LIVE, LOVE, & EAT in SAYULITA- A Recipe for Pecan Pie Bars
Can you believe that Thanksgiving is coming up so soon? I love this holiday because it gives me the opportunity to make one of my favorite yummy desserts! Traditionally, Pecan Pie with Whipped Cream is always on my menu for Thanksgiving. I realize that many people are intimidated by making a pie crust; so I modified my recipe to make it super easy for you! You can make Pecan Pie Bars, with a delicious shortbread crust.
I have mentioned that Jenn Segal from “Once Upon a Chef” is one of my favorite food bloggers, and she didn’t disappoint me with this recipe! Her Pecan Pie Bars are very delicious and are much simpler to make than an actual pie. Also, they taste just like the pie version. I really wanted to share her recipe with you so that you would have time to make them before Thanksgiving. All the ingredients are available here in our Sayulita tiendas.
INGREDIENTS FOR THE CRUST:
-1 & ¼ cups organic white flour. (*Just a friendly reminder that wheat crops are sprayed with a very toxic chemical called Roundup two weeks before harvest. They do this so that the wheat kernels dry out faster so that they get to the market place faster. Check Terrenal Organic Store for organic flour. If they don’t have any, a quick trip to Mega in Bucerias is definitely worth the time.)
-½ cup powdered sugar that is sifted to remove any clumped bits
-¼ teaspoon salt
-½ cup unsalted butter, cold, and cut into cubes
INGREDIENTS FOR THE FILLING:
-¾ cup unsalted butter, melted
-½ cup honey
-⅓ cup light or dark brown sugar
-¼ cup heavy cream, (crema para batir en Espanol.)
-3 & ½ cups raw pecans. (*The couple at our Sayulita farmers market, or Mercado del Pueblo, who normally are stationed at the entrance, always have very fresh pecans. Chop them a bit, but not finely.)
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CRUST:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish with soft butter, and then line with foil that has excess on 2 opposite sides. This makes for easy removal after the bars have cooled. You can also use parchment paper that also has overhanging excess.
- In a large bowl combine the flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Add butter, and cut it into dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. You can use a pastry blender, two dinner knives, or your fingers.
- Press into prepared/lined baking dish, and bake until the edges are golden brown and the center is set; this usually takes about 10-20 minutes, depending on how hot your oven runs.
- Remove from the oven, and set on a cooling rack.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE FILLING:
- Whisk together the melted butter, honey, brown sugar, and heavy cream in a mixing bowl.
- Add the pecans, and stir until all the pecans are coated.
- Spread this over the crust.
- Bake the bars at 350 degrees until the filling is bubbling (approximately 20 minutes.) Your Sayulita kitchen will smell like a professional bakery! I LOVE the smell of fresh baking right out of the oven!
- Remove from the oven, and set on cooling rack until COMPLETELY cooled.
- After completing cool, using the two overhanging edges of foil or parchment paper, lift the entire baked bar carefully from the pan.
- Cut into desired size squares.
- Serve with unsweetened whipped cream.
Your Thanksgiving guests will be so impressed! Theses bars can also be made ahead of time and then frozen until the day they are needed. If you have any questions or comments, you can reach me at my Sayulita Life Web Page. I LOVE hearing from you!
I am available to make these for you if you do not feel like baking them yourself! My specialties are fancy appetizers and desserts. To place an order, contact me through my Sayulita Life Web Page. Anytime that I am in the kitchen baking, I am happy!
*Written by: Karina Shecter
