Trying on a new hat....

I cook, I don't bake. My mom wasn't that big of a baker, and neither was meme.... as far back as I can remember. We had the occasional cobbler or coconut cake here and there, but there was never a big desire for confections in our home. Bradley has a big family, and of course during the holidays they all meet up. Last Christmas I found out that you don't always have the option to bring an awesome casserole or dish of homemade mac n cheese. And thus, Bradley's family gave me the desire to learn to bake for Christmas. I started with something very basic, a gingerbread trifle of Paula Deen's. It was a bowl lickin' hit. Wow.... I could do this. I'm still taking it slow, since neither of us are big sweet eaters. My main taste testers for sweets are my co-workers. Sugar helps us deal.

While browsing blogs here, I found a recipe for Pecan Pie Coffee Cake Bars. Here is the funny part... I luh-huve pecan pie.... and I am so allergic to pecans. When we would have them at thanksgiving, mama would always make extra filling and I would just eat a plate of that instead of a slice of pie. She even went on to make a Mock Pecan Pie with oats instead of pecans, she really loved me! But the blogger described the inside of these bars as "just like pecan pie filling".... so long as you don't over bake them. Yeah... I think I over baked. Maybe you will have more luck. Without the pecans, I call them Cinnamon-Sugar Bars. They definitely register "need an insulin shot" on the "Sugar Meter".

Pecan Pie Coffee Cake Bars
recipe courtesy of the online blog sweet-savory-southern

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 stick butter, melted
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup self rising flour
2 cups chopped pecans (optional.. haha!)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, beat all four eggs with a mixer. Add sugar and mix with eggs to combine. Next add the butter and vanilla and combine with other ingredients. Add flour and cinnamon and again combine well with other ingredients. Stir in chopped pecans. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 30-35 min. Be careful not to over cook. The top will be golden brown, but the inside will still be a little sticky when a toothpick is inserted. It will set up as it cools. Slice into bars once cool.
*The outside is slightly cakey and the edges crusty from the sugar that crystallizes as it cooks, but the inside is gooey like pecan pie filling. Delicious and perfect with coffee