Pecan-Praline Bacon Bars
Prep Time: 30 min Start to Finish: 2 hours 10 min
Makes: 32 bar Calories per bar: 220
Most of us can say that sweet and salty combinations hit the spot: Chocolate covered pretzels, proscuitto wrapped melon, french fries in a frosty, and salted chocolate chip cookies just to name a few. But make that salty component bacon, and you have a real winner. So I am excited to share with you this week's baking project: Betty Crocker's Pecan-Praline Bacon Bars.
Now I know that bacon in a bar might sound weird at first...but think about it. Little salty pieces of bacon in a buttery crust topped with a sweet praline frosting sprinkled with pecans. Ahhh now you're starting to understand the winning combination.
So here is what you'll need to get started: Click here for Full Recipe
- Flour
- Dark Brown Sugar
- Butter
- Pre-cooked Bacon
- Whipping Cream
- Powdered Sugar
- Vanilla
- Pecan Halves
This recipe was super simple to make, and the most time consuming part was waiting for everything to cool before moving onto the next step. The directions are pretty much self explanatory, but here are some tips to help guide you through:
~ When you are cutting up the bacon, grab a pair of poultry scissors. This makes the process much easier than trying to use a knife. You'll have bacon strips cut in no time!
~ Normally when I am making a bar, the consistency of the crust is pretty solid. I want to emphasize that in this recipe that is not the case. The dough was sticky, not dry or crumbly. The directions in step 1 call for you to "press in bottom of ungreased 13x9 pan". I had to use a spatula to spread the batter into the pan. Forget about using my hands to "press" anything. But the spatula worked out just fine. It's a thin layer, but still provides a nice crust in the end product.
~ In step 2 when you are adding the confectioners sugar into the pot to make the praline frosting, the sugar might be a little lumpy. Mine had tons of tiny balls, making the texture not smooth. Don't get frustrated, just keep whisking away. It will eventually smooth out to make you the perfect frosting for your bars.
~Make sure to read the Sweet Success Tip which tells you to cut the bars before completely cooled. This will ensure the frosting doesn't crack.
The end result: A sweet praline bar, with a slight after-taste of delicious, salty bacon. You're friends, family, and taste buds won't know what hit them! So get your baking on, and try out this winning combo. Comment below to let me know how your bars came out!
<3 P.S. I didn't use a full 1 and a 1/2 cups of pecan halves for the tops of my bars. I just places them one by one until they were evenly spaced to ensure each bar had some.
