Butternut Squash Cookie Bar

Ingredients:
For the crust:
1 recipe unbaked pecan shortbread dough
For the filling:

1 ¼ cups prepared butternut squash
¾ cup granulated white sugar
½ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. mace
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup half and half
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the garnish:
1/3 cup pecan pieces
Confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Method
For the crust:
Preheat oven to 350°
Spray an 11¾-inch by 7½-inch Pyrex baking pan with no-stick spray and set aside.
Prepare the pecan shortbread recipe. The dough will be crumbly.
Press the dough into the prepared 11¾-inch by 7½-inch Pyrex pan.
Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven to a wire rack.

For the filling:
Combine the squash, sugar, salt, ginger, cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, allspice, flour, eggs, half and half and vanilla in a large bowl and beat for 1 minute until well blended. Pour the filling onto the hot crust. Drop pecan pieces a few at a time on top of the filling. Bake 30-35 minutes at 350 until the filling is set. Remove to a wire rack.When cool, dust with powdered sugar and cut into 16-20 bars. Store covered in the refrigerator until ready to serve.