Butter Pecan Turtle Bars

Alright people, enough with this Facebook stuff.   Let's get back down to business, here.

I realized that I forgot to post the other special recipe from Momma Vittles' brunch, which was actually the most requested recipe of the day - Butter Pecan Turtle Bars.

I know I said I made 5 desserts which includes these bars, the mini cupcakes, and the lemon sables...

...but in case you were wondering, the other two desserts were brownie bites and chocolate chip cookies.

Someday I will share the chocolate chip cookie recipe with you, because it is pretty awesome.  But since there are already so many good CCC recipes out there, we will save that for a rainy day.

As for the brownies, those were from a box.

Eww, don't judge, ok?  They were lovingly mixed, spooned into mini muffin cups, and sprinkled with coarse sugar by my very dutiful helper (and BFF) Lauren Vittles.

(She is preggers, at the moment almost 18 weeks, but her hubby Tyler Vittles let me borrow her for the weekend to help prepare for and attend the brunch in Momma Vittles' honor.  And... I loved every second!)

Now, as for the butter pecan turtle cookies, this is actually a recipe that Momma Vittles used to make at Christmas time.

Why, I have no clue.  Really, they are delicious any time of year.

But unfortunately I lost the recipe, so I had to go searching for one on the internet that sounded similar.  I found one on About.com that seemed to do the trick.

Now I will admit, I am not a big fan of nuts (especially the dreaded walnut - yucky!!) but I really like this dessert.  So if nuts aren't your thing, don't be scared - I promise, the big, bad pecan won't hurt you.

Butter Pecan Turtle Bars

Crust

• 2 C. all-purpose flour
• 3/4 C. light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 C. butter (1 stick), softened

Topping

• 1 1/2 C. pecan halves
• 1/2 C. light brown sugar, packed
• 2/3 C. butter
• 1 1/2 C. chocolate chips (I like semi-sweet, but you can do milk if you prefer)

Combine flour, 3/4 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup butter; blend until crumbly. Pat mixture firmly onto bottom of ungreased 9x13-inch baking pan. Sprinkle pecan halves over the unbaked crust. Set aside.

In small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup brown sugar and 2/3 cup butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to boil. Boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Drizzle hot the caramel mixture over pecans and crust.

Bake at 350° for 18 to 20 minutes or until caramel layer is bubbly and crust is light brown. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips. Use a small spatula or butter knife to spread chips evenly as they melt. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Recipe from About.com, by Diana Rattray