Turtle Bars

YIELD

I baked these turtle bars for my students a few weeks ago and they were a big hit!  This recipe should yield about 56 scrumptious turtle bars.  I used a 13" x 9" pan and cut the bars into 8 x 7.  

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups brown sugar 
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, cold or room temperature
• 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup toasted pecan pieces, 8 oz 
• 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips, 11.5 oz
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate

PREPARATION

MAKE THE CRUST

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line your 13 x 9 baking pan with a sheet of parchment paper. 
2. Mix flour, 1 cup brown sugar, and 3/4 cup butter in a food processor until it is well blended and crumbly.  I used butter straight out of the refrigerator and it worked out just fine; I also tried mixing things by hand and that worked just fine as well, although the food processor makes things quite a bit easier.   
3. Press the mixture evenly into the 9 x 13 x 2-inch metal baking dish that you've lined with parchment paper. Bake until the crust is light and golden brown, about 15 minutes, and remove from the oven. Keep the oven on and maintain the oven temperature.
4. Sprinkle the toasted pecan pieces over top of the crust.

MAKE THE CARAMEL
When the crust is almost down baking, you should start to make the caramel so you can pour it over the crust and then pop everything right back into the oven.  

1. Bring the 3/4 cup brown sugar, 3/4 cup butter, and the heavy whipping cream to a boil in a small sauce pan over high heat.  Let the caramel boil for a minute or so, and stir it occasionally to keep it from overheating.  
2. Pour the caramel over top of the pecans and the crust.  Bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbles form on the top and the caramel darkens.
3. Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle evenly with all of the chocolate chips.  Place the mixture back into the oven for about 3 - 5 minutes to get the chocolate chips nice and warm.  
4. Remove the bars from the oven, and spread the melted chocolate chips smoothly with an offset spatula.
5. Let the bars chill as long as you can to ensure that the chocolate and caramel harden and set (I let mine cool over night).  After the bars have had an ample amount of time to cool off, cut them into evenly sized squares and enjoy!    

I hope you enjoy these Turtle Bars as much as I and my students did!  This recipe was adopted from one I found at:
​https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/turtle-bars-108322