It’s hard to admit, but I don’t really care for pecan pie.
I know that pecan pie is the quintessential Southern dessert. And it’s true that everything about a pecan pie is wonderful. Or it would be, except that it’s just too much. Even a small slice is too rich, too sweet. Even serving it with a cup of strong coffee or hot black tea doesn’t do enough to cut the sweetness.
Then I discovered pecan pie bars. The balance between the shortbread crust and the filling is amazing. Pecan pie bars are sweet, but not too sweet. But the recipes I found had flavors that didn’t really belong there. Toffee bits, chocolate, things like that.
I decided that if I was going to make the perfect pecan pie bar, I’d have to make my own recipe.
This is it. Everything that’s wonderful about pecan pie, in an easy-to-make bar cookie. Make a pan of my pecan pie bars and invite a friend over for tea.
Pecan Pie Bars
Crust Ingredients
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup (two sticks) butter, cold, cut into 16 pieces
Filling Ingredients
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups broken pecan meats
1/4 c. dark Karo syrup
Instructions
Heat the oven to 350. Spray a 13×9 inch baking pan with cooking spray, then line with parchment paper.
Dump the flour, powdered sugar, and butter into a food processor. Process until the mixture is crumbly. (You can also whisk the powdered sugar and flour together in a large bowl, then cut in the butter with a pastry knife, but using the food processor makes this step fast and easy.)
Press the crust mixture firmly on the bottom of your prepared baking pan. Bake 15 minutes.
While the crust is baking, make the filling. In a large bowl, stir together the sweetened condensed milk, egg, vanilla, and Karo syrup. Stir in the pecans. Spread the filling over the hot crust. Continue baking for 25 to 30 minutes, until the bars are golden brown. Cool completely. Cover. Refrigerate until firm. Cut into bars.
Read More
Recipes for Pascha and St. Nicholas Day: Pascha and St. Nicholas Day both call for loads of yummy home-made treats.
Easy, elegant crescent cookies: You can whip up a bath of these delicious cookies in minutes. The secret? Store-bought refrigerated pie crusts.
Pecan puffs: To make these delicious, lighter-than-air puffs, you need a day that is cool and dry.
Buy the Books!
These delightfully diverse books provide disability representation (Elizabeth, one of the main characters, is an ambulatory wheelchair user). They also give Orthodox Christian children the rare opportunity to see themselves in books, and children who are not Orthodox the chance to see cultural practices they may not be familiar with.
Catherine’s Pascha
FINALIST IN THE 2015 USA BEST BOOK AWARDS
Catherine doesn’t like vegetables. She doesn’t like naps. She doesn’t like it when her mom combs her hair. She loves hot dogs, chocolate cake, and her best friend, Elizabeth. Most of all, she loves Pascha! Pascha, the Orthodox Christian Easter, is celebrated in the middle of the night, with processions and candles and bells and singing. And Catherine insists that she’s not a bit sleepy.
Celebrate the joy of Pascha through the magic of a book: Catherine’s Pascha. Available on Amazon, Bookshop.org, and my webstore.
The Saint Nicholas Day Snow
Shoes or stockings? Horse or sleigh? Does St. Nicholas visit on December 6 or on Christmas Eve? Will a little girl’s prayer be answered? When Elizabeth has to stay at Catherine’s house, she’s worried about her grandmother, and worried that St. Nicholas won’t find her. The grownups, though, are worried about snow.
Celebrate the wonder of St. Nicholas Day through the magic of a book: The Saint Nicholas Day Snow. Available on Amazon, Bookshop.org, or my webstore.
