Chocolaty
Caramel Pecan Bars
(In honor of the book series, which is dark and
deals with mental issues!)
(In honor of the book series, which is dark and
deals with mental issues!)
Crust
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 Tbsp. whipping cream
1 cup all purpose or unbleached flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 Tbsp. whipping cream
1 cup all purpose or unbleached flour
Filling
24 vanilla caramels (unwrapped)
1/3 cup whipping cream
2 cups pecan halves (or pieces)
24 vanilla caramels (unwrapped)
1/3 cup whipping cream
2 cups pecan halves (or pieces)
Topping
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips or semi-sweet
2 Tbsp. whipping cream
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips or semi-sweet
2 Tbsp. whipping cream
Heat
oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8 or 9 inch
square pan with parchment paper. If you
don't have parchment paper, grease the pan.
In a medium bowl, combine powdered sugar, 1/2 cup butter and 1 Tbsp. whipping
cream until well blended. Add flour and
mix until crumbly. With floured hands,
press evenly into pan. Bake 15 to 20
minutes or until firm to the touch.
Meanwhile,
in a medium saucepan combine caramels and 1/3 cup whipping cream. Cook over low heat until caramels are melted
and mixture is smooth, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat. Add pecans and
stir well to coat. Immediately spoon
over baked crust, spreading carefully to cover but not rip the crust.
In
a small saucepan over low heat, melt 1 Tbsp. butter and chocolate chips,
stirring constantly until melted. Stir
in 2 Tbsp. whipping cream. Drizzle over
filling. Refrigerate 1 hr. or until the
filling is firm. Cut into bars. (You can also toss the topping ingredients in
a microwavable cup, heat and stir until it's smooth enough to drizzle.)
The
Dark Before Dawn - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat;
Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish
Dr.
B sniffed and repositioned his glasses atop his nose. "This last case you were on - you
assaulted a grandmother."...
"Grandma had a twelve-gauge shotgun lying on a table in plain view
from the front door. Her drug-pushing
grandson lives with the old lady and was a known gang-banger. Grandma was very agitated with me. Now, what am I supposed to think?" ...
Dr. B chose his words carefully.
"But did you think first, Gabe?
When you pushed her, she fell and broke her hip. She's an eighty-year old"... "In a separate case two weeks ago,"
Dr. B said, "you nearly throttled a fifteen-year-old boy."... "Then let's talk about the young man who
was shot at that Halloween party you responded to when you were in
uniform."
Los
Angeles County Sheriff's Detective Gabriel McRay has seen and even created his
share of problems. Enough so that he has
been sent to the department's psychiatrist Dr. Berkowitz, better known as Dr.
B. Gabe's problems are showing through
his temper but Dr. B feels it goes a lot deeper than that. He feels Gabe's problems stem from a deeply suppressed
past. Gabe is not only suffering from
his temper but also blackouts which leave him not knowing where he has been nor
what he has done. And to top it all off,
someone has gone on a murdering spree that always ends with a message being
left for Gabe with the 1st one reading "We are one."
As
Gabe's memory starts to surface he finds himself wondering if he could possibly
be the killer. Is this what he does when
he blacks out? Turns out that Gabe isn't
the only one with these same thoughts.
Some of his fellow officers are having the same thought. As the murders and notes continue with each
becoming more and more morbid the suspicion reaches the point that the department
has decided put a watch on him.
This
book isn't for the weak. It's graphic
and nothing is held back but it's also one of the best books I've read in some
time. I had a very hard time putting it
down after reading the Prologue. I could
see it being a great story for Criminal Minds.
Now I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series Deep into Dusk.
Thanks so much, Martha. This was fun!
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