southern pecan praline brownies

It's a race to the end, isn't it folks?  Wow!  How does everything go by so fast and furiously?  We leave in less than 24 hours for Indiana, and the boys are chomping at the bits to get on the road. We're racing to get the last gifts bought, the final clothes packed and the house in some semblance of order, so that when we walk back in, in a week, it'll feel somewhat calm.  I still have a few individuals on the list for whom I'll bake, including my father, who celebrates his 60th birthday today. A dark chocolate cake is on the docket; let's cross fingers it turns out.  He's always my guinea pig… love him!

I am really excited to share this new recipe with you.  I ran across it a week ago today after having found it on the back of the Domino brown sugar bag.  We had our annual bake-a-thon and Christmas party with our youth group last Saturday, where we successfully baked 117 loaves of pumpkin bread as a "thank you" to our church congregation and went through a few Domino brown sugar bags.  The assembly line was a success and seven hours later, we were bagging and tying the last loaf.  We passed them out on Sunday morning, and people raved.  So fun!

Sunday evening we hosted a church small group at our home.  This recipe came to my rescue as I tried to find one that would not require me to make yet another trip to the grocery store all while offering something a little different.  Although, while watching this bake, I thought it might be an epic disaster (it really bubbles up), to my pleasant surprise, these were absolutely delicious!  I didn't change the ingredients, other than slightly increasing the salt (Kosher recommended) and toasting the pecans, which wasn't suggested in the original recipe.  I did alter the directions some, which I thought improved the "brownies" the second time I made them later in the week for a school function.   

If all goes as planned, I'd like to think I can share a couple more recipes with you this week, including my favorite cranberry salad.  I know you'd love it on your Christmas table (or Easter table, or Sunday afternoon dinner table… ).  I'll put it on any table, any day.  It's just that good!

Let me know if you give this recipe a try and what you think.  It's nothing short of a Southern, toffee, buttery bite of Heaven! 

Southern Pecan Praline Brownies

makes one 9x13 pan
printable version

• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 2 1/4 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp Kosher salt
• 2 cups pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
• confectioner's sugar (optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 13x9 inch pan.  

2.  In medium saucepan over low heat, melt butter and brown sugar, stirring constantly.  

3.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly - about 5 minutes.  Stir about 1 tablespoon hot mixture into slightly beaten eggs to temper.  Pour eggs back into pan, stirring constantly.  Eggs might start to scramble, so stir constantly and be aware.  Add vanilla and stir.  

4.  In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt.  Add to wet ingredients.  Stir until just combined, then stir in toasted pecans. 

5.  Pour into prepared baking dish.  Bake 30 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of the pan.  Cool completely and dust with powdered sugar if desired.  

Recipe slightly adapted from Domino Sugar.