Bourbon Pecan Bars

A topping of brown sugar, pecans, bourbon and a hint of cinnamon covers a bourbon cookie base. Dust the baked cookie with powdered sugar to finish. These cookies are not overly sweet and the bourbon provides just a mild flavoring.

Ingredients:

Small amount of vegetable shortening for preparing pan

Dough:

1 cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup granulated sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2 large egg yolks, divided

3 teaspoons bourbon, rum, or brandy, divided

Topping:

¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

¼ cup granulated sugar

2 large egg whites

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups pecans, finely chopped

1 teaspoon bourbon, rum, or brandy

1 to 2 tablespoons confectioners (powdered) sugar

Tip: Use standard measuring cups and spoons or scales for accurate measuring.  

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare one 9x9x2 inch square pan; lightly grease the pan with shortening.

Dough:

2.In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar; whisk together to mix. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add 1 egg yolk and 2 teaspoons bourbon; stir until mixture forms a smooth dough.

3.Press dough evenly into baking pan. Bake 15 minutes or until firm but not browned.

Topping: 4.Prepare topping while cookie is baking. In a small heavy saucepan over low heat, combine brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg whites, and cinnamon. Cook and stir constantly with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until sugars are dissolved, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in pecans and bourbon.

5.In a small bowl, add 1 egg yolk and 1 teaspoon bourbon, rum, or brandy; whisk with a fork to combine.

6.Brush egg yolk mixture over baked cookie with a pastry brush, then spread topping evenly over top.

Bake:

7.Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Leave cookie in pan to cool; place baking pan on a wire cooling rack to cool. Cut into 2 inch squares while cookie is still warm, and use a fine-mesh sieve to sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.

Tip: My favorite tool to cut bar cookies is a stainless steel dough scraper; simply push the dough scraper straight down into the cookie for straight cuts. Or use a pizza cutter or small kitchen knife to cut the cookie into bars.

Makes about 2 dozen bars

Recipe Source: http://thebakingpan.com/Cookies/bourbonpecanbars.html