Pecan Pie Bars

Happy belated Thanksgiving! There are so many things for me to be thankful for, and to name a few: my pre-husband, Adam, who is the absolute greatest, my amazingly awesome and loving family that's about to grow even bigger next year (!), my great friends, my cozy apartment in Portland, really good food, the internet, the ability to travel, and of course....dessert!

I was also lucky enough to get to make a dessert dish for yesterday's feast. I knew someone wouldn't fail to bring pumpkin pie, so I decided to take a different traditional route and make pecan pie bars. I love pecan pie, but haven't had it in years so I was really excited to make these and have a couple bites!

Oh, and have you heard? There's this new awesome game out in the App store, called Popped.! If you like puzzle games (like Candy Crush), then I think you'd get a kick out of this one: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/popped./id689051137?mt=8. Download, play, and give a rating!

What You Need
Crust
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1 cup cold butter
- 1 tablespoon ice cold water

Topping
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1/2 cup golden brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups roughly chopped pecans

What You Do
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9X13 inch baking pan

2. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the flour (2cups), sugar (1/3cup), and salt (1/4tsp).  Cut in butter (or if you're like me, grate the butter) and rub within mixture until the butter is about the size of peas. Add in water (1tbsp) and mix until incorporated.

3. Firmly press in dough on the bottom of the pan and bake for 20 minutes.

4. In the meantime, mix in the corn syrup (1cup), brown sugar (1/2cup), and sugar (1/2cup) until combined. Beat in eggs (3) one at a time and then add the vanilla (1 1/2tsp). Fold in the pecans (2cups).

5. Pour mixture over prepared crust. Place back in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.