Angel Slices or Pecan Slices

A square image of a red, white, and green plate of white-iced pecan coconut bars on it.

Angel slices or pecan slices are my favorite Christmas cookie. They may well become your favorite too. A crumbly sable dough topped with chewy, butterscotchy pecan and coconut goodness all topped off with a very thin layer of tart lemon glaze. Perfection!

Course Cookies and Bars

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 35

Total Time 55

Servings cookies

Calories 97kcal

Author Jennifer Field

Equipment

Ingredients

For the Sable Base

4 oz unsalted butter 1 stick
¼ c sugar optional, it says, but I use it
1 whole egg
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon vanilla

For the Pecan Coconut Layer

2 whole eggs
1 ½ cups packed brown sugar
1 cup chopped toasted pecans
½ cup flaked coconut unsweetened preferred. These bars are plenty sweet enough on their own
2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

For the Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar
zest of 1/2 lemon optional
2-3 Tablespoons freshly squeeze lemon juice

Instructions

For the Sable Base

Set a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 350F.
Have ready a 9"x13" baking pan, preferably nonstick. If you pan is not nonstick, lightly spray it with pan spray and/or line it with a sheet of parchment cut or folded to fit smoothly in the bottom and up two sides of your pan.
Using a hand or stand mixer, cream butter, sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth and creamy.
Mix in the egg and then, on low speed, mix in the flour until mostly incorporated. Finish folding the dough together by hand.
Press into the bottom of your pan and bake at 350F on the middle rack for 12-15 minutes, or until just beginning to color and firm.
Remove from oven and top with the pecan coconut layer.

For the Pecan Coconut Layer

Place all the filling ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together until evenly combined.
Pour onto the baked base layer and spread out evenly with an offset spatula.
Bake for 18-20 minutes until the filling is a little puffy, no longer shiny, and firm-ish around the edges (even if it's still a little gooey in the center)
Remove from oven and let cool completely before glazing.

For the Lemon Glaze

In a small bowl, mix together the powdered sugar, zest, if using, and enough freshly squeezed lemon juice to make a glaze about the consistency of Elmer's glue.
Once the Bars are completely cool, pour the glaze on top of the bars and spread evenly with an offset spatula. The glaze layer will be very thin. Resist the urge to make extra glaze because it will overpower the pecan coconut layer.
Allow the glaze to set up until it crusts on top, about an hour or so, and then cut score marks through the glaze to make 48 small bars (6 rows across the short side of the pan and 8 down the long side. Let the glaze set up completely before serving before slicing completely through, another 3 hours or so. If you can wait that long.
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Notes

You can easily convert this to a gluten-free recipe by substituting your favorite gluten free baking mix in both the cookie base and in the pecan-coconut layer.

If you do not like coconut or are allergic, you can leave it out and substitute an additional 1/2 cup of chopped pecans.

Do not overbake. The original recipe calls for baking for 25 minutes. I think this is too long. You want the pecan layer to have a nice bit of chew to contrast with the crumbly base and the crunchy glaze.

To get the sprinkles to stick to the hard glaze, I used a small dot of corn syrup. You can also add sprinkles while the glaze is still wet, if you prefer.

Nutrition