If you want pecan pie for Thanksgiving but hate the hassle of making a pie crust, try these Pecan Bars from Amy Houts’ new cookbook, Cooking Around the Country With Kids: USA Regional Recipes and Fun Activities. Yes, you can buy ready prepared pie crust, but here is a recipe the children will enjoy making with you from start to finish.
This recipe features a delicious product, pecans, from this great land of ours, the USA. We are thankful, especially at this season, for the rich abundance of food available.
In her book, Cooking Around the Country with Kids, Amy Houts tells about the time she went pecan picking with her friend in Memphis, Tennessee. She was surprised at how the pecan trees’ branches covered the whole area. Her friend said that pecan trees are an added bonus to have in one’s yard. “They are great for swings and offer lots of nice shade,” she said.
Here is the recipe for Pecan Bars:
1 ½ cups flour
¾ cup butter, or margarine, softened
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 eggs
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350º F.
Mix flour, butter, and powdered sugar with spoon or electric mixer. With floured fingers, using quick, light motions press dough into a 9-by-13-2-inch baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, children can help measure and mix filling. In a medium-sized bowl, beat eggs with a fork or wire whisk. Add brown sugar, baking powder, salt, vanilla, and pecans. Pour over hot crust. Return to oven and bake 20 minutes more. Cool; cut into bars.
Makes about 32 bars.
To read more about the cookbook from which this recipe is taken, go to www.imagesunlimitedpub.com. Order your own copy or one for your favorite child.
Lee Jackson
Snaptail Books
http://www.ImagesUnlimitedPublishing.com
