​​​Looking for a holiday recipe that’s sure to delight the sweets lovers in your life? Presidio Social Club Exchange offers a quick and easy recipe from Executive Pastry Chef Rene Cruz for their Hazelnut Crunch Bars that’s a real crowd pleaser.

HAZELNUT CRUNCH BARS

Ingredients

Crust:

1-1/2 cups Pastry Flour
Pinch of Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 cup plus two tablespoons Brown Sugar
2-1/2 cups Rolled Oats
8 ounces of melted Butter

Chocolate and Nuts Topping*

1-1/2 cups Chocolate Pieces
1 cup toasted Nuts

Caramel Topping:

1 cup Brown Sugar
7 ounces Butter
2 ounces Cream

Pre-heat oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, brown sugar, and rolled oats. Stir in melted butter until all dry ingredients are incorporated. This will be your crust mixture.

In an 8 x 8 or 9 x 13 baking dish, lined and sprayed with non-stick spray, spread 2/3 of the crust mixture evenly over the bottom of the dish. Store the remaining 1/3 of the crust mixture in the refrigerator to cool down.

Bake the crust for 12-15 minutes, or until it’s golden brown. Remove from the oven and let it cool slightly.

Place a mixture of the chocolate and nuts evenly across the slightly cooled crust.

For the caramel topping, add brown sugar and melted butter to a small pot. Bring to boil for one minute and add cream. Stir until these ingredients are combined into a caramel-like mixture, and pour over the nuts and chocolate surface.

Take the reserved “crust” and sprinkle on top of the caramel/chocolate surface.

Place the pan back in the oven and bake for an additional 10-12 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

Let it cool, and slice into bars (as pictured).

*You may add more or less nuts as you prefer.