🇺🇸 Nancy Reagan’s Vienna Bars
Vienna Bars are an old-fashioned layered cookie bar often associated with Nancy Reagan. They’re rich, buttery, and slightly nutty — very mid-century American entertaining style.
They’re sometimes described as a cross between a shortbread bar and a layered dessert square.
🧈 What They Typically Include
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Butter
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Sugar
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Flour
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Eggs
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Chopped nuts (often walnuts or pecans)
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Chocolate chips (in some versions)
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Coconut (optional, depending on variation)
The exact recipe has variations, but the structure is usually:
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A buttery base
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A rich egg-sugar layer
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Nuts and/or chocolate folded in
🍪 Classic-Style Vienna Bars (Adapted Version)
🛒 Ingredients
Base:
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½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
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¼ cup sugar
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1 cup flour
Top Layer:
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2 eggs
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1 cup brown sugar
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1 tsp vanilla
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½ cup chopped walnuts
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½ cup chocolate chips (optional)
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Pinch of salt
👩🍳 Instructions
1️⃣ Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
Line an 8×8 pan with parchment.
2️⃣ Make the base:
Cream butter and sugar.
Mix in flour until crumbly.
Press into pan.
Bake 12–15 minutes until lightly golden.
3️⃣ Make topping:
Beat eggs and brown sugar until slightly thickened.
Stir in vanilla, nuts, salt, and chocolate.
4️⃣ Pour over warm crust.
Bake another 18–22 minutes until set in center.
5️⃣ Cool completely before slicing.
✨ What Makes Them “Vintage Elegant”
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Not overly sweet
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Balanced texture (soft top + firm base)
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Simple pantry ingredients
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Perfect with coffee or tea
They reflect a style of entertaining where desserts were refined but unfussy.
If you’d like, I can also give:
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A more authentic 1950s-style version
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A modern salted caramel twist
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Or a lighter, less-sweet adaptation