One of the preliminary winners at the Caroline County Fair
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour |
¼ teas. baking powder |
¼ teas. salt |
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened |
½ cup sugar |
¼ cup brown sugar |
4 large eggs |
1 teas. vanilla |
½ teas. almond extract |
½ cup pecans, ground into a powder |
½ cup milk chocolate chips, ground with almonds |
1 cup milk chocolate chips - layer on hot crust |
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter |
1½ cups packed light brown sugar |
½ cup light corn syrup |
2 tablespoons heavy cream |
8 oz. pecans, chopped (not toasted) |
4 tablespoons butter |
¼ cup packed brown sugar |
1 teas. heavy cream |
⅛ teas. vanilla |
¼ cup powdered sugar |
⅛ teas. coarse sea salt |
Heat butter and brown sugar in a saucepan over low-medium heat. Let lightly
boil for two minutes, stirring. Stir in heavy cream and vanilla/remove from
heat. When mixture has cooled slightly, stir in powdered sugar. Drizzle warm
caramel icing onto cooled unsliced bars (with piping bag or bottle). Sprinkle
lightly with coarse sea salt. Cool and cut into bars. OR cut into bars first,
then drizzle caramel onto individual bars and sprinkle on salt. Sprinkle on a
few chopped pecans.
SERVES 24
Warm ¾ cup dark chocolate chips over a bowl of hot water, stirring until all chocolate is melted. Spoon onto parchment paper, spread out, let cool and cut into triangle strips. Roll parchment over a tube shape, tape to hold and refrigerate for 1 hour. Unroll and apply triangle curls to a stack of dessert bars.