Bar recipe collection

Old fashioned fruitcake bars packed with candied cherries, dates, raisins, and nuts in a moist applesauce batter. Easier than traditional fruitcake and just as festive.

Peanut butter and fudge filled bars with an oat cookie crust, a gooey chocolate-peanut butter fudge layer, and a crumbly oat topping. Three layers of chocolate-peanut butter goodness in every bite.

No-bake peanut butter Nanaimo bars with a chocolate coconut crumb base, creamy peanut butter custard filling, and glossy semisweet chocolate topping. A Canadian classic with a twist.

Pineapple pecan bars with a shortbread crust topped with a crushed pineapple, brown sugar, and pecan custard filling. A chewy tropical bar cookie that cuts cleanly into 32 pieces, perfect for cookie trays.

Pumpkin bars built on a spice cake mix shortcut: a press-in crust topped with a pumpkin custard layer, finished with chopped pecans. Thirty-two festive holiday bars from one box of mix.

Quick mix cookie bars use refrigerated cookie dough as the crust and topping with a creamy tofu-egg filling in between. Five ingredients, one pan, and minimal effort.

These raspberry almond bars are not only good during Christmas...

Raspberry meringue bars layer a buttery shortbread crust, raspberry pie filling, and a crisp coconut-almond meringue top. Cuts into 48 elegant bars for a crowd. Cookie-tin-worthy holiday classic.

This recipe was created when I made a mistake in making it. It was originally suppose to a brownie type dessert, but I used a jelly roll pan and didn't use enough butter. The end result became a hit and is alway requested and raved about.

German-style honey spice bars with cinnamon, allspice, cloves, ground almonds, and lemon zest, finished with a rum-almond glaze. These keep for weeks in a sealed container, making them ideal holiday baking.

Three-layer no-bake bars with a crunchy peanut butter cereal base, creamy vanilla buttercream filling, and a glossy chocolate topping. Like a homemade peanut butter cup in bar form, ready without turning on the oven.

Squamish bars are Canadian three-layer no-bake squares with a peanut butter cereal base, vanilla buttercream filling, and a thin chocolate top. Freezer-friendly and built for potlucks.

Seven-layer cookie bars with a chocolate graham crust, sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut, and nuts. Makes 36 bars with just 10 minutes of hands-on work.

Swedish strips press into a sheet pan, bake into golden shortbread, then get topped with warm jam and a snow of powdered sugar. One pan, 48 bars, zero rolling required.

These rich chocolate-toffee bars from Mary Lueke of Menasha were our top pick in the bar category.

Rich, fudgy chocolate bars loaded with chocolate chips, chopped nuts, and a gooey sweetened condensed milk layer. Makes 36 bars with a cocoa crumb crust that's ready for game day snacking.