Recipe by baker Cristal Paredes as shared with King Arthur Baking, Adapted by Judi Graber

Crust:

• 18 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 3 cups AP flour
• 1/2 tsp. table salt

• Pecans 2 cups roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9×13″ pan (the inside of my pan was 8-1/2 x 11-1/4), then line with parchment paper. You want the paper to extend up and over the sides of two opposite sides. This will become a sling to remove the pecan pie bars from the pan. I had a lip on two sides of my pan so I used a paper clip on each side to keep the parchment from falling onto the crust.

Beat the softened butter and brown sugar until smooth using your portable hand mixer or flat beater of your stand mixer. Add the flour and salt 1/3 at a time and mix until just combined. You want it to be crumbly and not forming a dough.

Transfer the dough mixture to the prepared pan and spread out with your fingers; firmly press the dough into an even layer. Should the dough start to stick refrigerate it for a few minutes and then continue on. Prick the dough all over with a fork – for me this is where it stuck. I just dipped the fork lightly into flour first before poking the dough.

Bake the crust for 28 to 32 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and spread out all the pecans on top of the crust.

Make your filling next.

Filling:

• 12 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup honey (I used a wildflower honey)
• 3 tbsp. heavy cream or milk (I actually used skim milk)
• 3 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. table salt

Combine the above ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring often, until the mixture has started to boil

Pour the filling evenly over the crust and pecans – use a spatula if you need to. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the filling is bubbling across the surface.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before removing from the pan. Having a sling really makes it easy to get the pecan pie bars out of the pan before you cut them.

These bars will store well-wrapped on the counter for several days. They also freeze well!

COMMENT: There is a lot of butter and I have rechecked the recipe and that is the amount given by King Arthur Baking – 30 tbsp. total between the shortbread crust and the filling! You can go online and see for yourself…

Recipe by cookingwithauntjuju.com