CARAMEL NUT BARS

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SWEET PASTRY DOUGH:

1. To mix the dough by hand, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and stir well to combine.
2. Cut each piece of butter into 4 or 5 smaller pieces and add all of them to the bowl.
3. Use both hands, palms upward, to reach under the dry ingredients to the bottom of the bowl, and lift them up through the contents of the bowl several times to distribute the pieces of butter evenly among the dry ingredients.
4. Use your fingertips to pinch the pieces of butter into smaller pieces, alternating with rubbing the mixture between the palms of your hands and occasionally repeating this. Continue rubbing in the butter until no visible large pieces remain and the mixture is cool and powdery. (Jonna’s note: I simply used a pastry cutter!)
5. Add the eggs and use a fork to break them up. Try not to over mix, but make sure the eggs are incorporated well.

Note: I needed to add about 1 tablespoon of cold water to my dough. It seemed quite dry to me. If yours is not dry . . . don’t add it.

1. Invert the dough to a floured work surface and gently knead it into a ball.
2. To mix the dough in a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the work bowl fitted with the metal blade. Pulse several times to mix.
3. Add the butter and pulse repeatedly at 1 second intervals until the butter is finely mixed into the dry ingredients.
4. Add the eggs and pulse again until the dough forms a ball. (This is where I added about 1 tablespoon of cold water. My mixture was too dry to form into a ball. Add as little as you need).
5. Use the dough immediately or wrap in plastic and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Variations:

1. Nut dough: Add 1/2 cup ground nuts each as almonds or hazelnuts to the dough.
2. Cocoa dough: Use 1 2/3 cups all purpose flour and 3 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa powder, sifted after measuring, in place of the 2 cups flour.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING BARS:

1. Place the dough on a floured surface and gently knead it until it is pliable and slightly softened. form the dough into a rectangle and flour the work surface and the dough again. Roll the dough, occasionally adding pinches of flour under and on it, to a 12×16 inch rectangle. Gently fold the dough into quarters and line up the folded corner with the center of the pan. Unfold the dough into the pan and gently ease it down into the pan. Use your fingertips to make sure that the dough molds to the angle between the bottom and side of the pan and into the corners. Trim away all but about 1 1/2 inches of dough on the sides of the pan. Chill.
2. For the topping, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the sugar, brown sugar, and corn syrup one at a time, stirring to combine between additions. Add the salt and bring the mixture to a full boil, stirring occasionally. At the boil, add the cream a little at a time ( the mixture will bubble up). Continue cooking for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in the almonds and scrape the mixture into a buttered bowl to cool slightly.
3. Set a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F.
4. Use a large kitchen spoon to deposit mounds of the topping all over the chilled crust. Then use the point of a spoon to join the mounds and make a fairly even layer of topping. Concentrate on distributing the almonds evenly; the syrupy part of the topping will come to a boil while the bars are baking and even itself out.
5. Bake until the dough is baked through and golden on the bottom and the topping is gently bubbling, 25 to 35 minutes.
6. Cool on a rack for at least 1 hour.
7. To unmold and cut the bars, cover the pan with another rack and invert. Lift off the pan and peel away the paper. Place a cutting board on the back of the bars and invert the whole stack. Lift off the top rack. Neatly trim away the sides of the bars and use a ruler to mark, then cut into 2 in. squares.