The day is finally come, it’s the first day of school. Our short summer has come to an end. I woke up with the baby this morning at 5:30. She was filled with just as much excitement, nerves and enthusiasm and her big brother. I managed to keep her occupied and quiet for about about a half an hour before she woke up the little man. And as much as I had tried to prepare for today, we were still looking for things and filling out first day of school forms. It was a little rushed and frantic, but we did get him to school on time and walked him to his teacher.
Since it’s his first day of school, I wanted to surprise him with some after-school fun. When he gets home, we’re going to spend some time in the pool playing with the baby in her float and fetch with Coco. Then I’m going to give him these special ice cream treats. He loves butter pecan ice cream, so I know he’ll love these fun bars. Thankfully, he also shares my love for everything nutty, especially pecans.
To make these bars I start with a shortbread crust. It’s really simple to make using Walker’s Shortbread. I always have some on hand in the pantry. They make a great not too sweet snack on their own, but also work really well in lots of different recipes like this one.
For this crust, I pulse the shortbread in the food processor with a little butter. Then I just press the crust into a casserole dish really well. Next, I spread over the softened ice cream. To make sure that the ice cream is easy to spread, I leave it out of the freezer for about 10 minutes.
To top this dessert and make it really special, I just top with toasted pecans. Using toasted pecans really adds something special. Toasting nuts before using them in desserts really brings out their flavor and makes them absolutely irresistible.
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Yield: Serves 8
2 boxes Walker's Shortbread
1/4 cup melted butter
1 1/2 quarts butter pecan ice cream, softened
1 cup toasted pecans
Heat oven to 350°. To toast pecans, spread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 5 - 10 minutes, or until nuts are fragrant.
Bake at Pulse shortbread and butter together in food processor until finely ground. Press shortbread mixture into an 8 x 8 casserole dish.
Spread softened ice cream over shortbread crust. Sprinkle pecans on top and gently press into ice cream. Freeze until firm, about 3 - 4 hours.
This post sponsored by Walker’s Shortbread. All thoughts and opinions 100% mine.