Barefoot Contessa Pecan Bars (Ina Garten) by Colleen
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| This is fundamentally a pecan pie in bar form. Really good. |
UPDATED 2021
Hiya Barb,
A friend of mine does a birthday cookie exchange party every year. I decided to try to make these for the party. I think they were very good, almost like a pecan pie in a bar, but the BC is holding back on some rather key info in her instructions.
As a matter of preference, I don't like orange so I doubled the lemon zest and skipped the orange zest. Second, I'm not sure I love the honey flavor coming through. My thought, if I make these again would be to use half honey and half corn syrup. But that is really a personal preference about your love/or not for honey.
Third, the time involved to make these is wildly underestimated and I wouldn't describe them as easy. On the plus side, I made these on Tuesday for a party on Thursday, and unlike some cookies where that wouldn't be a plus, it was absolutely fine for these. They "hold" very well. And they make a HUGE amount and they are very rich, so the idea of cutting them into 20 squares is comical. Try 60 squares!
---Colleen
P.S. (2021) I just made a batch of the Pecan Bars from the Barefoot Contessa and had a key update. Previously, there was an elaborate process to line the edge of the pan with foil so that the gooey pecan mixture would not stick to the side of the pan. It was tricky to engineer and prone to failure, with the goo seeping in between the foil and pan and making removal tricky. Now when I make any type of cookie especially bar cookies, I use parchment sheets on the pan. For this particular recipe I use two of the pre-cut parchment sheets and over lap them in the center. I make sure the parchment sticks up from the sides of the pan and press it into the corner. You have to work with it a bit when pressing the dough flat for the crust to avoid the parchment moving. Then you bake the crust and poor in the pecan mixture and bake again. After the bars have cooled/been in the fridge for a few hours, you can lift out the WHOLE slab out of the pan. I move it to a large cutting board and usually cut the slab into four quarters. (One cut from short side of pan to the other, and one cut from long side of the pan to the opposite side). This leaves you with four 6x8 (approx.) slabs. I usually keep out one-two slabs for immediate consumption, and then wrap the remainder in press and seal and then foil and put in the freezer. These bars are a lot of work (and expensive) but having an Emergency Supply in my freezer has saved me more than once!
Colleen's BC Pecan Squares
(adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, 1999)
Serves: 20 large squares or 40 small squares
Crust:
1 1/4 pound butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs (use the biggest you have)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Topping:
1 pound unsalted butter
1/2 cup good honey
1/2 cup light corn syrup
3 cups light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 pounds pecans, coarsely chopped
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line an 18x12 x1" baking pan with heavy duty foil, on the bottom and up the sides, so the filling won't seep down under the crust.
For the crust, beat the butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, until light, approximately 3 minutes. Add the eggs and the vanilla and mix well. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the batter with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Press the dough evenly into the prepared baking sheet, making an edge around the outside. It will be very sticky; sprinkle the dough and your hands lightly with flour. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the crust is set but not browned. Allow to cool.
For the topping, combine the butter, honey, light corn syrup brown sugar, and zest in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over low heat until the butter is melted, using a wooden spoon to stir. Raise the heat and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the heavy cream and pecans. Pour over the crust, trying not to get the filling between the crust and the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling is set. I’ve come to realize that if you bake them until the filling looks set, they are over baked. They are too hard when they cool. So I baked this last batch for about 30-35 and removed from oven when the middle still is pretty gooey. But they were fine when they cooled. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. Cut into bars and serve.
NOTES: The amount of filling is crazy, and if you use a short-sided pan, you will have spillage in your oven and according to online reviews, it will be colossal smoky mess to clean up. Other reviewers have just not used all the filling and saved it as ice cream topping or some other clever usage. Other reviewers line the whole pan before they blind bake the crust with heavy duty foil and build up an edge to contain the filling. That is probably the best bet. Which is what I do now.
Next thing to know: you must cool the bars and then CHILL the bars before cutting. If you don't, another big mess.
When I cut the bars, my new system is to cut the pan into 4 large sections. You can get a spatula under a section and with the help of the foil, lift out a whole section. Then you need to peel off the aluminum foil and inspect to make sure nothing is left behind stuck to the bottom or the sides of the bars.
Then you can either cut the section into smaller pieces on a cutting board if you are ready to serve. If not, you can wrap up a whole section and seal and then foil wrap and freeze. This is what I typically do-- I end up with 2-3 frozen slabs and 1-2 2 "fresh" slabs for eating. This also makes them easier to mail if you are sending to someone else.
This is not an easy or inexpensive recipe, however, I think this is a recipe that once you have made it it will become a "go to" as the bars are really delicious if you like pecan pie, and they hold and travel well for parties.
Enjoy!
---Colleen
Colleen's BC Pecan Squares
(adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, 1999)
Serves: 20 large squares or 40 small squares
Crust:
1 1/4 pound butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs (use the biggest you have)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Topping:
1 pound unsalted butter
1/2 cup good honey
1/2 cup light corn syrup
3 cups light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 pounds pecans, coarsely chopped
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line an 18x12 x1" baking pan with heavy duty foil, on the bottom and up the sides, so the filling won't seep down under the crust.
For the crust, beat the butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, until light, approximately 3 minutes. Add the eggs and the vanilla and mix well. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the batter with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Press the dough evenly into the prepared baking sheet, making an edge around the outside. It will be very sticky; sprinkle the dough and your hands lightly with flour. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the crust is set but not browned. Allow to cool.
For the topping, combine the butter, honey, light corn syrup brown sugar, and zest in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over low heat until the butter is melted, using a wooden spoon to stir. Raise the heat and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the heavy cream and pecans. Pour over the crust, trying not to get the filling between the crust and the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling is set. I’ve come to realize that if you bake them until the filling looks set, they are over baked. They are too hard when they cool. So I baked this last batch for about 30-35 and removed from oven when the middle still is pretty gooey. But they were fine when they cooled. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. Cut into bars and serve.
NOTES: The amount of filling is crazy, and if you use a short-sided pan, you will have spillage in your oven and according to online reviews, it will be colossal smoky mess to clean up. Other reviewers have just not used all the filling and saved it as ice cream topping or some other clever usage. Other reviewers line the whole pan before they blind bake the crust with heavy duty foil and build up an edge to contain the filling. That is probably the best bet. Which is what I do now.
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| Best way to store is the whole slab -- double wrapped --- then unwrap and cut into squares |
When I cut the bars, my new system is to cut the pan into 4 large sections. You can get a spatula under a section and with the help of the foil, lift out a whole section. Then you need to peel off the aluminum foil and inspect to make sure nothing is left behind stuck to the bottom or the sides of the bars.
Then you can either cut the section into smaller pieces on a cutting board if you are ready to serve. If not, you can wrap up a whole section and seal and then foil wrap and freeze. This is what I typically do-- I end up with 2-3 frozen slabs and 1-2 2 "fresh" slabs for eating. This also makes them easier to mail if you are sending to someone else.
This is not an easy or inexpensive recipe, however, I think this is a recipe that once you have made it it will become a "go to" as the bars are really delicious if you like pecan pie, and they hold and travel well for parties.
Enjoy!
---Colleen