Day 7 of our 12 Days of Cookies extravaganza thing, and the cookie of the day is pecan treats from Cloudt's in Atlanta. Pecan bars are a Southern delicacy, kind of like eating pecan pie on a shortbread crust, and these are absolutely to die for. Michael kept mumbling "wow" with a mouthful of pecan bar and we understand why they are so popular.
The next time I make these, and oh yes there will absolutely be a next time, I will substitute maple syrup for part of the honey just because maple and pecan is one of my favorite flavor combinations. Also I thought the instruction to use 1 large egg plus 2 additional tablespoons beaten egg was a bit fussy, especially since I don't keep cartons of egg replacer on hand. In the end I just added a smidgen of oil to make up for the lost liquid and moved on.
Be sure to visit all our friends in the cookie clan to see what cookies they chose as well as the Gourmet website to see all their favorite cookies from 1941-2008.
The Rest of the Cookie Baking Clan
- Kelly of Sass & Veracity
- Courtney of Coco Cooks
- Judy of No Fear Entertaining
- Sandy of The Bakers Bench
- Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen
- Jerry of Cooking By the Seat of My Pants
Cloudt’s Pecan Treats
Equipment
- stand mixer with paddle attachment
- 15 ½- by 10 ½-inch jelly-roll pan
- large heavy sauce pan
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg + 2 tablespoons lightly beaten egg (I used canola oil instead of the extra egg.)
- 2 ¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
PECAN TOPPING
- 1 ⅓ cups firmly packed light brown sugar
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (cut into pieces)
- ½ cup honey (or maple syrup)
- ¼ cup half & half
- 3 ¾ cups pecans (chopped)
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 375° F/190° C.
CRUST
- In the bowl of the stand mixer, cream together the softened butter, granulated sugar, and salt until the mixture is light and fluffy. Then beat in the eggs.
- Add the flour and stir the mixture until it is just blended.
- Press the mixture evenly into the jelly-roll pan and bake it in the middle of the preheated for 15 to 20 minutes, or until it is lightly golden. Remove and allow to cool in the pan on a rack.
PECAN TOPPING
- (Make while the crust bakes.) In the saucepan combine the brown sugar, butter pieces, honey, and half-and-half. Bring the mixture to a boil over moderate heat, stirring. Stir in the chopped pecans and let the mixture cool a little. If it cools for too long, it will be hard to spread.
- Spread the cool pecan mixture evenly over the shortbread base and bake the dessert in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes, or until the top is bubbly. Let the dessert cool in the pan on a rack and cut it into pieces about 2 inches square. Makes about 35 pieces.
Hélène says
Thanks, this looks like a 'WOW' treat to me.
Kiran says
A good treat, what is half & half ? May give these a go once I get some pecan nuts.
Judy says
Beautiful Andrea! I am so into the bar cookies! They just have a bit of casualness that is so inviting! I'm glad everyone liked them and that these were a hit!
Nicole says
Hi ol' blogfriend!
Thanks- love the substitution of the maple syrup- great idea 🙂
courtney says
Love , love , love the sound of these. Maple next time would be wonderful.
Jen says
They are like lil toteable pecan pies - I love it!
kellypea says
I'm with you on maple syrup & pecans being a favorite combo. These turned out so nicely -- LOVE bar cookies. I wish I had one to finish off my morning coffee with about now! Gorgeous photos, too.
Carrie says
I made these last year, but I substituted dark cane syrup for the honey. This year, I'm going to mix the dark cane syrup with light corn syrup. The dark syrup was kind of strong tasting, similar to molasses. (Maybe that is what molasses is?)
Andrea says
Hi Carrie. Molasses has a stronger flavor than dark syrup. You might try it with maple syrup. That's our favorite.