Chewy Pecan Bars

 

A number of years ago, and by a number I mean that it could be 10, it could be more, who knows? The time flies by so quickly I have a hard time keeping track. Anyway, back in the day, the Archway Cookie Company used to offer, in their collection of cookies, pecan cookies. They were similar to a chocolate chip cookie without the chocolate chips. Those were my favorite of all of the cookies they made, so naturally they were discontinued. This pretty much happens with all of my favorite products, don’t get me started.

I was wondering about those cookies the other day and started googling for recipes. I didn’t come up with exactly what I was looking for, but I managed to combine enough recipes that I found, providing me with the results that I was hoping for. I prefer a crunchy rather than chewy cookie, so I baked mine for the full 35 minutes, probably more like 37. If you would like your cookie crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, you might want to opt for the lower end, say 28 to 30 minutes. Once you get started, it’s hard to stop eating these.Chewy Pecan Bars

1 c. butter, melted
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 t. vanilla extract
1 t. butter flavoring
2 large eggs
2 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. kosher salt
1 c. pecans, rough chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9” x 13” straight-sided baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on both of the long sides. This will facilitate easy lifting from the pan after the cookies have been baked and cooled. Spray foil with Baker’s Joy; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the melted butter and two sugars until smooth and creamy. Stir in vanilla extract and butter flavoring. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add flour, baking soda, and salt, and beat until incorporated; do not over mix. Fold in pecans.

Transfer batter to the prepared pan and smooth out. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown and the edges are crispy. Remove from the oven to a wire rack and let cookies cool completely before removing from pan and slicing into squares.

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Macadamia Nut Bars

For the most part, I don’t consider myself a baker. I don’t particularly enjoy baking, and I tend not to do it all that often. One has to wonder, then, why I subscribe to Bake from Scratch magazine. Honestly, I couldn’t tell you. It’s just one of life’s puzzles. But when a new issue arrives, I do page through and place markers in amongst the pages to remind me of the recipes that I would like to try.

Over the weekend I actually did try one of the recipes (that I honestly find quite cumbersomely written) for a delicious looking nut bar. This recipe employed the use of honey. If you like honey, then use it; don’t divide it up, as I did, by using honey, and both light and dark Karo syrups. I find honey to be cloying, and despite its use in most of the pecan pie bar cookie recipes that I’ve seen, it doesn’t belong there. You will never find honey in a pecan pie. It’s just wrong! So, what you will find below is my version of their recipe. Because I didn’t need a huge pan of these, or have the desire to take out a home loan in order to buy the macadamias, I cut their recipe in half and baked it in an 8” x 8” pan. These little rascals are addicting!

Macadamia Nut Bars
Adapted from Bake from Scratch

Crust:
½ c. +1 T. unsalted butter, softened
¼ c. + 1 T. firmly packed light brown sugar
¼ t. fine sea salt
1½ c. all-purpose flour

Topping:
½ c. unsalted butter, softened
½ c. firmly packed light brown sugar
1/8 c. honey*
1/8 c. light Karo syrup*
1/8 c. dark Karo syrup*
1/8 c. granulated sugar
1/8 c. heavy whipping cream
½ t. fine sea salt
1½  c. macadamia nuts
1 c. pecan halves
½ t. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray an 8” x 8” pan with PAM. Line pan with parchment paper leaving a 2-inch overhang on either end; set aside.

Beat together butter, sugar, and salt until creamy, 3 to 4 minutes. Slowly add flour and beat until the dough comes together and forms large clumps. Press into the bottom of prepared pan (a tart tamper works well for this). Using a fork, prick the dough all over.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes until edges are light brown. Let cool until it is warm to the touch.

Reduce oven temperature to 325° F.

Topping: In a large saucepan bring butter, brown sugar, honey, both syrups, granulated sugar, cream, and salt to a boil over high heat stirring constantly. Cook until an instant read thermometer registers 243° F. Remove from heat and stir in macadamia nuts, pecans, and vanilla. Pour onto prepared crust.

Bake until topping is bubbly and nuts around edges are mahogany colored, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

Remove from pan, cut into bars. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to a week.

 *Get yourself a set of these.

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Lunchroom Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

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I am old school. Literally. I went to school before these lunchroom bars were popular. In fact, I had never even heard of them until I saw them online. They looked good, easy, and who doesn’t like the combination of peanut butter and chocolate? I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. These are not cloyingly sweet. They are sweet, but not overly so; the amount of peanut butter in the dough and topping is just right. The chocolate finishes these off to perfection. If, like me, you were never treated to these when you were in school, give them a try.

