Nutcracker Sweets

I asked my sister Cynthia if I could include her NUTCRACKER SWEETS in this blog, and she said that was fine. She had gotten the recipe from the mother of a friend of her daughter, but thought she might have changed it a little, plus she gave it this name. I have made these for the dance school's fund-raising refreshment table during The Nutcracker Suite, where they seemed to sell well and no one knew they were eating a vegan treat. Try to find fresh pecans to make them with, as that is the most important ingredient.

 

INGREDIENTS

Crust

2 cups  — organic white flour and/or whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup — organic brown sugar

1/2 cup — organic plant-based butter

Sprinkle — vanilla

Middle Layer

1 cup — pecans

 

Next Middle Layer

2/3 cup — plant-based butter

1/2 cup — organic brown sugar 

Top Layer

1 package — dairy-free malt-sweetened chocolate chips

 

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, stir together two cups of organic white flour or whole wheat pastry flour and a cup of Sucanat, which is an organic brown sugar. With a fork, mix in half a cup of Earth Balance or organic Smart Balance non-hydrogenated butter substitute. Possibly you could try this with a bland oil, like sunflower, but since the rest of the ingredients are expensive, I have yet to experiment. I added a sprinkle of vanilla.

In a large glass rectangular baking dish (or something along those lines) press this dry-looking mixture firmly into place. It will look like it is too dry and crumbly to hold together, but somehow it all works out by the time it has cooked and cooled.

Arrange whole pecans all over the surface of the crust layer, with their tops facing you. You will need about a cup of nuts.

 

Meanwhile, heat up two-thirds of a cup of the same Earth Balance or Smart Balance along with half a cup more of the Sucanat. Cook it over medium heat until the whole surface boils, and boil it for a minute, stirring constantly. Quickly pour it over the pecans and crust, distributing it as evenly as you can.

If the oven is preheated, pop the baking dish into the center of the oven and bake for twenty minutes.

Have a package of Sunspire dairy-free malt-sweetened chocolate chips on hand. If you have a little more than one package, have that ready too.

 

As soon as it comes out of the oven, pour these chocolate chips evenly all over the top. I put it back in the turned-off oven for a few minutes to warm up, and then I used a flat spatula to swirl the melted chocolate all over the top.

 

Let it cool thoroughly before cutting into very small squares, more the size of a candy than a cookie.

This recipe isn't good for impatient people like me. First I burnt my tongue because the caramel stuff that was left in the pan looked too good to not scrape out with a fork and then eat. Then I did it a second time because it tasted that good, and I apparently don't learn lessons very quickly. 

 

Then it seemed to take forever for them to cool. You can see in the photo that the chocolate layer is still more liquid than hardened. I wanted to get them put away before the hordes came in and started to pick away at them, so I tried to hurry the process along. They really are easier to cut and put in a container after they are thoroughly cooled, though, if you can manage it. 

 

Try to make this recipe when you are expecting to share them with a lot of people — otherwise, you will just make yourself sick, and this is no time to not feel wonderful.