(Our top 10 recipes of the year)
These incredibly delicious little cookies are like an American version of baklava, with pie dough instead of phyllo and pecans for the nuts.
Hands on time: 35 minutes Total time: 3 hours Serves: 60
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) cold unsalted butter, divided
1/4 cup ice-cold water
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 pound pecan pieces
1/4 cup whipping cream
Instructions:
Place the flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut 1/2 cup (1 stick) of chilled butter into 1-inch pieces and add to the flour. Use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour. When the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, add the water and toss with a fork. (Alternative instructions: Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add the chilled butter pieces and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the cold water all at once and pulse until just blended.) Gather the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour or longer.
Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper, allowing the paper to come up to the edges of two sides of the pan (for ease in handling the baked cookies). Grease the parchment paper.
Roll the chilled dough between 2 pieces of parchment or wax paper into a rectangle about 11 by 15 inches. Remove the top sheet of paper and then flip the rolled dough into the prepared pan. Remove the remaining sheet of paper. Adjust the dough as necessary to make sure it comes up about 1 inch on all sides of the pan. Pierce the dough with a fork; chill pan in the freezer while making the filling.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, combine the remaining 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and honey. Stirring, bring the mixture to a boil. Stirring constantly, cook until it is thick and dark, about 4 minutes. Remove the mixture from the heat; stir in the pecan pieces and whipping cream. Pour the mixture into the dough-lined pan, spreading it evenly. Bake the cookies for 25 minutes, checking at 15 minutes to make sure the cookies are not browning too much (if so, reduce the heat to 375 degrees and continue baking). Cool the pan on a wire rack. When it's completely cool,
Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper, allowing the paper to come up to the edges of two sides of the pan (for ease in handling the baked cookies). Grease the parchment paper.
Roll the chilled dough between 2 pieces of parchment or wax paper into a rectangle about 11 by 15 inches. Remove the top sheet of paper and then flip the rolled dough into the prepared pan. Remove the remaining sheet of paper. Adjust the dough as necessary to make sure it comes up about 1 inch on all sides of the pan. Pierce the dough with a fork; chill pan in the freezer while making the filling.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, combine the remaining 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and honey. Stirring, bring the mixture to a boil. Stirring constantly, cook until it is thick and dark, about 4 minutes. Remove the mixture from the heat; stir in the pecan pieces and whipping cream. Pour the mixture into the dough-lined pan, spreading it evenly. Bake the cookies for 25 minutes, checking at 15 minutes to make sure the cookies are not browning too much (if so, reduce the heat to 375 degrees and continue baking). Cool the pan on a wire rack. When it's completely cool,
The tricky part is rolling out the dough, which is much simpler if it is rolled between two sheets of wax paper or parchment paper. Be sure to let the baked bars cool completely before cutting them.
Per serving: 132 calories (percent of calories from fat, 66), 1 gram protein, 11 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 10 grams fat (4 grams saturated), 14 milligrams cholesterol, 5 milligrams sodium.
