Pecan Squares

I'm from Georgia, so I grew up eating a lot of pecan pie.  It is such a yummy dessert especially with a little vanilla ice cream.  Oh my!  As I have gotten older, the gummy, gooey part of the pecan pie started grossing me out a bit.  I came across this recipe on myrecipes.com one day.  I bookmarked it on my computer and then waited for the perfect opportunity to make it.  Our neighbors had a little get together and asked everyone to bring something.  I thought of these pecan squares.  I had all the ingredients on hand.  They were very easy to make.

These pecan squares are delicious!  They are so buttery and nutty, it was amazing.  They were a huge hit at the get together.  :)

When I make these again, I won't pat the bottom mixture 1 1/2 inches up the sides of the dish.  I felt like that was too high above the pecan filling.  Next time I will probably do 1/2 to 1 inch up the sides.

Pecan Squares

2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup powdered sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

2/3 cup butter

3 tablespoons whipping cream

3 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

Sift together 2 cups flour and 2/3 cup powdered sugar.  Cut in 3/4 cup softened butter using a pastry blender or fork just until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Pat mixture on bottom and up 1 1/2 inches up sides of lightly greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.  Cool.

Bring brown sugar, honey, 2/3 cup butter, and whipping cream to a boil in saucepan over medium-high heat.  Stir in pecans, pour hot filling into prepared crust.  

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly.  Cool completely before cutting into 2-inch squares. 

Makes about 28 squares.

Hat Tip - MyRecipes.com