There is something about the combination of butter and brown sugar that makes me swoon. The smell of cookies baking, the taste of golden caramel, the popping of the buttons on my jeans. When Barbara of Barbara Bakes brought her Pecan Squares to our recent blogger brunch, I was immediately drawn to the rich caramel and shortbread crust. At that point, I went through a scene straight out of the Tom and Jerry cartoons. The angel on one shoulder was gently reminding me that I certainly didn’t need to be making and consuming anymore rich treats, while the devil on the other shoulder was grinning wickedly as he whispered “What could one little batch hurt?” The devil was decidedly more convincing. How I love that little red-clad, pitchfork-wielding fellow.
After having great success with my Brown Butter, Pine Nut & Rosemary Cookies and Pine Nut & Brown Sugar Ice Cream, I decided to replace the pecans with pine nuts. One of my favorite parts of Barbara’s bars was the caramel, so I felt that the only logical thing to do was to increase the amount of caramel by one half. Following along with the recent and brilliant trend of topping caramels and chocolates with sea salt, I sprinkled some coarse sea salt on the top of the bars for good measure. The results made my little devil very happy. I even think the little angel might approve.
The Crust:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F, placing the rack in the center of the oven.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl, using a hand mixer), combine 18 tablespoons unsalted butter (yes, you read that correctly) and 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar.
Beat on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoons salt and mix again.
Add 3 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Continue to mix until the dough begins to adhere together in large clumps, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl along the way.
Lightly spray a 9- by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Press the dough into the pan. Prick the dough with a fork in about a dozen places. Chill the until firm, about 20 minutes. Bake until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer pan to a rack until the dough cools completely.
The filling:
Reduce the oven to 325 degrees F.
In a large skillet set over medium heat, toast 2 cups pine nuts until they are light golden brown. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar, 9 tablespoons honey, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons heavy cream, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Continue to stir while cooking until the caramel coats the back of a spoon, about 1 minute. Remove from heat, and add toasted pine nuts and 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract. Pour the filling over the cooled crust.
Bake the mixture until the filling is bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack. When the bars are lukewarm, prinkle 3/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt over the top of the pine nuts, gently pressing to adhere.
Once the bars cool completely, run a sharp knife around the edge of the pan (I had to do this a couple of times). Invert the pan onto the cooling rack, giving the bottom of the pan a sharp rap to loosen the bars. Remove the pan and lay a cutting board over the bars and flip over. Now the bars will be on the cutting board, filling side facing up. Using a sharp knife, cut into 2- by 1-inch bars. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Other pine nut treats:
Cookin’ Canuck’s Brown Butter, Pine Nut & Rosemary Cookies
Cookin’ Canuck’s Pine Nut & Brown Sugar Ice Cream
Food Blogga’s Pine Nut Cookies
Baking Obsession’s Pine Nut Brittle
Sara’s Kitchen’s Pignoli Cookies
Pine Nut, Caramel & Sea Salt Shortbread Bars
The crust:
18 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
The filling:
12 tbsp (1 1/2 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
9 tbsp honey
3 tbsp granulated sugar
3 tbsp heavy cream
1/4 tsp salt
2 cup pine nuts
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 tsp coarse sea salt
The crust:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F, placing the rack in the center of the oven.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl, using a hand mixer), combine butter and brown sugar. Beat on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add salt and mix again. Add flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Continue to mix until the dough begins to adhere together in large clumps, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl along the way.
Lightly spray a 9- by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Press the dough into the pan. Prick the dough with a fork in about a dozen places. Chill the until firm, about 20 minutes. Bake until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer pan to a rack until the dough cools completely.
The filling:
Reduce the oven to 325 degrees F.
In a large skillet set over medium heat, toast pine nuts until they are light golden brown. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, honey, granulated sugar, heavy cream, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Continue to stir while cooking until the caramel coats the back of a spoon, about 1 minute. Remove from heat, and add toasted pine nuts and vanilla extract. Pour the filling over the cooled crust.
Bake the mixture until the filling is bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack. When the bars are lukewarm, prinkle 3/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt over the top of the pine nuts, gently pressing to adhere.
Once the bars cool completely, run a sharp knife around the edge of the pan (I had to do this a couple of times). Invert the pan onto the cooling rack, giving the bottom of the pan a sharp rap to loosen the bars. Remove the pan and lay a cutting board over the bars and flip over. Now the bars will be on the cutting board, filling side facing up. Using a sharp knife, cut into 2- by 1-inch bars. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Makes 48 bars.
