Pecan Bar Cookies

This is my second time using my new cast-iron skillet. It makes for cookies with a crisper outside and softer inside than if you baked them in a normal baking dish. Do be careful when removing the cookies from the skillet though - the recipe warned that they would be delicate, and I did botch a few around the edges before being able to successfully extract the rest.

Spoon out one and a half cups all-purpose flour into measuring cups, leveling with a knife. Mix in a bowl with 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, and 1/4 tsp. salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine 1/2 cup raw sugar, 1/2 cup organic brown sugar and 1/4 cup softened vegan butter (such as Earth Balance). Beat for 3 minutes, until well-combined. Beat in the equivalent of one egg using egg replacer (such as Ener-G) and 1 teaspoon maple flavoring - thanks to the folks at McCormack, I have assurance that their Imitation Maple Flavor is vegan. Also, when making my "egg", I used 2 and 1/2 tablespoons of water in place of the normal 2 tablespoons, because the recipe called for a large egg and I wanted to make sure my batter was moist enough.

Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, stirring until well combined (my dough seemed almost too crumbly in the bowl, but was just fine to pat into the skillet, so don't worry if this happens to you). Stir in 1/2 cup chopped pecans.

Spread the mixture evenly into a cast-iron skillet - although the recipe called for a 9-inch skillet, my 10-inch worked with no problem. (As stated in the paragraph above, however, I found it was easier to pat the batter out into an even layer). Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack for ten minute in the skillet, then cut into 12 cookies, remove from the pan and return to the wire rack. Drizzle the cookies evenly with 3 tablespoons of melted chocolate chips (try the vegan chocolate chips from Whole Foods' 365 brand). Let cool completely.



Here they are still in the skillet! Each cookie is 210 calories.

Cost:
all-purpose flour $4.49
sugar $3.19
pecans $2.10