.

For the photos here, I've actually used sliced almonds, since that's what I had on hand. Another option is to use a mix of nuts, especially if you have a favorite.

I've usually used pecans for these. Walnuts can be substituted for the pecans, but pecans are usually sweeter. However, if cost is a factor, then either a mixture of walnuts and pecans, or just walnuts would work.

When you're pouring the nut mixture, be careful not to get this onto your hands. It's HOT!

Level out the nut mixture over the graham wafers, resisting the urge to lick this. It's hot!

Then, it's off to the oven. Don't expect it to get golden or browned. It'll have a bit of a color difference, but have more of a 'less-liquid' appearance.

Let it cool about 10 - 15 minutes before cutting with a very sharp knife. Be careful not to draw the knife through the cookies, or you'll disturb the nuts too much. It's more of a stabbing down with the length of the knife, lifting a bit and moving to the next section.

Let the pecan bars (or in this case, almond bars), cool a bit before removing to a wire rack. The lighting, below, makes these look a bit darker than they really are.

You could just serve them this way, but they are absolutely heavenly when they are either drizzled with chocolate (the darker, the better) or covered with chocolate and topped with salted nuts, as I did here below. Or, just use pecans, as my cousin Ingrid does.

Ready to make this Pecan Bar recipe?

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