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Tia
wow that looks fantastic! thx for sharing.
Bellini Valli
Caramel and sea salt are my "go to" treat..it has even replaced maple walnut as my favourite ice cream.
ValleyWriter
Oooh – I love the caramel & sea salt combo. Yum!
CookiePie
Oh YUM – love the sweet and salty combo, and pine nuts are so delicious!!
Barbara Bakes
lol – popping of the buttons on my jeans and combine 18 tablespoons unsalted butter (yes, you read that correctly)! I'm loving the changes, especially the double caramel! Thanks for the shout out!
Nicole M., MS, RD, LD
Butter and brown sugar…
coconut and chocolate…
strawberries and cream…
mmm mmm mmmmmm!
Brad
Sounds and looks like a great combination of flavors. Thanks for the tasty recipe, I'm a sucker for shortbread….
Angie's Recipes
CC, I love this! Writing down the recipe! Thanks!
Tasty Eats At Home
Oh my, yum! I love that you use pine nuts in new and inventive ways. You never cease to amaze me! Once again, the devil has convinced me to add another delicious treat to the baking list!
Gera @ SweetsFoods
Delightful and fascinating bars yum 🙂 I want to eat at your house right now, please!
All the best,
Gera
Amber @ Native Food and Wine
These look great to have around for the holidays. And the sea salt on them…. mmm.
Janice
oh these are toooo yummy. I haven't tried salted caramel yet, it seems to be very popular right now.
pegasuslegend
another holiday terrific bar love the caramel!
redkathy
Oh my family would love you! These look wonderful.
Cookin' Canuck
Thanks for all of your wonderful comments!
I have discovered that these bars are even better the second day. I am quickly bundling most of them up to pawn off to my neighbors before I eat them all myself.
Brie: Le Grand Fromage
i've not seen pine nuts used in a dessert. i love pairing salty and sweet, so i'll have to give these a try!
kathyvegas
These look divine! Great recipe and lovely post!
Tasty Trix
You are singing the siren song of caramel and sea salt … i will follow that song anywhere!! yummm.
April Cavin
These are going on my list of "holiday over-indulgence to dos"– love the flavor combo!
KrisKishere
Great recipe! My husband is not a fan of pine nuts – do you think salted peanuts would have the same salty/sweet effect?
5 Star Foodie
Excellent bars! I love the sea salt here and the pine nuts on top, yum!
Vegetable Matter
I'm a sucker for fat — shortbread, poundcake, the richer the better. Would never think to add pine nuts to shortbread, but it looks fabulous.
ARLENE
Sweet and salty, my favorite combination. These sure look tastier than the WW bars I buy. I love how versatile the pine nut is; wish they were a little less expensive. I'm bookmarking this recipe. The combination of shortbread and nuts is a definte winner.
Diana Bauman
Dara, great bars! Two of my favorite ingredients, pine nuts and sea salt! Every time I stop by your blog, you amaze me!
Drick
what an interesting combo – great bar, and one to reckon with, don't know if anyone could reach this one!!!
penny aka jeroxie
such an adult recipe. sweet and salty. this is a fantastic bar!
MaryMoh
looks very delicious. I love the sweet saltish caramel pinenuts. What a beautiful combination with the shortbread base.
Divina Pe
I love the combination too and I'm having the same reaction the moment I saw this.
cookeaze
It looks absolutely tempting and delicious!…nice entries for the events.Thanks for sharing your talent.
Rochelle
Like so many others I agree that this looks fabulous! The crunchiness of the pine nuts and the chewy caramel with the shortbread sound great!
pigpigscorner
wow this look sgreat with all the little pine nuts on top!
Norah
I've got to work this recipe into my overwhelming holiday schedule. I'm craving it just from your picture.
My Little Space
This recipe looks sooo tasty! Love the pine nuts topping so aromatic and crunchy.
Cathy
Just reporting back… I made this last night. The only hard part is getting it out of the pan:). I'm looking forward to serving it on Christmas.
Cookin' Canuck
Cathy, make sure you spray the pan liberally with cooking spray. When I did this, the bars came out easily. I hope you enjoy them on Christmas!
Bob
Oh my. Those look unreal, love it!
Anonymous
Pinenuts are amazing….but unfortunately I have developed an allergy to them (eating too many, maybe?)I'll try these bars with almonds or peanuts or maybe hazelnuts.