Boom: day 1, dish 1 of the Thanksgiving Dessert Bonanza.  Yesterday I tackled my pecan flavor.

FORM OF: Pecan Pie Bars!!

I took this recipe from the fabulous Southern Living’s Best Loved Cookies book that I’ve had for a few years now.  I love this book mightily; I have as of yet to come across a recipe in it that I did not like.  Instead of doing a traditional pecan pie, I thought I’d make the pie in bars.  You know, just to shake things up a bit.  /shimmy

I’m a big fan of pecan pie, though as a kid I had trouble getting past the fact that someone was putting nuts in my pie.  That tooth-achingly sweet flavor is one I’ve grown to love and cherish as a specifically Thanksgiving-related treat.

And so I began my baking journey…with a little Ron Burgundy:

My TV faces my kitchen.  Can’t resist putting on a little something while I’m cooking. ^_^

Anyway, to start, a tip!  For slackers!

For Slackers: A neat tip I came across recently both via word of mouth and an excellent Cook’s magazine – line your baking pan with a cross (one running vertically, one running horizontally) of tin foil, leaving several inches of excess, when making brownies or other bar-type desserts.  When it’s done baking, you can then lift the entire rectangle of bars out of the pan by the edges of the tin foil, thus negating all problems with cutting out your edge pieces.

I, however, forgot to do this.  So do as I say, not as I do, y’know? >.>

After forgetting to line my pan with tin foil, my next challenge was figuring out what it means to “cut butter into flour.”  A quick call to my all-knowing brother confirmed that this process is relatively simple.  I was actually going to explain it here, but decided it would make this post way too long…so look for a post later on cutting fat into flour (sorry for the anticlimax).

Once I got that figured out everything else was mostly pie (get it get it?).  This recipe was kind of neat because it didn’t call for corn syrup like many other pecan pie recipes do; this one used brown sugar, honey, and a little whipping cream.  I thought that was a cool little difference.

Want to know what the innards of a pecan pie look like?

…Typically without a spatula in it, though.  Unless you like plastic and rubber in your pies.  There’s got to be a that’s-what-she-said joke in there somewhere.

*cough*

So!  Let’s take a look at some final products, yes?  Without further ado, a pan of Pecan Pie Bars:

The verdict?

Ehh… >.>

Well, alright, I’ll be straight up: they’re okay.

But seriously, don’t blame it on the book or recipe; I’m pretty sure the sub-par nature of these things are due to my own flubs.  Really, the bars are completely edible, they’re just a little crunchier than I’d like.  In fact the ones nearer the center are probably just fine (I made sure to…test…a more centrally located one today to see if it’s any better).  I think the biggest problem was that I baked it for too long.  The recipe said to pull them out in 25-30 minutes, or until the center was bubbling.

For Slackers: And everybody, actually: Always (always always always) set your timer for less than the actual listed baking time.  You can always bake things longer…you cannot un-bake a thing!  Although if you can, let me know.  I want your secret.

Final analysis: good.  I just need to do a better job next time. ^_^