Pecan Pie Bars

My latest obsession is bar cookies, since they are so easy to throw together. This one is from Paula Deen’s "Too" cookbook. The crust is a cake mix mixture (cake mix, butter, egg), and the filling is basic pecan pie (a little of the cake mixture reserved, corn syrup, vanilla, egg, pecans). It looked like a pecan pie when it came out of the oven. The cakey crust gives it more of an ooey-gooey brownie texture. If you like pecan pie, you will like this cookie. I put a squirt of whipped cream on mine! Yum. We watched "The Matador" the other night and in one scene, they are eating pecan pie "naked" - that is, with no whipped cream. I guess it’s a matter of personal preference but for me, I hafta have it. Anyway, this would be a great cookie to take to a pot luck. It’s almost like a pecan pie that you can eat with your hands.

Speaking of Paula, I loved her "Paula’s European Vacation" that was on this past weekend. I’ve only been to Paris once, I’d love to go again. I think it is even more the mystique and glamour of it that appeals to me. When I was there I experienced some of the "snobbery" that you hear about (or to be fair, maybe it is just a difference in cultures). I loved seeing places to eat that weren’t Michelin Star restaurants for the rich and famous. I was crying at the end when her family surprised her. Debbie is so much like that, she is always thinking of her family even when she is away from them.