Layered Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

Pecan pie…so Thanksgiving! This year my family is doing a low-key Thanksgiving because we have tickets to the Texas vs. TCU game in Austin. So instead of doing a fancy pecan pie from scratch, I opted for a pecan pie dessert. This has a yummy layer of chocolate pecan goodness in between to give a little bit of a surprise.

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Layered Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

Yields one 13″ x 9″ pan

Ingredients for the crust and chocolate layers:

• 2.5 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 cup granulated white sugar, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1 ounce Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
• 3/8 cup (or 1/4 cup & 2 tablespoons) shortening
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Ingredients for the pecan pie layer:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 2 cups pecans, chopped
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F, and prepare the 13″ x 9″ pan with parchment paper and spray all over with nonstick spray.

In a food processor, place 2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup of white sugar, and the salt.  Pulse together until all is combined well. Next, add the cold pieces of butter, and pulse until the mixture looks like fine crumbs. Dump the crust mixture in the prepared pan, and press firmly on the bottom.

Place the chocolate chips and the shortening in a microwave safe bowl. Place in the microwave at 50% power for 1-1.5 minutes. Stir together to get rid of most of the lumps. Add in 1/2 cup white sugar, pecans, 1/2 cup flour, eggs, and the vanilla. Mix until all is combined. Dump this chocolate mixture over the crust, and press firmly as a layer on top. Take a fork and stab the layer all over. Place in the oven for 15 minutes.

While the crust and chocolate layer are in the oven, work on the pecan pie top. In a small sauce pan over medium-high heat, place the brown sugar, white sugar, corn syrup, and butter. Stir occasionally, and bring the mixture to a boil. Once it hits boiling, turn off the heat and remove from the burner.

In a medium bowl, whisk the 4 eggs together. Add about 1 cup of the hot sugar mixture while continually whisking. (I don’t have photos of this because I unfortunately only have 2 hands.) Once well combined, add the remainder of the hot sugar mixture.

Dump in the pecans and vanilla extract. Stir until everything is well combined.

Pour the pecan pie mixture into the pan, and place in the oven. Bake for 35 minutes.

Remove from the oven, and allow the pan to completely cool before cutting.

Enjoy!!

“Harry: Repeat after me. Pepper.
Sally: Pepper.
Harry: Pepper.
Sally: Pepper.
Harry: Waiter, there is too much pepper on my paprikash.
Sally: Waiter, there is too much pepper on my paprikash.
Harry: But I would be proud to partake of your pecan pie.
Sally: But I would be proud to partake of your pecan pie.
Harry: Pecan piiiiie.
Sally: Pecan piiiiie.”
– When Harry Met Sally

Red Velvet Cheesecake Marbled Brownies

Red velvet cheesecakey brownies! I don’t even think I have to say anything further. Enjoy!

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Red Velvet Cheesecake Marbled Brownies

Yields one 9″ x 13″ pan

Ingredients for the brownies:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 4 ounces dark chocolate chips
• 2 cups granulated white sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
•  3 teaspoons red food coloring
• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Ingredients for the cheesecake:

• 16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 2/3 cup granulated white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F, and spray a 9″ x 13″ pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.

In a small microwave-proof bowl, melt butter and chocolate together. Stir with a fork until very smooth. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and red food coloring.

Add in the chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. Next, add flour and salt into the mixture, and stir until everything is just combined.

Pour into the prepared pan.

In a medium bowl, add all the cheesecake ingredients together. Beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Spoon the mixture, in dollops, on top of the brownie batter.

Take a butter knife and gently swirl the two layers.

Place the pan in the oven, and bake for 35-40 minutes, until brownies and cheesecake are set or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with clean and edges are slightly browned. Remove from oven, and allow to come to room temperature.

Enjoy!!

“Because you don’t live near a bakery doesn’t mean you have to go without cheesecake.” – Hedy Lamarr

Double Coffee Blondies

Coffee…I LOVE it. Chances are that if something is coffee flavored, I will eat it. This recipe combines some of my favorite things…coffee, Heath bars, and liqueur.

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Double Coffee Blondies

Yields one 9″ x 13″ pan

Ingredients:

• non-stick spray
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1.5 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup coffee liqueur (I used Caffé Lolita)
• 1/2 cup Heath bars, chopped (I put mine in the food processor to do all the work for me)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F, and spray a 9″x13″ pan with non-stick spray. Lay a piece of parchment paper across the pan, so that it extends the pan slightly. (This is an optional step, but it will make it easier to get the bars out later after baking.)

Place the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Melt it and bring it to a boil. Keep and eye on it and stir it frequently to keep it from burning or boiling over. As you keep stirring, it will become quite frothy and will brown.

Remove from the heat and pour the browned butter into a large bowl (or Kitchen Aid stand mixer bowl) and allow it to cool for 1-2 minutes.

While it cools, sift and combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder in another medium bowl.

Return to the bowl with the butter and add the sugars; mix well. Next add the eggs, vanilla, and coffee liquor.

Mix until combined.

Slowly, add the dry ingredient bowl into the wet batter. Do not over mix.

Once the batter is fully incorporated, fold in the Heath bars. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Place the pan in the oven, and bake  for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean. Let the pan cool completely before removing from the pan and cutting into squares.

Enjoy them with a nice glass of milk. (Just a warning…don’t eat these late at night…they will keep you up! Up enough to make you want more! ;))

Enjoy!!

