Jamie and I “met” on twitter a long long time ago, and got to emailing when she needed a bunch of signs and business cards made in a hurry for a charity event. Being the graphic design guru that I am (well.. I can get around alright, anyway), I was happy to help her out in the name of charity. She sent me a box of her famous Candy Corn Bark as a thank you, and the rest is, as they say, history. She has one of my favorite blogs on the web, and I honestly can’t think of a better friend to have than her. Thanks, Jamie, for filling in while I work on my tan (which she has grossly over exaggerated – I will most like be lobster red when I come home, and fade straight back to pasty white before the next blog post).
Hey there! I’m Jamie from My Baking Addiction stepping in for Amber while she is on a glorious vacation in the Florida Keys with James. Let me tell ya, I’m pretty darn jealous of Amber at the present moment, she’s been teasing me with photos of beautiful beaches and guacamole… oh, how I love guacamole.
While Amber and James have been basking in sunshine and margaritas, I’ve been dealing with insanely hot temperatures and tornado watches. This is not so much fun when you’re mildly or seriously claustrophobic and your only form of shelter is a dirty crawl space. Thankfully, I have been able to stay above ground thus far.
When Amber first asked me to guest post here on Bluebonnets and Brownies, I immediately thought I’d try to keep with Amber’s Tex-Mex theme and whip up something savory, but after about one minute, I decided against all that and figured whatever I made would more than likely pale in comparison to Amber’s Tex-Mex greatness. So, I thought I’d stick with what I do best and simply bake something.
I decided to make these Butter Pecan Bars after a phone conversation with Amber where she had schooled me on the Texas pronunciation of the word pecan. Ya see, I refer to them as pee-cons whereas Amber informed me that they referred to as pee-CANS where she comes from. Her husband, James calls them peak-ins, but I’m not going to even comment on that one. Tomato, tamahto, any way you pronounce it, we can agree upon one simple fact… pecans are in fact quite delicious and the perfect addition to countless baked goods.
These Butter Pee-CAN bars are quite simple to whip up and they keep for days, which is always a bonus. The brown sugar infused shortbread crust is the perfect foundation for a layer of buttery pecans and semi-sweet chocolate. These bars make a great dessert or afternoon snack and pair famously with a cup of hot coffee.
I hope you enjoyed this post! Rest assured Amber will be back in all her Tex-Mex glory sporting a fierce tan later this week.
If you’re looking for more Pee-CAN goodness, check out these pecan related posts from Amber.
Mini Fruit Pizzas
Mexican Wedding Cookies
Pumpkin Spice Bites
Butter Pecan Bars
yield | 48 bars
Ingredients
For the Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
For the Filling:
2/3 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups chopped pecans
For the Topping:
1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13 inch pan with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Prepare the crust. In the bowl of your food processor, combine flour, 1 cup light brown sugar, cinnamon and ½ cup unsalted butter. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. If you do not have a food processor, use a pastry cutter to incorporate the butter into the flour mixture. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of the prepared. Bake crust in preheated oven for 10 minutes or until slightly browned.
3. Prepare the filling. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the 2/3 cup butter, 1/2 cup light brown sugar and salt. Cook and stir until mixture begins to boil. Boil gently for 1 minute. Remove filling from heat, stir in vanilla extract. Sprinkle pecans over partially baked crust. Pour filling over pecans.
4. Bake bars for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Take care not to overbake. Transfer baking pan to a wire rack.
5. Immediately sprinkle bars with chocolate chips. Allow chocolate to melt on top of the bars for about 5 minutes, then spread the melted chocolate over the pecan layer using an offset spatula. Loosen edges and cut into bars while warm.
[wpurp-searchable-recipe]Guest Post – Butter Pecan Bars – – – [/wpurp-searchable-recipe]
Shaina
Friday 10th of June 2011
Love butter pecan, and the bars look amazing. You say pee-con, I say pee-can, but those peak-ins...well, I'm not sure how we'll get along with them. Amber seems to be doing a right fine job of it, though. ;)
lusiana158
Monday 6th of June 2011
These Butter Pee-cans are so delicious and attractive.I love your post
Christy Martin
Sunday 5th of June 2011
I help cook at a Retreat and Conference center here in Texas. I'll be adding this bar recipe to our stash. They look and sound delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Tracy
Friday 3rd of June 2011
Although I can't eat pecans myself, I bet my hubby would love these! They look fabulous!
Miss
Friday 3rd of June 2011
These bars look fantastic, I love pecans and I say pa-cans, weird I guess. Great dessert!