Like the
last time, I adapted a recipe of Ultranutty Pecan Bars from Cook's Illustrated and made some changes. I reduced sugar in the crust from 6 tablespoons to one. I also halved salt. I reduced light brown sugar from 3/4 cup to about 1/3 cup. Again I halved salt. I skipped sea salt topping too. After those reduction of sugar and salt, what could be left? Tons of nutty flavors! There was an addition to the original recipe: 1 tablespoon of bourbon to cut sweetness. The result was still sweet due to light corn syrup - a key ingredient in pecan pie/bars. 1/2 cup of syrup created just right level of gooey texture. There was no egg in this recipe.
Not just ultra nutty but also wonderfully buttery and moderately gooey but not too sweet or salty. That was where my pecan bars landed.
