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In a galaxy far away, I was once the gift shop manager of the lovely historic property, Woodlawn Plantation/Pope Leighey House in Mt. Vernon, Virginia. Right up Rte 1 from my own home in Woodbridge, this was not only a most convenient work spot but a beautiful early-American house museum and a loving, learning place to work. How I adored my coworkers! Each winter, I traveled to attend a gift show to buy new merchandise for the shop and one eventful year, I was smitten (gobsmacked, really) by a company that baked and delivered the most delicious brownies and bar cookies I’d ever tasted at a commercial level. We began to carry them quite soon afterward in the shop and the Pecan Squares — dripping with honey and toasted Georgia nuts on a buttery shortbread base–were the standout choice of the short, but sweet menu. It sadly soon became evident we couldn’t sell enough of them to make a profit (there was quota to buy each month and they often went bad on us) and I sorrowfully canceled our standing order. But! I never ever forgot the taste of those pecan squares and was thus thrilled to later see a recipe for a similar cookie in the famed–and personal favorite– SILVER PALATE COOKBOOK (SP). I baked them myself (were they as good???) and sent them to my husband as he traveled with the Air Force band and while he went to officer’s training school. Fast forward nearly 40 years and I was about to summon the memories of those cookies to create my own 2023 holiday treat, Cashew-Pecan Spiced Bars (Chai Squares? Nutty Spice Bars? Spicy Chai Nut Bars? What’s in a name?!), for this very blog. A new Christmas cookie is something I’ve done for a number of Decembers now and I was a little late to the gate getting started this year despite best intentions. Let’s not talk about the construction zone that is our house right now or even about the big-mess Christmas kitchen.

There is nothing new under the sun….

HOW’D I COME UP WITH THIS COOKIE RECIPE? Looking for what I thought might be a bar cookie template to showcase cashews for this year’s More Time Christmas cookie— an ingredient suggested by good friend and baker par excellence, Jeanne Patalano — I tried a couple unhappy pecan square recipes— even one from a 1999 GOURMET, called Cloudt’s Pecan Treats, before I remembered the SP recipe. Ina Garten, who appears to be a SP fan from way back, includes a similar but not quite the same Pecan Squares recipe in her first book, THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA COOKBOOK. There are lots of looky-loos and good cooks who’ve posted or published other pecan or nut bars and even more who have made a Pecan Pie Bars recipe baked in a 15″x 10″ pan complete with the requisite eggs and Karo syrup. Check out Allrecipes version, for example. Feeds a crowd and easier than pecan pie is the mantra there. But I didn’t want a Pecan (Cashew) Pie Bar. I wanted a bar cookie. Buttery, chewy, and crispy in such a way that begged you to grab just one more as you waltzed through the kitchen Christmas Eve.

I leaned toward a gently chai-spiced shortbread crust and something just a little different for the caramel-ish topping, though I wasn’t sure what. I used SP’s basic crust formula as it’s quite yummy and simple–flour, powdered sugar, and butter– but then included cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and black pepper for the chai effect. While testing the recipe, one version increased the spices by 50% and my lightly spiced cookie changed for good into a definitely spiced cookie that leaves a fun little buzz your mouth! (You can do the sweeter or less spicy version, too, if that’s your druthers.) My good friend, Ruth Lehmkuhl –a fine and dedicated cookie baker from way back — had once made a gorgeous variously nutted bar cookie I liked the looks and taste of; I wanted to imitate that vision. Nuts all chunky-monkey on top, that is. For the topping, I borrowed the idea of adding citrus and vanilla extract from Ina’s recipe (Thanks, Ina! She also has a good tip about not dripping the topping into the sides of the pan.), though I used only one teaspoon orange zest (no lemon) and included both almond and vanilla extracts as I thought a mix would best compliment the spices in the crust. Plus, I really like that combination of extracts. The result is a chewy-crispy, spicy, really nutty treat that is both easy to make and even easier to eat! Nuts are protein, right?

While this isn’t the fastest cookie on the block as you must first bake the crust, then make the topping and add it to the baked crust, bake it again, and let it cool nearly completely before cutting, it’s easy to make and would be a treat to try with your local kiddo bakers if they have knife skills. Do be with them to help decide when the cookies are done. Because: The trickiest and stickiest wicket is to NOT OVERBAKE this cookie as the candy-like topping, which does get pretty crispy around the edges in order to set the center of the 9″x 12″ metal pan, can get rock hard if over baked. Bake it just until the center is set and….once it’s out…using a bench scraper or a good, strong knife, do cut carefully all around the edges. You want to cut through the topping while it’s still warm as it might be really tough to chop through later on. Quite a bit of honey and brown sugar used here is the thing that does it.

Read through the recipe and scroll through the photos before you try this:

I’m hoping for some other testers to chime in on this cookie. Should you make it and have feedback, respond in the comments, by email, on Bake and Tell, etc. Thanks!

Tips: *Spray the measuring cup for honey with cooking spray before adding the honey for a quick release. *Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, remove from heat, and then add the rest of the top layer ingredients for simpler mixing. *When thinking about an orange for breakfast, zest it first and put the zest in a little bag in the freezer for when you need it. *If you haven’t tested the temperature of your oven lately, now’s the time. You’ll need an oven thermometer. *Invest in new spices if yours are a bit dusty-musty (over a year old.) Ground ginger, particularly, loses its bloomy fragrance rather quickly.

Change it up: *Use other nuts or all cashews, all pecans, etc. *Decrease spices for a spicier or different bottom cookie layer. (See Cooks Notes) It’s also easy to leave out ginger, say, if that’s not a favorite flavor. *Gild the lily with a drizzle of white or dark chocolate over cooled bars. *Less sugar? This is without question a fat and sugar-heavy cookie. That said…. In one test batch, I inadvertently left out the brown sugar in the topping. The cookie was still delicious though it wasn’t as caramel-ish and the nuts were looser. Did I miss that 1/2 cup brown sugar sugar? Not a bit. *I have not tried this, but I think you could make this egg-free recipe also dairy-free by using olive oil butter and then coconut milk or cream in the top nut layer. It will not be vegan as it contains honey. If you make a dairy-free version, let me know how it turns out? Thanks.

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Good Housekeeping: 20 Christmas Bar Cookie Recipes to Bake (other Christmas recipes, too) 

LIFE GOES ON:

The big mess Christmas Kitchen. I’ll clean next year.

We’re not big decorators — too many years as busy church musicians — but our tree is up and decorated. Last Sunday we had a surprise snowstorm that was just beautiful! It melted very quickly as usual.

I’m praying for peace in our world as I bake, also knowing food brings people together in wonderful ways. It’s a small, but positive movement each of us can make — to share our tables or at least the food we make.

I should get another post out before the end of December as I’m working on a Christmas cake. But if I get overrun — I have a few events I’m cooking for and my house is under construction — it’ll be a New Year’s Cake. Hint, hint: save some fresh cranberries in your freezer.

Cookie on and Happy Hanukkah to those celebrating,

Alyce

P.S. I always think of my dad each year at Christmas as I bake with pecans. For many Decembers of my adult life, he shelled at least 5 pounds of pecans and mailed them to me for baking. He knew I loved to bake and how expensive nuts were. They still are!! How I miss those nuts that were sweet in so many ways. When I can, I order pecans from Georgia, though they’re never as good as Dad’s.