Bacon Salted Caramel Pecan Bars Recipe

Sometimes I need a little help from my friends for inspiration. Not to long ago I was an admirer of Food Blogger, Ashley Rodriguez. Now we are good friends who share the same passion for food, motherhood, and life. She’s indirectly responsible for this post. You see, back in July I met Ashley for the first time at Shauna a.k.a. Gluten-Free Girl’s Pork Potluck. Ashley brought these amazing bacon caramels which at times have haunted me at night thinking about them – they are that good! So when I decided to make/bake caramel pecan bars, Ashley’s bacon caramels inspired me to add bacon to them. Some of you right now are asking yourself why the heck I would add bacon to pecan bars.. and my response is, why the heck wouldn’t I? And if you really cannot live with the idea of adding bacon to baked goods, just omit them.  But just in case you haven’t heard, “Bacon is the New Black”.  You cannot escape bacon, its everywhere and in everything!

The night I actually made them I was engaged in a twitter conversation with several people regarding gluten-free baking.  Remembering Jeanne had a gluten-free AP mix she uses in her recipes, I quickly adapted a gluten-free variation of the crust using the ingredients she uses.

I ended up baking 2 separate batches of these yummy bars.  One batch was “Gluten-free” while the other was just “regular” using all-purpose flour.   When it was time to taste test them, I was pleasantly surprised how the gluten-free crust tasted almost exactly like the regular crust.  The only difference between the two was a slight texture change.  I had several family and friends, Eric and Dawn do a blind taste test and half of them preferred the gluten-free crust over the other based on texture preference.  My point is, these Bacon Salted Caramel Pecan Bars are awesome.. really awesome!  I kid you not when I say the gluten-free version is really as good as the regular version.  I brought a batch of the gluten-free ones to a Girls Night Out and was happy when Ashley, Keren, Jeanne, Lorna, and Viv also thought they were really good!  More importantly, my kids thought these were the best cookies they’ve ever eaten and have requested I bake more as soon as I buy some pecans.

As a baking side note, do yourself a favor and buy quality thick bacon.  I used Hemplers.  You want to fry the bacon until it is very crispy but not burned.  Coarsely cut the bacon up so you have varying sized pieces.  It is also important to mention to use coarse sea salt and not regular table salt when sprinkling on top.  The sea salt will enhance the flavor of the bacon and bring out a salty sweet “party in your mouth” quality to these bars not to be missed.

And for those of you living a gluten-free lifestyle, I REALLY REALLY hope you enjoy this recipe.  I had you in mind when I developed the gluten-free variation.  I hope you enjoy it as much as my family has.

Bacon Lovers: You can thank me later!

But for now, may I present to you the recipe for Alice’s Bacon Salted Caramel Pecan Bars. Enjoy!

Alice’s Bacon Salted Caramel Pecan Bars Recipe .

INGREDIENTS FOR CRUST:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter

2/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

*Recipe for gluten-free crust below.

INGREDIENTS FOR GLUTEN-FREE CRUST:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter

2/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (please check label to make sure it is gluten-free)

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

1/3 cup + 1 Tablespoon brown rice flour

1/3 cup + 1 Tablespoon white rice flour

1/4 cup tapioca flour 1/4 cup sweet rice flour a.k.a Mochiko

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

INGREDIENTS FOR BACON CARAMEL PECAN TOPPING:

1 cup sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon vanilla extract *please check label for gluten-free if needed

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup of coarsely crumbled bacon * thick cut quality bacon is recommended

3 cups toasted pecans *recipe here.

coarse sea salt

*Optional Variation: 2 tablespoons Bourbon

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a mixing bowl or Kitchenaid, cream butter and sugar until light.  Add egg and vanilla and beat for one minute.  Add baking powder and flour(s) (and xanthan gum if preparing gluten-free) until everything is well mixed and has formed a cookie dough. Spray a 9×13 baking pan with non-stick spray.  Press cookie dough mixture evenly throughout the bottom of the pan.  Bake for 20 minutes or until the edges are golden brown (see picture below).  Allow to cool.

For the topping, combine water, sugar, and corn syrup in a large sauce pan or pot.  Cook over medium-high heat stirring it occasionally until sugar is completely dissolved.  When the sugar/water/corn syrup mixture begins to change to an amber like color (like a dark honey) immediately turn off heat.  Carefully add vanilla and heavy cream stirring (add bourbon for optional variation) until smooth and looks like caramel sauce.  Add toasted pecans and bacon stirring and coating everything.  Spread bacon caramel pecan mixture over the cookie crust evenly.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or until cold.  Sprinkle with coarse sea salt sparingly and cut into bars/squares. Enjoy!!

 Print This Post

Tagged as: bacon, caramels, Cookies, dessert, Gluten-Free, pecans