Lunchroom Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Slightly adapted from halfbakedharvest.com

 1½ sticks salted butter

2 c. creamy peanut butter, divided

¾ c. dark brown sugar

¼ c. granulated sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 T. vanilla extract

2 c. flour

1 t. baking powder

½ t. kosher salt

 Frosting

1 stick salted butter, room temperature

2½ c. powdered sugar

½ c. dark cocoa powder

2 t. vanilla extract

¼ c. warm milk

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9” x 13” baking dish with parchment paper; set aside.

 In a microwave safe bowl, melt butter and ½ cup peanut butter, stirring every 30 seconds until creamy. (This took me one minute.) Whisk in brown sugar, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

 Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt.

Press dough into the bottom of the prepared dish. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until set in the center. Remove from oven and immediately dollop remaining 1½ c. peanut butter over the crust, lightly spreading in an even layer. Cool completely.

 To make frosting: place butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and warm milk in a medium mixing bowl. Beat until smooth, adding additional warm milk as desired to reach spreadable consistency. Spread over bars and allowed to set. (This may take a couple of hours.) Slice and enjoy.

 

Kentucky Derby Bars

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Had I not been invited to a Kentucky Derby Party, I would have had no idea that the Kentucky Derby was this weekend. It’s not something that I follow. One year I did get involved, and it seemed like much ado about nothing. I mean it’s not as though the horses run laps, it’s just a short distance and everything is over.

One thing that is going to last are these delicious Kentucky Derby Bars. Rich, chocolaty, nutty, and delicious, this is one dessert that can go the distance.

Kentucky Derby Bars

Crust
3 c. graham cracker crumbs*
½ c. unsalted butter, melted
¼ c. sugar
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Filling
1 c. firmly packed dark brown sugar
½ c. light corn syrup
½ c. dark corn syrup
¼ c. unsalted butter, melted
3 large eggs
1 t. vanilla extract 

1 t. bourbon flavoring

¼ t. salt
2 c. pecan halves
2 c. semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 9” x 13” baking pan with PAM. Line with aluminum foil allowing 2 inches to hang over either end for easy removal of cookie slab.

CRUST: In the work bowl of a food processor combine crumbs, butter, sugar, and egg white, pulsing until combined. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 12 minutes; cool completely.

FILLING: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, corn syrups, butter, eggs, vanilla, bourbon flavoring, and salt. Fold in pecans and chocolate chips. Pour mixture over prepared crust.

Bake until center is set, 30 to 40 minutes. Allow to cool 15 minutes before removing from the pan. Cut into squares. Makes 24.

*7 whole crackers equal one cup of crumbs.

 

Mother Lode Layered Cookie Bars

At 8 o’clock last Thursday night, number two son and I decided that we were going to take lunch to my dad the following day. I didn’t have to make it, we were going to drive through a local burger joint and grab some cheeseburgers and fries. Dad rarely eats fast food, so for him this is quite a treat. But, I never visit my dad without taking goodies, so I knew that I had to put something together. Considering the advanced hour, I probably should have opted for something easier, but no.

I had been saving this recipe to try just for a “visit dad” occasion. These Mother Lode Layered Cookie Bars intrigued me with all of the different layers, and all of the different tastes. I should have listened to my son when he looked at the recipe, then up at me, and said, “Why don’t you just make a couple of different kinds of cookies to take, it seems that would be much easier. Do you realize,“ he went on, “that you’re making four different cookies here?” In theory, I think I did realize that, but it still didn’t stop me; what a night that was!

While the first layer is a roll of sugar cookies, I think it took me as long to slice it, lay slices in the bottom of the pan, and figure a way to get them evenly spread, as it would have been to actually make sugar cookies. Sigh. It did help to cover them with a piece of plastic wrap, and then gently tap them flat with a tart tamper. The same held true for the various other doughs. 

This is an interesting cookie, with a variety of tastes, and an almost brownie-like texture. I loved the addition of the chocolate chips, and loved the chocolate chip cookie layer, but ultimately, could have done without the peanut butter layer, that really didn’t provide all that much flavor. I think if I ever make these again (heaven help me!), I would actually make peanut butter cookie dough for that layer.

What I’m saying here is that these are a lot of work! But they are good, and they’re probably different from other things your family and friends have had. We all enjoyed them.

Oh, one more thing. Because I had some melted chocolate left, I decided to dip a couple of cookies in the chocolate to see how they would taste. Oh, mamma, THESE are Mother Lode for sure!

Mother Lode Layered Cookie Bars

Adapted for clarity from Picky Palate

Layer 1: Sugar Cookie

1 Roll of Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Press sugar cookie dough into bottom of a 9”x13” baking pan that's been lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray.

