How to Cut Bars and Squares Evenly and Neatly
Years of working in catering taught me a few tricks I keep up my sleeve—and this is one of them. Here’s how I cut bars and squares into even pieces with clean edges.
How to Cut Bars & Squares Evenly and Neatly
1. Remove your squares from the baking pan, if possible, by lightly tugging on the parchment paper overhang. (Even if your recipe doesn’t call for parchment paper, I always use it for this purpose alone.)
2. Fill a large glass with very hot water and collect a sharp knife and dish towel.
3. Dip the knife in the water, wipe it off with the towel and trim approximately ¼’ from all sides of the baked good in order to create straight and even edging. Dip, wipe the knife again, and continue to slice into the bars creating an even cut.
4. Repeat the dip and wipe method every two or three cuts, cleaning off the knife as needed.
There you have it. A foolproof way to make your bars and squares look like they came from a bakery.
What can I do when the top layer on my Nanaimo bars crack. Happens all the time. Try and cut them and if I leave them at room temp, the middle gets too soft…thanks
My nanaimo bar recipe says to score the cut lines before the top chocolate layoer sets, so after 30 minutes in the fridge take it out and score the lines with the tip of a knife