“Chocolate, men, coffee – some things are better rich. ” – Unknown

Bite-sized Rolo Brownies

Chocolate and caramel…a winning combo for enticing desserts. Although you could make this in a square pan, I feel like it’s more fun to make them miniature. Plus mini things are cuter, right? 😀

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Bite-sized Rolo Brownies

Yields about 4.5 dozen mini cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white granulated sugar, sifted
• 1 cup brown sugar, sifted
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• 1.25 cups cocoa, sifted
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 (12 ounces) bag Rolo candy
• 5 ounces Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, straight out of the fridge

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300°F, and spray a mini cupcake/muffin pan with non-stick spray. You can also use liners if you prefer (which I did – mostly because I was excited to use my new ones).

Sift the sugars in a medium sized bowl and set aside.

In a stand mixer bowl (or can use a large bowl and hand mixer if you don’t have a stand mixer), place the eggs and use whisk attachment. Beat them until they are light yellow and fluffy. Next add both sifted sugars and combine fully.

Add the butter, cocoa, vanilla, flour, and salt. Mix thoroughly.

Pour the batter into the prepared mini cupcake pan, and place a Rolo in the center and bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a mini cupcake comes out clean.

Allow the pan to cool for 5 minutes before removing them. (It’s ok if they deflate some…that’s to be expected.)

While you are cooking and cooling the brownie bites, you can make the chocolate topping. Place the chocolate chips and butter in a microwave safe bowl. Melt it in 30 second increments at 50% power until it is all melted and mixing in between the microwave heating sessions.

Spoon about 1 teaspoon over each mini cupcake brownie.

Serve along side a glass of milk or nice glass of red wine!

Enjoy!!

“What you see before you, my friend, is the result of a lifetime of chocolate.” – Katherine Hepburn

Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake Sopapilla Bars

More pumpkin flavored stuffs…and another combo of yummy flavors. I had seen previous recipes for easy sopapilla cheesecake bars in the past. Why not mesh some pumpkin love with it? And while we are along those lines, let’s add alcohol! Yay!!

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake Sopapilla Bars

Yields 1 9×13 pan

Ingredients:

• non-stick baking spray
• 2 cans crescent rolls
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup white granulated sugar + 2 tablespoons white granulated sugar
• 1 can (15 ounce) puréed pumpkin (I use Libby’s usually since I always have it stocked in my pantry)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)
• 1.5 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F, and spray a 9″x13″ pan with non-stick spray.

Open and unroll one can of crescent roll dough. Try to keep it in one piece as best as you can. Lay it in the dish, press it out to cover the bottom and pinch the seams together.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese and sugar (1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons) until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin, vanilla, bourbon (if you are using it), pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Beat on medium speed until combined. Spread this mixture over the crescent roll dough in your pan.

Unroll the other can of crescent roll dough and lay it over top of the pumpkin cheesecake mixture. In a small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Pour melted butter over top of crescent roll dough and sprinkle cinnamon and sugar mixture evenly across the surface.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let bars cool completely before covering them and placing them in the refrigerator to chill for at least a couple of hours; leaving the bars overnight works best.

Enjoy!!

“Okay, here it is, your choice…it’s simple, her or me, and I’m pretty sure she is really great. But Derek, I love you, in a really, really big ‘pretend to like your taste in music, let you eat the last piece of cheesecake, hold a radio over my head outside your window’, unfortunate way that makes me hate you, love you. So pick me, choose me, love me.” – Meredith Grey, Grey’s Anatomy

Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodle Blondie Bars

It’s autumn!! And you know what that means…pumpkin flavored EVERYTHING!! Who doesn’t like snickerdoodles? That’s right, no one! This is a delish combo that makes me feel like it’s fall in Texas even though we don’t really get the season here. Happy holiday baking is coming soon!!

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodle Blondie Bars

Yields 1 9×13 pan

Ingredients for the snickerdoodle layer:

• non-stick baking spray
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

Ingredients for the pumpkin pie layer:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Ingredients for the white chocolate drizzle:

• 2 ounces white chocolate
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F, and spray a 9″x13″ pan with non-stick spray. Lay a piece of parchment paper across the pan, so that it extends the pan slightly. (This is an optional step, but it will make it easier to get the bars out later after baking.)

First start on the snickerdoodle layer. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and set aside.

In large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth.

Add the flour mixture in thirds until well blended. Spread evenly in prepared pan. This is will be a cookie batter consistency. (I spread it out with my hands…evidenced by my hand prints below.)

Next make start on the pumpkin layer. In a large mixer bowl (I used the same one that I used to make the snickerdoodle batter) with a paddle attachment, mix together butter and sugar. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice, eggs, and pumpkin  and mix until well combined. (This layer will be less thick and pourable.) Pour over the snickerdoodle layer, smoothing out the top.

Combine white sugar and cinnamon in a little bowl. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the batter.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean. Let the bars cool completely (about an hour). They will deflate a bit and remain a bit pie-like on the top layer.

After the bars are completely cool, place the chopped white chocolate into a bowl or zip-lock bag and melt on 50% power in the microwave in 15 second increments. When it’s completely melted, add the pumpkin pie spice and mix.

Use a spoon or cut a small corner off the bag and drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of the bars and let it cool and harden.

Use the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan. Place on a cutting board and cut into bars. Store in an air-tight covered container.

Enjoy!!

“I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion.” – Henry David Thoreau