Salted Caramel Pecan Bars

I saw a picture of salted caramel pecan bars on Pinterest. Pecans, caramel and salt-love it!! It originally in Southern Living. Of course I could not find a video of the Southern Living version so I am including that recipe as well as the one made in this video. They both look great. After investigating, I found out that the video version is from Cooking Light. That version has 123 calories per bar. (Not fs you cut them like I do). Southern Living does not have the calories, but come on it’s not like you eat them every day. I say splurge!

Ingredients:
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter or stick margarine, softened $
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons fat-free milk $
40 small soft caramel candies $
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375°.

Beat the first 4 ingredients with a mixer at medium speed until well-blended. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Add flour to sugar mixture, stirring until well-blended. (Mixture will be crumbly.) Firmly press mixture into bottom of an 8-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes.

While crust is baking, combine milk and caramel candies in a medium sauce-pan. Place over low heat; cook until candies melt, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla; remove from heat.
Remove the crust from oven. Pour the caramel mixture evenly over hot crust. Sprinkle with pecans. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Note:

Try cutting the panful into four equal strips, using firm pressure with a large, heavy knife. After removing the strips, cut each crosswise into five pieces.

Southern Living Salted Pecan Bars

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped pecans
12 whole graham crackers
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup butter $
2 tablespoons whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 10 to 12 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.

2. Line a 15- x 10-inch jelly-roll pan with aluminum foil; lightly grease foil. Arrange graham crackers in a single layer in prepared pan, slightly overlapping edges.

3. Combine sugar, butter, and cream in a medium-size heavy saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla and pecans. Pour butter mixture over crackers, spreading to coat.

4. Bake at 350° for 10 to 11 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly.

5. Immediately sprinkle with salt, and slide foil from pan onto a wire rack. Cool completely (about 30 minutes). Break into bars.

Try This Twist!

Chocolate-Pecan-Caramel Bars: Prepare recipe as directed through Step 4. Top warm bars with 1 cup dark chocolate morsels. Let stand 3 minutes, and spread chocolate over bars. Proceed with recipe as directed in Step 5. Chill 20 minutes before serving.