day 2 … Pecan Praline Bars

What’s a holiday cookie spread without a pecan thing? It’s pretty much a requirement. I’ve made probably 50 different kinds of pecan bars, tassies, tarts and cookies over the years and this one, based on a recipe in the Washington Post based on a Maida Heatter recipe, caught my interest. A cookie crust topped with a brown-sugar-pecan mixture reminiscent of a New Orleans praline. Oh boy, there is little I love more than brown sugar and butter. It’s the best.

For this one, our butter cookie dough forms a thin, crispy base with pecans gently pushed in a pretty, even pattern. Brown sugar and butter is cooked together, with a little salt and vanilla and a bit of cayenne because I felt it needed a little zhuzhing up. It’s not spicy but adds a really nice depth of flavor, a bit of warming toward the end. Pop into the oven until the crust is golden brown and the topping bubbles up and caramelizes around the nuts in a praline-like fashion. Its sturdy, something to consider if you’re shipping cookies, and its tasty. Cut into little squares its everything a pecan bar should be. And then some.

12 Days of Cookies from years past:

Basic Butter Cookie Dough: (see below)

Fruity: Jam Thumbprints, Jam Streusel Tarts, Raspberry Linzer Squares, Lemon Poppyseed Buttons, Orange Sesame Crisps, Cranberry Pistachio Coins, Almond Raspberry Strips, Orange Sandwich Cookies, Apricot Rosemary Shortbread, Coconut Lime Sticks, Bourbon Glazed Fruitcake Buttons, Lemon Cornmeal Biscotti, Blueberry Lime Buttons, Date Swirls

Nutty: Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, Pecan Tassies, Maple Black Walnut Cookies, PB&J Sandwich Cookies, Pecan Triangles, 

Spiced: Cinnamon Sugar Pinwheels, Candied Ginger Spice Buttons, Cardamom Rose Coins, Brown Sugar Wafers with Lemon Lavender Glaze

Chocolate: Basic Chocolate Butter Cookie Dough, Mexican Chocolate Crinkles, Chocolate Cocoa Nib Wafers,Raspberry Chocolate Drops, Chocolate Hazelnut Buttons, Dark Mocha Sandwich Cookies, Espresso Crinkles, Cranberry Cocoa Nib Wafers, Chocolate Dulce de Leche Sandwich Cookies, Chocolate Lebkuchen, Fudge Tarts, Chocolate Marzipan Drops, Chocolate Coconut Bullseyes, Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies, Chocolate Almond Crescents, Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

Bars: Rum Butter Bars, Peppermint Brownie Bars, Banana Walnut Bars, Chocolate Banana Petit Fours

Holiday Classics: Cream Cheese Wreaths, Classic Molasses Cookies, Peppermint Candy Canes, Andes Mint Chip Cookies, Holiday Mallomars

This year:

Basic Butter Cookie Dough for all recipes

Day 1: Sparkly Sugar Cookies

PECAN PRALINE BARS

Base Butter Cookie Dough – recipe here

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F
2. For the cookie base: Line a pan (with at least 2” sides) with a crisscross of foil, pressing to make as smooth as possible. Parchment will work but foil works better with hot bubbling sugar.
3. Turn the base cookie dough into the pan and spread to form an even, level layer, pressing down to compact. The easiest way to do this is to crumble the dough into the pan, starting with the corners, and press to form an even layer. Then top the dough with a scrap of parchment and smooth with your fingers. 
4. Cover the base with the whole pecan halves, flat sides down, giving a little push to adhere to the dough.
5. for the topping: In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, heat the butter, brown sugar, salt and cayenne, stirring with a spatula, until the mixture comes to a hard boil all over the surface. 
6. Continue to stir for 30 more seconds, then remove the pan from the heat and pour the hot mixture over the pecans, tilting the pan as needed to coat the entire surface.
7. Bake for 20-23 minutes, until the butter and sugar caramelize and start to solidify around the nuts. 
8. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
9. Using the foil, ease the bars from the pan, gently tugging as needed. Remove the foil then cut to desired size – thin strips or small squares. 
10. Let the bars to come to room temperature before serving.
11. Make Ahead: The baked bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or frozen for several months. Separate the layers with wax paper.

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