These guys are called Black Bottom Pecan Praline Bars and they are a big chocolately chewy, crunchy stack of sweet evil. Make some to take to a friend's house. You probably shouldn't be alone in your house with them. Fair warning.
I am overwhelmed by the number of food blogs there are out
there. I tend to like the ones that are
lighthearted and funny as well as having delicious recipes. Tell me a good story, then share some good
food, and I will come back and spend time with you regularly. It’s like finding a new friend and we have a
lot in common. I saw this recipe first
at a favorite,
Cravings of a Lunatic, but when I read Kim's post, she had gotten it from the helpful blogger and purveyor-of-valuable-advice
Chef Dennis. He, in turn, got it from renown baker and chocolate expert, Alice Medrich’s book,
Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies.
And that is what the internet means to
me. Sharing and community and delicious
food. Usually mixed in with a few good
laughs. (And since I started writing this blog, I can call it research! Win-win!) You seriously need to make these
brownies and share in the joy and love and succulently chocolate chewiness.
Black Bottom Pecan Praline Bars
(Method adapted slightly from the original recipe by Alice
Medrich. Ms. Medrich doesn’t toast her
pecans or use a microwave. I have to
toast pecans or I feel the spirit of my late Aunt Karen hovering over me. She always toasted her pecans because she
said it enhanced their nutty flavor. Trust me: Aunt Karen was right. Plus she made the
very best pecan pie. You should try it! )
Ingredients
For the brownie layer:
8 tablespoons or 120g unsalted butter
6 1/2 ounces or 185g semi-sweet chocolate
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons or 175g sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs (cold)
1/2 cup or 65g all purpose flour
For the praline layer:
1/2 cup or 65g all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
8 tablespoons or 120g unsalted butter - melted
3/4 cup or 150g packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups (after chopping) or 250g pecans (The original
recipe says pecans or walnuts, but I am from Louisiana. There never was a praline without pecans.)
Method
Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C degrees. Put your pecans in a 9 X 13 in pan and pop
them in the preheating oven. Set a timer
for five minutes. As the oven heats, give the pan a shake and toss the pecans
around. Keep setting your timer because
we are going to move on to other steps and you DO NOT want to forget about your
pecans and let them burn.
I toasted mine
for around 20-25 minutes in total but only the last five to seven minutes were
in a hot oven. (My oven heats up pretty
slowly.) As your oven heats, you may
want to shake them around more often to prevent one side from scorching.
Once the pecans are sufficiently toasted, tip them out onto a cutting board and dust out your baking pan with a paper towel. Let it cool a little and then line it with aluminum foil and butter or spray with non-stick spray.
 |
| Just a little darker, but, oh, the flavor! |
Chop your chocolate into chunks and put it in a
microwaveable bowl with the butter. Zap it for 30 seconds at a time, stirring
well between each zap. Mine took three
rounds of 30 seconds and it was completely melted through.
Stir in the sugar, vanilla, and salt. You can give it one more quick 30 seconds in
the microwave at this point, if your sugar doesn’t seem to be melting quickly
enough. Our sugar here in Cairo is not as fine
grained as the caster sugar I can buy elsewhere so that extra 30 seconds was
helpful. Give it a good stir, scraping
all around the sides with a spatula to make sure there aren’t any hot spots.
Add the eggs and mix well.
 |
Here's what happened when I tried to get fancy and crack the egg with one hand for the photo.
Eggshells. Don't let this happen to you. Man, were they a pain to fish out. |
 |
| Beating in the eggs. |
Add in the flour and beat vigorously until batter is smooth
and glossy. A wooden spoon is probably best for this step. I removed the whisk and changed tools. The original recipe says
that the batter should start to come away from the sides of the bowl, but that
never happened for me.
Pour the batter into your greased, foil-lined pan. Gently spread the batter all over the pan and set the pan aside.
On to the praline topping. Combine flour and baking soda in a small bowl
and mix well using a fork. Set this aside.
Coarsely chop your pecans.
Melt your butter with quick zaps in the microwave in a microwave friendly container, then mix it in another bowl with the brown sugar and salt.
Separate your egg yolks then add them in along with the vanilla.
 |
| It looks like toffee sauce or the beginning of pralines. Yum already. |
Add in flour mixture and then the pecans. Mix well.
Drop by small spoonsful on top of the brownie layer. Don’t worry about any little gaps because it
will spread and cover the brownies during baking.
Bake for 20-25 minutes but set your timer for 10 minutes first so
you can rotate the pan for even browning.
Bake until the top is completely brown and cracked. I actually ended up baking mine for closer to
30 minutes.
Cool until firm on wire rack, then lift the ends of the foil
and remove from the pan. Cool completely
before cutting into squares.
These fulfill every promise in Ms. Medrich’s book
title. No kidding: Chewy, Gooey, Crispy,
Crunchy AND Melt-in-Your-Mouth.
Enjoy!
If you love pecans, you might also love these recipes.
My party pecan pie - best and easiest way to make enough pecan pie for a crowd!
Pecan Bundt Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Icing - it's perfect for your Thanksgiving or Christmas dessert table.
Chewy Brigadeiro Pecan Bars - these bad boys sport toasted pecans, melted chocolate, rolled oats and dulce de leche. You probably shouldn't be home alone with these either.
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