Chewy Pecan Diamonds

Dough From Pastries from the La Brea Bakery

By Nancy Silverton

Topping From Bon Appétit / December 1999 with modifications

 

 

For the Dough:

4 cups unbleached pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

½ cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon kosher salt

4 sticks (1 pound) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1 – inch cubes

 

For Topping:

2 ½ cups (packed) golden brown sugar

1 cup Lyle’s Golden Syrup (Original: Light Corn Syrup)

1/2 cup ( 1 stick) unsalted butter

29 ounces coarsely chopped pecans

1 cup heavy cream

1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

 

Prepare 1/2 sheet pan by lining with aluminum foil and spraying with non-stick coating.

 

To prepare the Cookie Dough:

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade or in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugars, cornstarch, and salt.  Add the butter and pulse on and off or mix on low, until the dough barely comes together.

 

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently kneed to gather into a ball.  Press dough into the sheet pan and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or overnight.

 

Adjust oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake dough in the oven about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

 

(Marcy, the more you bake the dough now, the more golden it will be, Just remember that its going to bake again with the topping on it.)

 

Prepare topping while the dough is baking. It needs to be hot when you pour it over the warm crust.

 

Stir brown sugar, golden syrup and butter in heavy medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves and mixture boils; boil for 1 minute.  Add pecan and cream; boil until mixture begins to thicken slightly; about 3 minutes.   Stir in vanilla. Pour hot topping over warm crust.

 

Bake nut-topped crust until caramel is darker and bubbles thickly, about 20 minutes.  Transfer pan to rack to cool; let cool completely in pan (topping will harden).

 

Lift foil out of pan onto cutting board; cut into 1 ½ inch diamonds.  Store between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week