Turtle Bars

Chewy caramel, silky chocolate, toasted pecans… see where I’m going? If you want to bite into something extraordinary and come away with a mouthful of all that happy kind of goodness rolled into one, you must have a go at these. From the very first bite when your teeth finally sink down to the rich, brown sugary, buttery, crunchy cookie crust, you’ll wonder how anything this easy and fun to make, can cause such a party in your mouth. If you think they look good, believe me when I tell you… they taste even better. Sooooo fine…..!

Make sure to use a dry skillet to toast your pecans. Stir them around awhile on medium heat until you can start to smell the nutty fragrance rising up.

Turtle Bars

Adapted from Bon Appetit

July 2003

Dark brown sugar gives these buttery treats an extra-rich taste.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 3/4 cups (packed) dark brown sugar

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, room temperature

3 tablespoons whipping cream

1 cup pecan halves, toasted

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (about 5 1/2 ounces)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix flour, 1 cup brown sugar, and 3/4 cup butter in processor until well blended and crumbly. Press mixture evenly into ungreased 9 X 13 X 2-inch metal baking dish. Bake until crust is light golden, about 15 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.

Meanwhile, bring remaining 3/4 cup brown sugar, 3/4 cup butter, and cream to boil in small saucepan over high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil 1 minutes, stirring occasinoally. Remove caramel from heat.

Sprinkle pecans over crust. Pour caramel over pecans. Bake until bubbles form and color darkens, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let stand until chocolate melts, about 5 minutes. Using offset spatula, spread chocolate evenly over top. Chill bars until chocolate sets, about 20 minutes. Cut into 1-inch squares.