Pecan bars

Below is the recipe for the best pecan bars ever. I'm putting it here in case my paper copy spontaneously combusts, or I need to make pecan bars on a road trip, or something. It's from the March 1999 issue of Gourmet Magazine, but to make it my own, and because I prefer a higher pecan to goo ratio, I increased the amount of pecans. And because I only make this recipe for crowds, I doubled the recipe.

1. Shortbread base

1.5 c. (3 sticks) cold butter 

4 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. packed light brown sugar

1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350oF. Cube butter. Whap everything together in food processor until it begins to form small lumps. Dump on big parchment-paper-lined baking sheet and compress evenly onto bottom. Bake 20 minutes, while you prepare...

2. Pecan topping

6-8 c. pecans

1 c. (2 sticks) butter

2 c. packed light brown sugar

2/3 c. honey

4 T. heavy cream (or whole milk; water would probably be fine too)

Coarsely whap pecans in food processor.

Heat butter, sugar, honey, and cream in large heavy-bottomed pot. Let simmer ~5 minutes, stirring occasionally. A minute before shortbread is done, mix in pecans (rewarm briefly if caramel has stiffened). Pour over hot shortbread and spread evenly. Bake another ~20 minutes until bubbly.

Let cool completely, then lift entire sheet of pecan bars out of pan using the edges of the parchment paper. Cut into small bars (a little goes a long way). Makes enough to sustain 10-20 people over a long Thanksgiving weekend.

Shino tests

I'm teaching a glazing class at Claymakers, and we're focusing on American carbon-trap shino glazes fired to cone 6-7 in Claymakers' gas kiln. Carbon trapping happens thanks to soda ash dissolved in the glazes. As a glazed pot dries, soda migrates to the surface and crystallizes. These crystals can bind with soot that's produced by the reduction (low oxygen) atmosphere in the kiln, yielding smoky grays and blacks, on top of the whites and oranges typical of shinos. Wax resist swooshed onto the drying glaze prevents crystals from forming where the wax is, but can also encourage crystal formation along the edges of the waxed areas.

Here are some of my pots from our first firing; we'll fire again next week.

Malcolm Davis Shino with 6% Redart. The swoosh and dots are from wax resist.
The glaze was thick, and the pot was in a heavily reduced spot in the kiln.

Three salt rocks: Dresang Shino, Malcolm's Shino w/Redart and Carbon Trap Shino.
The swooshes, dots, and squiggles are all thanks to wax resist.

Cadogan teapot (a lidless teapot that fills from underneath, like a salt rock
with a spout); Malcolm's Shino w/Redart, wax resist. The pot was next to the jar in
the kiln, so well reduced, but the glaze was thinner--thus not as intensely black.