Choco-Riffic Recipe #2

The quest to find the best use for the Scharffen Berger splurge continued for a viewing party to watch the CAL-USC game. I don't want to talk about the game. But the chocolate was good stuff.

Pecan Chocolate Squares

COOKIE BASE:
6 oz. (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
9 oz. (2 cups) unbleached flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. table salt
2 oz. finely grated bittersweet chocolate (I used 3 oz. as it's a bar of the Scharf)

PECAN TOPPING:
10 oz. pecans (3 cups) toasted (I used 4 cups, they came in 2 cup bags)
1/4 lb (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
2 Tbs. heavy cream
1/2 tsp. table salt

Preheat oven to 350F and put a rack in the middle. COOKIE BASE: Put the buttter in the food processor along with the flour, light brown sugar, cinnamon and salt for about 20 pulses. (If you are making this at your brother's house and he's not really the food-processor-type, then you can improvise by cutting the butter into the flour, etc. until it is well combined.) Scatter the dough into a 9-inch square baking pan and press envenly. Bake until browned (about 25 minutes). Cover with shaved chocolate and let it melt. PECAN TOPPING: While the chocolate melts, pulse pecans in food processor (or, at brother's house, crush them while still in the bag with a rolling pin or the flat side of a butcher's knife.) Melt butter in saucepan & stir in the dark brown sugar, honey, cream and salt. Simmer for a minute while stirring occassionaly. Stir in the pecans. Pour the mixture over the cookie base. Bake until much of the filling is bubbling (not just the edges). Let cool completely in the pan & cut into squares.

A few comments: While delicious, it was VERY rich and crumbly. A small square and a coffee would suffice to keep anyone with a sweet tooth quite busy. Lucky_girl thinks the structural integrity would be helped by a double batch of cookie layer. I think cooking longer (too ensure that the entire thing is, in fact bubbling) and allowing it to completely cool, perhaps overnight or in the freezer would also help.

Enjoy!