12 Days of Christmas Crafts and Recipes: Pecan Bars
I discovered Pinterest earlier this year and stumbled upon this recipe for Pecan Bars right before Thanksgiving. I’m a Nuts and Chews kind of See’s gal, so these sounded right up my alley. The original recipe had splenda in it which turned me off (it is the holidays after all!), so I used C & H dark brown sugar and toasted my pecans prior to adding them for increased depth of flavor. These little babies are deliciously crumbly right out of the oven and oh-so-chewy, buttery and nutty when cooled. One of the simplest and best things I’ve ever baked. So much so, that I’ve already made them three times this holiday season for various groups of people!
Ingredients:
Crust:
- 1 c unsalted butter, softened
- 2/3 c dark brown sugar
- 2 2/3 c all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
Topping:
- 1/2 c unsalted butter
- 1 c dark brown sugar
- 1/3 c honey
- 2 TB heavy cream
- 2 c toasted pecan halves or pieces (I like to buy raw pecans from Trader Joe’s and toast them at home)
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350º and line a 9×13-inch pan with parchment paper. Paper should cover most internal surfaces of pan. **In the pictures below, I halved the recipe and used a square baking pan.**
- Start by making your crust. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the softened butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add flour and salt and mix until crumbly.
- Press crust dough into your parchment paper-lined pan and bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown.
- While your crust bakes, prepare the filling. Combine the butter, brown sugar, honey and heavy cream in a small saucepan, over medium heat.
Simmer the mixture for 1 minue, then stir in your toasted pecans.
- Remove your crust from the oven and immediately pour the pecan filling over top, spreading it to cover the entire surface of crust.
- Return your pan to the oven and bake for another 20 minutes. After 20 minutes remove the pan from the oven and allow the bars to fully cool in the pan on top of a wire cooling rack.
- Once cool, lift the bars out of the pan and transfer them to a cutting surface. Slice and package as wanted! I like to wrap mine in unbleached parchment paper and tie them up with festive, red and white butcher’s twine.
What do you think?