For as long as I can remember I've had a sweet tooth the size of Texas, if not Texas, then maybe the size of a small country. It's big, it's ravenous, and if I'm not careful I could seriously end up looking like a Sumo Wrestler after a 10 day carb binge. I thank GOD, and my parents that I come from a decent immediate gene pool. Gene pool or not, I have to have some serious self control or I could, and on some occasions would seriously want to eat this whole pan of awesome goodness! Then my butt would resemble that lovely state of Texas, or that small country I was talking about. I'm not kidding.
My birthday is this weekend so when I was running around Pinterest I came across this recipe:
SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!
German Chocolate AND Pecan Pie, bury me now because I'm in sugar coma heaven! I love German Chocolate anything, and Pecan pie is like one of my three favorite pies. My mom's homemade crumb top apple pie, and her pumpkin pie are my other favorites! It was like the sky opened up, sun beams came down, I heard the angels singing a beautiful chorus and BAM! I had to make this recipe. Also for the other not well known fact is that people kind of forget to get me a cake on my birthday…seriously people, it's a thing. It's happened many years in a row (my bestie has had the same problem) so hell I figured I'd make my own goodies for my birthday. Plus anyone who knows me knows that I love to bake. Baking makes me happy, and if mama is happy EVERYONE is happy!
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| Seriously, don't these LOOK AMAZING!?!?!?!?! |
What you'll need:
3 cups pecan halves
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup cold butter, cubed
1 1/2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips
3 large eggs
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 light corn syrup
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
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| I had everything already in my pantry, but the flaked coconut. |
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Arrange pecans in a single layer of a shallow baking pan. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Stir halfway through baking.
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| I did mine for 8 minutes, and that worked out great |
Whisk together flour, confectioners sugar, and cocoa.
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| Done. |
Add cold butter, and combine with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal.
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| So I added the butter. |
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| NOTE when you do this, take the time to get the spatula out, and scrape the bottom. |
Line bottom and sides of a 9'' X 13'' baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang of two short sides. Spray or grease the foil.
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| Easiest way I've found to do this is flip the pan over, and put the foil OVER the top to make the impression of the pan. |
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| That way when you go to put the foil in you won't have tears down the inside, and it should slip in the pan fairly easily at this point. |
Press mixture into the bottom and about 3/4'' of an inch up the sides of your pan.
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| It should look something like this. |
Bake crust for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
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| While we wait….*Hold music playing in the background** I realize now I need to seriously clean to grout in my kitchen. |
Okay so now you can remove your dish from the oven and immediately sprinkle your chocolate chips evenly over the crust. Allow to cool on a wire rack at least 30 minutes.
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| This is when I ran to the store to pick up the coconut. |
Place eggs in a large mixing bowl, and beat lightly. Add brown sugar, corn syrup, and melted butter. Whisk together until it's smooth. Stir in your coconut and pecans.
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| Should look like this, then add your pecans and your coconut. |
Pour evenly over partially baked crust.
Bake 28-34 minutes, or until the edges are golden and filing has set.
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| Before… |
Cool completely on a wire rack, then refrigerate for an hour.
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| …and after. |
So to get this thing out, use the foil overhang to lift the bars out, and place it on a cutting board. I used a huge pizza cutter to cut them into bars, or you could just use a big knife. Either one will do the job.
So I must admit to you all that they tasted okay after I did the whole refrigerator thing for an hour. They tasted MUCH better the next day. I'm also going to take the time and scrape the bottom of my mixer the next time before I press that mixture into the bottom of the pan. I was in kind of a hurry. I have to remember not to rush something like this.
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| Pretty damn tasty with some Spiced Chai tea! |
On an end note, Mitch did offer to bake me a cake after I told him about how people seem to forget, which I thought was sweet, and so did my awesome neighbor Lisa. I am loved beyond measure I tell ya! I am truly thankful to be entering into another year of life with so many great people in my circle. It doesn't get much better than this, and for that I am truly grateful!
To all of you that have followed our blog so far, THANK YOU! Here's to another wonderful year of sharing recipes, tips, tricks, science projects, regular projects, life stories, and many other great things to come!
Happy Baking!
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