Layer 2: Double Chocolate Chip Cookie*

1 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

¾ cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1¾ cups flour

1 ¼ cups cocoa powder

2 tsps. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

1 ½ cups chocolate chips

Layer:  In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Slowly add eggs and vanilla until well combined.

In another bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add to wet ingredients then stir in chips. Layer over sugar cookie layer, pressing gently.

Layer 3: Peanut Butter Cookie

1 cup creamy peanut butter

½ c. granulated sugar

1 egg

Place all ingredients into a bowl and mix until combined.  Layer over chocolate cookie dough.

Layer 4:  Chocolate Chip Cookie*

2 sticks softened butter

¾ c. granulated sugar

¾ c. brown sugar

2 eggs

1 Tablespoon pure vanilla

2½ c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1 12-oz. bag chocolate chips

In a stand or electric mixer cream the butter and sugars until well combined.  Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined.  Place flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl; mix to combine.  Slowly add to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips.  Spoon dough evenly over peanut butter cookie dough but don't press, just leave uneven.  Bake for 35-45 minutes or until center of dough is cooked mostly through.  Edges will be brown.  I covered pan with foil during the last 15 minutes of baking.

Let cookies cool completely.  Lift out of pan with edges of foil.  I cut off ½” edges and just used softer centers, but do as you wish.  Edges are crispier.  Drizzle top with ½ cup melted chocolate chips if desired.

*This recipe makes more dough than you will probably need for the bars. Save any extra for baking as cookies.

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A sinfully good (and a bit easier) bar cookie is Salted Caramel Chocolate Shortbread Bars.

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Best Ever Pecan Pie Bars

As you probably know from reading this blog, I am not a pie lover. I'm not sure exactly what it is that I don't like about pie, but I suspect it's the crust. I'm just not a crust person. If I were to pick the pie that I liked the best, I would probably say pecan. It's my dad's favorite too, so maybe our liking for it is genetic. But if you take the crust out of the mix and replace it with a shortbread cookie, that's the dessert I can really sink my teeth into. That exact thing has been done in this recipe from Ina Garten called The Best Ever Pecan Pie Bars, and they are.

I have been trying recipes for pecan pie bars for the past three or four years. I haven't been wild about any of them, largely because one of the main ingredients is honey, and I just don't care for honey in this case; I think it overwhelms the delicate taste. But this recipe does not call for honey, and that is what makes it so good. I took these to dad's along with barbecue that I picked up at a local barbecue joint when number two son and I took Christmas Eve lunch to him. They were a huge success! They're easy to make, keep forever,  and I know this because, quite frankly, I'm still eating them. And I suspect they freeze beautifully, although I haven't tried that yet. If you love pecan pie, and you're a fan of cookies like I am, this is the best of both worlds.

Best Ever Pecan Pie Bars

(Thank you, Ina Garten)

Crust
1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Topping:
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1/4 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/2 pounds pecans, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8" x 8" pan with foil, leaving a 2" overhang on each end. 

To make the crust, cream together the butter and sugar until light, approximately 3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the batter with the mixer on low speed until just combined.  Press the dough evenly into your foil-lined baking pan, pressing it up the sides a bit to form an edge. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the crust is set but not browned. Allow to cool.

To make the topping, combine butter, corn syrup, and brown sugar in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over low heat until the butter is melted, stirring frequently. Raise the heat and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the heavy cream and pecans. Carefully pour over the cooled crust. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the filling is set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. Using foil edges, lift from pan onto a cutting surface and cut into bars.

 

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Festive Fruit Bars

As I mentioned in this post, I am one of those people who actually likes fruitcake, and, brace yourselves people, there are a lot of us. When Mr. O-P makes his annual fruitcake there are always plenty of takers when we offer up a jewel-toned, rum-soaked slice.

This is an easy version of fruitcake in cookie form. The recipe dates back to the seventies, and was one of the first cookies I'd make for the holidays because it was easy, made a good amount, and looked so pretty on the cookie tray.

Now is the time to watch for sales on mixed glazed fruit, so the perfect time, I thought, to share the recipe. It makes a wonderful afternoon treat whether accompanied by a soothing cup of tea, or even more soothing glass of wine. 

Festive Fruit Bars

6 Tablespoons butter
1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup shredded coconut
2 cups cut up mixed candied fruit
1 cup chopped dates
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Melt butter and pour into the bottom of a 9” x 12” pan. (A 9” x 13” pan is too big; I used a 10” x 10”.) Sprinkle crumbs evenly over butter. Pat down. Sprinkle coconut over crumbs. Sprinkle mixed fruit, dates, and nuts evenly over coconut. Press mixture down lightly to level in pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over the top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan before cutting.

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