Pecan squares
Yield: 24 servings
For the shortbread layer:
• Softened butter for the pan
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) cold, salted
butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
For the topping layer:
• 10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) salted butter, cut
into tablespoons
• ½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• ¼ cup honey
• ¼ cup Grade B pure maple syrup, see note
• ¼cup heavy cream
• 3½ cups coarsely chopped pecans
Directions:
Note: Grade B maple syrup can be hard to find. If you can’t find it, use Grade A.
1. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 13-by-9-inch baking pan. Line the bottom and the 2 short ends with a 20-inch long piece of aluminum foil, pleating the foil to fit and letting the excess
foil hang over the ends. Lightly butter the foil.
2. To make the shortbread layer: In a medium bowl, mix the flour, butter and sugar with an electric mixer set on low speed until just combined and crumbly. Do not mix into a dough; it should remain crumbly. Press firmly and evenly into the prepared pan. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand on a wire cooling rack. Leave the oven on.
3. To make the topping: In a medium saucepan, bring the butter, brown sugar, honey, maple syrup and heavy cream to a boil, stirring until the butter melts. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the pecans. Pour and spread the
pecan mixture over the crust.
4. Return to the oven and bake until the pecan mixture is bubbling and golden brown around the edges, about 30 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire cooling rack.
5. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the shortbread to release it. Lift up the foil “handles” and remove the shortbread from the pan. Using a long, sharp knife, cut into 24 rectangles.
Per serving: 162 calories; 11 g fat; 7 g saturated fat; 29 mg cholesterol; 1 g protein; 18 g carbohydrate; 11 g sugar; no fiber; 85 mg sodium; 8 mg calcium
—Recipe from “Baking for Friends” by Kathleen King