Salted Caramel Pecan Shortbread Bars

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I don't really have any profound comments for this recipe, other than I just really wanted to combine pecans, caramel, shortbread and chocolate into something  delicious.  They were delicious!

I owe my mom and dad a big thank you though, because they got me a food photography "How-To" book, that I immediately read upon receiving.  I had to make something today so that I could try out all the tips, so that was really motivating my baking today.  Sadly, by the time I was done baking, I had lost almost all the daylight, but I worked with what I had, I will have more chances to practice.  It was so fun to implement what I learned, and hopefully my photos will continue to improve.

Salted Caramel Pecan Shortbread Bars

Ingredients:


Shortbread:
(Adapted from The Joy of Baking's Shortbread Cookies)

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Caramel:
(Adapted from Chewy Caramel from All Recipes)

• 1 cup butter
• 1 pound light brown sugar
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Other:

• 8 ounces roasted and salted pecan halves, broken up
• 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
•  course sea salt

Directions:

Shortbread:

1. Line a 9x13 in. baking dish with parchment paper.  Make sure it extends up all four sides.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. In a medium bowl  cream butter until smooth and creamy.  Add sugars and cream together for another minute, until smooth.  
3. Add the vanilla and beat until incorporated well.
4. Add the flour, corn starch, and salt and mix until just combined.
5. Using your hands or a spatula, press the dough into the prepared pan until it is evenly distributed.  
6. Bake for 18-22 minutes, until lightly golden.

Caramel:

1. While the shortbread cookies, in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Heat to between 242 and 245 degrees F.  Cook for 2 minutes at that temperature. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla.    

Assembly:

1.  Once the shortbread is out of the oven and has cooled slightly, evenly distribute the pecan pieces over the entire shortbread.
2. Once the caramel is done, poor it evenly over the pecans/shortbread, making sure all of it is covered.
3. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the entire caramel surface and allow to sit until they all turn shiny, which means they have melted.  Once they have melted, use a knife or offset spatula and evenly coat all the caramel with the chocolate until none of the caramel can be seen.
4. Allow to cool on the counter for several hours, sprinkle lightly with coarse sea salt,and then place in the fridge for 30-45 minutes, just until the chocolate hardens.
5. Remove from fridge, lift out using the parchment paper and place on a flat surface.  Using a large, sharp knife, cut in to approximately 72 pieces (6 rows by 12 rows).
6. Enjoy or put in fridge to continue to set up.  Store in refrigerator.    

Eggnog Shortbread Cookies

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My husband loves the flavors of eggnog.  So when he asked me to come up with some eggnog inspired recipes, I jumped at the chance to make something he was interested in.  There will be many more eggnog attempts, but here is my first one.  These are buttery, tender, flaky, flavorful, slightly sweet shortbread cookies that melt in your mouth.  The glaze adds just that extra bit of sweetness for the perfect touch.  If you aren't a big fan of strong rum flavor, then by all means, reduce the extract by half for just a hint.  Want to make these super simple?-Just skip the step of adding cocoa powder to some of the dough to make the swirl, and just go right to shaping the dough in to a log and freezing.

Guess it is time to start ringing in the winter holidays!  Cheers!

Eggnog Shortbread Cookies
(Heavily adapted from The Joy of Baking's Shortbread Cookies)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 teaspoons rum extract
• 1 egg yolk
• 1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dutch process cocoa powder

Glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• milk, cream, or water  

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl  cream butter until smooth and creamy.  Add sugars and cream together for another minute, until smooth.  
2. Add the egg yolk, vanilla, and rum and beat until incorporated well.
3. Add the flour, corn starch, nutmeg, and salt and mix until just combined.
4. Scoop out 1/2 cup of the dough into a small bowl and add the cocoa, mix until combined.
5. One a large piece of parchment paper, dump the larger portion of dough into a mound in the middle, and flatten into approximately a 10x6 inch rectangle (10 long and 6 wide).
6. Place the cocoa mixture on top of the dough square and smooth over it in as even a layer as possible.
7. Using the parchment, grasp the paper nearest to you with two hands and fold the parchment away from you slowly, so that the dough starts rolling onto itself.  Continue to pull the paper away from you until the dough has been completely rolled into a tight log.  Carefully peel back the parchment so the dough log is now sitting in the middle.  Take a large piece of saran wrap and drape it over the top of the dough log and carefully pick it up and roll it up in the saran wrap, sealing the dough.  Twist the ends tightly so that it is a uniform log. 
8. Place in freezer for 30 minutes to firm up.  After 30 minutes they can be take out for baking.  If you want to keep the dough frozen for another time, wrap it in one more piece of saran wrap and place in a ziploc bag and store in the freezer.
9. To Bake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
10. Remove cookies from freezer.  Peel back saran wrap and slice into approximately 1/4 to 1/3 inch wide disks and place on prepared cookie sheet two inches apart.  If it is still to soft, place back in freezer until firm enough to slice.
11. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until just slightly browned.  Cool on a wire rack. 
12. To make glaze:  Mix the sugar, vanilla, and enough milk, cream, or water to create a glazed of desired consistency.  Drizzle over cookies once they are cool.