Chocolate Pecan Bars
Updated September 16, 2015
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 1 hour 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
FOR THE COOKIE BASE
4 ounces (1 cup) whole-wheat pastry flour
2 ounces (½ cup) all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
3 ounces 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 to 3 teaspoons ice water
FOR THE FILLING
2 ounces 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
⅓ cup mild honey, like clover
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt
½ cup chopped bittersweet chocolate or chocolate chips
8 ounces (2 cups) pecan halves
Nutritional analysis per serving
18 grams carbs; 42 milligrams cholesterol; 199 calories; 7 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 14 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 53 milligrams sodium; 3 grams protein; 9 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
- Step 1
Butter or oil a 9-by-13-by-2-inch pan and line with parchment. Butter the parchment. Sift together the flours and salt. Place the mixture in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and add the sugar. Pulse to blend together. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. With the machine running, add the vanilla extract and ice water and process until the dough comes together on the blades. Stop the machine and, using your hands, press into an even layer in the prepared pan. Pierce with a fork all over and chill for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Step 2
Bake the cookie base for 20 minutes, until it is just beginning to color. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before adding the top layer.
- Step 3
Cream the butter with the honey, salt and nutmeg in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. The mixture will look broken, which is fine.
- Step 4
Distribute the chocolate and then the pecans evenly over the cookie layer. Scrape in the butter and egg mixture and spread in an even layer. Place in the oven and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until set. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely before cutting.
Advance preparation: This will keep for 3 or 4 days.
Private Notes
Comments
You can use all purpose flour or change the proportions of white and whole wheat to half and half. Whole Wheat pastry flour will be lighter than regular whole wheat flour.
Sorry you had so much trouble, and the NYT is at fault for not putting the parenthesis around the butter measurement, but it would be silly to for any recipe to actually mix weights and measures for any particular ingredient in any recipe. So many people have called for weight measurements to be added. The list here is not particularly difficult. If you understand that a stick of butter is 4 oz., or 1/2 of a cup, then it is fairly clear that the 6 tablespoons here is the equivalent of 3 oz.
I gave this recipe 4 stars. I was hesitant to give these cookies a try based on earlier feedback, but I gave it a go because I had all the ingredients on hand. And I do love pecan pie!
My result was delicious and matched the description in the introductory comments. This is not a typical bar cookie, but more like a pecan pie baked in bar cookie form. The crust is just mild rich and a nice compliment to the sweet pecan filling. I think the amount of chocolate is fine.
Modified this recipe a tad- I used a cup of choc chips and a cup of pecans (unchopped). Appreciated the use of honey instead of sugar in the wet mixture. The bar didn't have that overly sweet rush associated with a standard pecan pie.
Oh, I forgot to mention I used almond flour instead of whole wheat!
These were... not great. It was one of my dad's rare attempts at baking and he thought he'd done something wrong, but he followed everything to a T. Agree with commenters that it wasn't sweet enough, oddly eggy, and bland. The dough itself was lacking butter. There was no real distinction between layers. We ended up dusting with lots of powdered sugar and adding flaky sea salt after baking which made them slightly better.