Cloudt’s Pecan Treats – 12 Days of Cookies

Day 7 of our 12 Days of Cookies extravaganza thing, and the cookie of the day is pecan treats from Cloudt’s in Atlanta. Pecan bars are a Southern delicacy, kind of like eating pecan pie on a shortbread crust, and these are absolutely to die for. Michael kept mumbling “wow” with a mouthful of pecan bar and we understand why they are so popular.

The next time I make these, and oh yes there will absolutely be a next time, I will substitute maple syrup for part of the honey just because maple and pecan is one of my favorite flavor combinations. Also I thought the instruction to use 1 large egg plus 2 additional tablespoons beaten egg was a bit fussy, especially since I don’t keep cartons of egg replacer on hand. In the end I just added a smidgen of oil to make up for the lost liquid and moved on.

Be sure to visit all our friends in the cookie clan to see what cookies they chose as well as the Gourmet website to see all their favorite cookies from 1941-2008.

The Rest of the Cookie Baking Clan

Kelly of Sass & Veracity

Courtney of Coco Cooks

Judy of No Fear Entertaining

Sandy of The Bakers Bench

Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen

Jerry of Cooking By the Seat of My Pants

More From the 12 Days of Cookies

CLOUDT’S PECAN TREATS

Equipment

stand mixer with paddle attachment
15 1/2- by 10 1/2-inch jelly-roll pan
large heavy sauce pan

Ingredients

CRUST
1-1/2 (170 g) sticks unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup (131 g) granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg + 2 tablespoons lightly beaten egg (I used canola oil instead of the extra egg.)
2-3/4 cups (330 g) unbleached all-purpose flour

PECAN TOPPING
1-1/3 cups (146 g) firmly packed light brown sugar
1 stick (8 tablespoons/113 g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup (120 mil) honey
1/4 cup (60 mil) half & half
3-3/4 cups (14 ounces/397 g) pecans, chopped

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375° F/190° C.

2. CRUST: In the bowl of the stand mixer, cream together the softened butter, granulated sugar, and salt until the mixture is light and fluffy. Then beat in the eggs.

3. Add the flour and stir the mixture until it is just blended.

4. Press the mixture evenly into the jelly-roll pan and bake it in the middle of the preheated for 15 to 20 minutes, or until it is lightly golden. Remove and allow to cool in the pan on a rack.

5. PECAN TOPPING: (Make while the crust bakes.) In the saucepan combine the brown sugar, butter pieces, honey, and half-and-half. Bring the mixture to a boil over moderate heat, stirring. Stir in the chopped pecans and let the mixture cool a little. If it cools for too long, it will be hard to spread.

6. Spread the cool pecan mixture evenly over the shortbread base and bake the dessert in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes, or until the top is bubbly. Let the dessert cool in the pan on a rack and cut it into pieces about 2 inches square. Makes about 35 pieces.

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Source: adapted from Gourmet