Pecan Shortbread Bars
Recipe: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Ingredients
  • 1¾ cup (3¼ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1¾ cup light-brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup honey
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • 4 cups (8 ounces) pecan halves
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Butter a 9x13" pan, and line with parchment paper.
  2. Combine 1⅛ cup (2¼ sticks) of butter with ¾ cup brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat until light and fluffy. Add ½ tsp salt, then the flour one cup at a time. Mix until dough forms into large clumps.
  3. Press the dough into the bottom of your prepared pan, fork-prick the crust, and chill for 20 minutes. When chilled, bake for 18-20 minutes. Cool completely before proceeding.
  4. Reduce oven temperature to 325 F.
  5. Place remaining butter, brown sugar, honey, granulated sugar, heavy cream, and salt in a medium saucepan over high heat. Stir together and bring to a boil.
  6. Cook until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 1 minute. Remove from heat, and stir in pecans and vanilla.
  7. Pour the pecan mixture over the cooled crust, and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling.
  8. Let cool completely before cutting into small pieces for serving.
Recipe by The Kitchen Paper at http://c02.ddd.mwp.accessdomain.com/pecan-shortbread-bars/