Mexican Pecan Bars

Initially, I had little faith in a recipe that combined cinnamon, chocolate, caramel, and pecans, but who knew...it's pretty darn good after a couple of tweaks and about 6 go-arounds!  This is definitely a go-to recipe that is sure to please.  Because they are so sweet and rich, they are great cut into small squares for little "poppers."

Cookie Base

- 3/4 cup room temperature butter

- 2 cups flour

- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

- 2 tsp cinnamon

- 1/2 tsp kosher salt

- 1 cup chocolate chips (approximate)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To make the cookie base, start by greasing a 9x13 inch baking pan.  Combine all ingredients (except chocolate chips).  The mixture will be very crumbly, which is ok, but make sure that the butter is pretty soft, or it will be hard to get everything to come together.  Press the dough into the greased baking pan.   Bake in the oven until firm and lightly browned, about 25 minutes.   When removed from oven, spread chocolate chips over the hot cookie base and let rest for a few minutes until melted.  When melted, carefully spread melted chocolate chips over the base.

Pecan Topping

- 3 cups roughly chopped pecans

- 1/2 cup butter

- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar

- 1/3 cup honey

- 2 tbs milk

- 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Feel free to start preparing this mixture while the cookie base is baking.  In a medium sized saucepan placed over medium heat, melt the butter.  Add in the brown sugar, honey, milk and salt.  Gently cook for 1-2 minutes until all sugar is dissolved and mixture has bubbled throughout.  Turn off heat and stir in pecans. 

Spread pecan mixture over cookie/chocolate base and bake at the same temperature for around 20 minutes until the pecan filling is bubbling in middle as well as on the edges.   The color should not change dramatically. 



Remove the bars from oven and let them cool completely before cutting.  I wouldn't speed the cooling process up in this situation by putting the bars in the fridge or freezer, or the caramel becomes a rock.  Just be patient, and in about an hour, you can eat all the bars you want!

Don't expect them to stick around too long...enjoy!