Caramel & Chocolate Pecan Bars

Cookie Week – 2013

This is the third installment of “Cookie Week – 2013.”. If nothing else, Hubby is enjoying this.  I normally don’t do a lot of baking cooking.  I especially don’t make cookies and pastries.  If anything like that is lying around the house, I eat until it is gone. So it is definitely in my best interest  to not have things like this in the house.  I will be making gift boxes by Monday and share all these goodies with my friends.

Today’s cookie is a pan cookie baked in a sheet cake pan then cut into bars.  When you look at the ingredients, these sound like they would be very rich, but surprisingly, they are not.  They should be a perfect pairing for a Cabernet – chocolate but not too sweet.

Ingredients:

Crust

• 2 CUPS All-Purpose Flour
•  1Cup Brown Sugar (firmly packed)
• 1/2 Cup Butter, softened
• 1 Cup Pecans

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Combine all ingredients except pecans in large bowl.  Beat at medium speed with a mixer until mixture resembles fine crumbs. ( It will be dry.). Press onto bottom of ungreased 13×9-inch pan.  Spread pecans evenly over the unbaked crust.

• Caramel Layer
• 2/3 Cups Butter
• 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar (firmly packed)

Combine butter and brown sugar in a one-quart saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, uncle entire surface of mixture is boiling.  Continue cooking, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.  Pour mixture evenly over pecans and crust.

Chocolate Layer

• 1 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until entire caramel layer is bubbly.  (DO NOT OVER BAKE.). Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips.  Let stand for a few minutes until chips soften, Then proceed to spree chocolate evenly over the bars.  Let cool completely before cutting into squares.

Makes 24 bars.