Baking

Pecan Shortbread Bars

If you love pecans, plan to make this soon!

My S-I-L had a Cookie Exchange with her friends scheduled for this past Monday.  On Thanksgiving weekend, she asked if I could help her with baking the day before the event.  She obviously knew I wouldn’t–couldn’t–refuse.

This was our first task of four. We spent 14-some hours together, but this also included ingredient-shopping twice, getting take-out for lunch & dinner, and driving through a Christmas lights decorated neighborhood. All in all, it was an amazingly fun and productive day!

The recipe is Martha Stewart’s. There are only 5 ingredients and it’s relatively easy, especially if you have a food processor. My S-I-L has a cute, small food processor so we were able to pulse the pecans, but then she mixed the other ingredients by hand. Also, she doesn’t have an 8-inch square pan, so we made do with a rectangular pan. The good thing about using the larger pan is we got way more than 18 bars out of it!!!

Waiting to be cut up and eaten

Pecan Shortbread Bars—yummmm!

To view photo in Flickr, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/yummies4tummies/3116391701

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup pecan halves
• 1 cup (spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour, plus more for preparation
• 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup cold (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on all sides.
2. In a food processor, pulse pecans until finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl; set aside. In processor, blend flour, sugar, butter, and salt until moist clumps form. Add pecans; pulse 2 or 3 times, just to incorporate.
3. Press dough evenly into the bottom of prepared pan (if dough is sticky, dip fingers in flour). With a floured fork, prick dough every 1/2 inch. Bake until lightly golden, 30 to 35 minutes.
4. Cool 5 minutes in pan. Use foil overhang to lift shortbread from pan onto cutting board. With a serrated knife, carefully cut warm shortbread into 18 bars (6 rows by 3 rows). Remove from foil; cool bars completely on a rack before serving.

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