Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Coconut and pecan bars

Coconut and pecan bars / Barrinhas de pecã e coco

Besides the urge to go to the kitchen, Nigella Lawson’s TV shows also bring me the thought of having kids – luckily for me the first is easy to deal with and the latter goes away after I finish watching the episode. :D
Right before I purchased Nancy Baggett’s beautiful cookbook on cookies I watched the lovely video posted on Amazon’s website and boy, not only did it have the same effect on me that Nigella’s shows usually do but I also wished my sister were a small kid again so we could bake cookies together like the two adorable children on the video. :D
Since I already owned a great book written by the author the decision of buying “Simply Sensational Cookies” was a no brainer – and these delicious bars were the first recipe I tried from it.

Coconut and pecan bars
from the delicious Simply Sensational Cookies

Shortbread layer:
13 tablespoons (182g) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon table salt
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour

Filling:
1½ cups (165g) pecans, chopped
1½ cups (150g) sweetened flaked or shredded coconut*
¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, chopped
2/3 cup (116g) brown sugar, packed
¼ cup light corn syrup
¼ teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 32x22cm (13x9in) baking pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang in two opposite sides, and butter the foil as well.
Shortbread layer: in the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, vanilla and salt just until blended. On low speed, beat in the flour just until the mixture forms a mass. Pat the dough onto the base of the prepared pan into an even layer. Prick it all over with a fork and bake for about 20 minutes or until light golden and slightly darker around the edges. Remove from the oven, leave it on and make the topping: combine the pecans, coconut, butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and salt in a medium heavy saucepan. Stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, then remove from the heat and add the vanilla.
Pour the mixture evenly over the shortbread layer. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is bubbly, golden brown and just slightly darker around the edges. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack, then cut into bars to serve.
Bars can be stored, airtight, at room temperature for up to 4 days.

* I used sweetened shredded coconut and though the bars were a bit too sweet – if I were to make these again I would definitely use unsweetened coconut

Makes 24 – I made the exact recipe above using a 20x30cm (8x12in) pan

3 comments:

Laura (Tutti Dolci) said...

Oh these bars look irresistibly rich!

CressT said...

OMG, made these tonight as a Paleo/primal snack while watching the Grammys...they are to die for! I made them with almond flour and coconut sugar as substitutes. So caramely, buttery and rich! Cuddly even hold off until they cooled.

Patricia Scarpin said...

Hey, CressT, that is great news! Thank you for letting me know how the recipe turned out.

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