Pecan Bars, buttery without a speck of dairy. GF

Praise Jesus, the pollen is subsiding. Went for a long walk with the dogs and didn't kneel over (fist pump!). Felt good to weed a bit last night; sometimes I just need to bury my hands in the earth.

One cheery note from being stuck inside, I mastered pecan bars! My cook book is slowly taking shape. Hyperlinking and formatting isn't my favorite thing, but I'm getting the job done. I'd like to publish it before the year is done, preferably before Christmas.

The original recipe called for corn syrup, but I fazed it out. Like clockwork, 24 hrs after having it, I get vicious headaches. No fun. Low FODMAP diet my doc prescribed really helped with that.

Pecan Bars

You know how we imagine pecan bars are supposed to taste and rarely do? We have a new favorite cookie.

My husband said, “How did you make these taste like butter? These things are incredible!” He shared one with a buddy. As the flavor sank in, the man’s eyes opened wide, he put a hand over his mouth and looked at John in awe.

That's how you know you have a good cookie.

Crust:

1 c GF flour mix

1/3 c brown sugar

¼ c pecans

3/4 tsp salt

¼ tsp baking powder

4 tbsp light olive oil

1 tbsp water

1. Put all of the crust ingredients in a food processer and pulse until the nuts are chopped. The ingredients should stick like wet sand. If it seems a bit dry, add one more tablespoon of water.

You may also chop nuts by hand and mix in a mixing bowl if you don’t have a food processor.

2. Line an 8x8 square pan with foil and press the filling down to even it out.

3. Bake at 350 F for 20 to 25 minutes or until it begins to brown and smell like toasted nuts. Remove and spread on the filling.

Filling:

¾ c brown sugar

1/4 c water

2 tbsp light olive oil or canola

2 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp bourbon or rum, or ½ tsp rum or bourbon extract

½ tsp salt

1 egg

1 ¾ c toasted nuts, chopped

1. Pulse nuts in food processor (or hand chop) until nuts are coarsely chopped.

2. Mix all filling stuff in a bowl and stir in nuts. Pour over the hot crust and spread with a spatula to even out.

3. Bake in 350 F oven for 20 to 25 min, until filling doesn’t giggle. Remove from the oven and cool. Grab edges of foil and lift bars from the pan. Peel away foil and cut into squares.