Cashew-Pecan Spice Bars

Easy to make and even easier to eat, these nutty and spicy bars boast the flavor of chai (minus the tea) in the cookie crust but include a sweet orange twist in the honeyed top layer. See Cook's Notes for a less spicy version. Read through recipe before beginning and note there are two baking times (one for each layer) along with a complete cooling of the pan before cutting and serving. This is very rich cookie and a small piece is just enough. Based on the great SILVER PALATE COOKBOOK recipe for Pecan Squares.

makes one 9”x13” pan of cookies

Ingredients

BOTTOM LAYER INGREDIENTS:

½ cup (56 grams) powdered sugar
2 cups (240 grams) unbleached, all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon EACH: ground cinnamon and ground ginger (see cook's notes to decrease spices for a less spicy bar)
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup (226 grams/8 oz/ 2 American sticks) salted butter, softened

TOP LAYER INGREDIENTS:

2/3 cup (160 grams/approx.11 tablespoons) melted salted butter
½ cup (170 grams) honey
3 tablespoons heavy cream
½ cup (106 grams) light brown sugar
½ teaspoon EACH: vanilla and almond extracts
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 ¾ cups EACH: plain pecans (220 grams) and roasted unsalted (or salted) cashews (262 grams), coarsely chopped. (Chop by hand or with a small hand chopper, not in food processor.)

Instructions

BOTTOM LAYER INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Set rack at center. Grease a 9”x13” metal baking pan really well. (I like to use Crisco shortening for this.)
Sift together the dry ingredients: powdered sugar, flour, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and black pepper. Use a fine mesh sieve if you don't have a sifter.
Cut the butter into the dry ingredients in a food processor, using a pastry blender, or with two knives until fine crumbs form.
Pat the crust evenly into the greased pan.
Bake 15-20 minutes OR until the edges are just lightly golden. Set aside if you haven’t yet made the top layer or continue below if you have. It’s ok to put the topping on the warm crust.

TOP LAYER INSTRUCTIONS, ASSEMBLY, AND BAKING:

Mix the melted butter, honey, heavy cream, brown sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract, and orange zest. This might take a minute or two to make sure it's all well-combined. Stir in the chopped nuts until evenly coated.
Spread the nut mixture evenly over the baked bottom crust, trying not to let a lot of the topping go over the edges of the crust as possible.
Return to oven and bake about 20-25 minutes or until the top layer is caramel-colored, bubbly, and just set but not jiggling at the center when you tip the pan a little. Do not over bake.
Remove from oven and set on cooking rack. Holding the pan carefully with a hot pad, run a knife around the edges of the pan (or use a bench scraper). Cool completely before cutting into bars or squares.
Store well-wrapped in the refrigerator for up to a week or double-wrapped in the freezer for up to two months.

Notes

Cook’s Notes:

*Instead of greasing the pan, some cooks line it with 2 pieces--one in each direction-- of aluminum foil, hanging over edges, for easy removal of the entire slab of cookies from the pan. Loosen foil at edges, remove from the cookie slab, and cut cookies on a cutting board.

*For a little less spicy buzz in your bars, decrease spices in bottom cookie layer to: 1/2 teaspoon EACH: cinnamon and ginger; 1/4 teaspoon cardamom; and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.