White Chocolate Pecan Bars
I’ve been having such a nice weekend. Erik and I have started alternating on what year we spend with each other’s families on Thanksgiving, and this year we’ll be heading to San Francisco where Erik’s sister will be hosting. On years where the plan is to go with Erik’s family, I’ve started spending the weekend before with my parents, while my mom is getting ready and Duxbury is full of holiday activities.
My mom and I ran the Turkey Trot on Saturday, and for the second time in 3 years I was able to win the women’s overall group. That win got me a turkey, so my mom will cook that for Thanksgiving, and it’s kind of like I’ll be there.
Then we went to the Duxbury craft fair, which we go to every year, and today we saw Frozen 2 (STRONG recommend you see it – it was amazing). Now I’m sitting on my parents’ couch watching the Patriots game. It really has been an ideal weekend.
And this recipe was something I actually made last weekend. I kept it a secret and sent Erik a care package, which he got on Thursday, so these are now safe to post. They’re the kind of thinks that would be perfect to add to your Thanksgiving dessert table for those relatives that don’t love pie, or to tuck away and make when you start assembling cookie tins in a couple of weeks. They traveled well, and are basically shortbread dipped in chocolate.
To start, whisk together the flour and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
In a strand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
Add the flour and beat until combined.
Stir in 1/2 cup of the chopped toasted pecans.
Press the dough into the bottom of a 9×13 pan sprayed with cooking spray.
Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Remove from oven.
Immediately sprinkle the white chocolate over the top of the warm cookie base. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, use an offset spatula to spread the melted chocolate evenly over the top. Sprinkle with the remaining chopped pecans.
Allow to cool completely in pan, which will take at least a couple of hours, but you could also leave them overnight. When the chocolate has hardened, cut into blocks.
Store in an airtight container. You can ship these, put them in tins with other cookies,, or put them on a platter for Thanksgiving.
Enjoy!
White Chocolate Pecan Bars
Ingredients:
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup pecans, chopped and toasted at 350°F for 8 minutes
- 8 ounces white chocolate, chopped
Directions:
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla extract on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
- Beat in the flour mixture to combine.
- Stir in 1/2 of the chopped pecans.
- Press batter into the bottom of a 9×13 pan sprayed with cooking spray.
- Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes, until edges are golden brown.
- Sprinkle immediately with white chocolate and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Use an offset spatula to spread white chocolate evenly over shortbread base. Sprinkle with remaining chopped pecans.
- Allow to cool at room temperature until hardened. Slice into bars.
