Brown Sugar Bars

From the recipe book Granny's Drawers.  My mother-in-law bought this book for me from a little country store (were we in Indiana or was it here in CA?  Can't remember the details.).  It's got a lot of midwestern, home-style recipes (read cream of ___ soup, etc).  I saw the recipe for Brown Sugar Bars and knew I had to try them.  My first and only other experience with a brown sugar bar was from Perfectly Sweet, a bakery that supplied Wild Oats (a natural foods store where I worked during my teenage years).  I will admit that I've made this recipe several times and it wasn't until I copied it down to post it that I realized the butter was supposed to be melted.  So, I altered the recipe below to make it clear that it should be melted.  This may account for some of the issues I have had with the bars. They get a very thick top crust that is crumbly and not very pretty.  They also usually bake up on the sides to high while the center falls.  All this to say, it's not a perfect recipe and maybe someday when I have the time I'll play with it, but for now, it tastes good enough to overlook the flaws.  And, as I leaned the other day, it doesn't double well, at least not with the size pans that I have!!  Whew!  That was a disaster!  I haven't tried them with the pecans, but I'm sure they're good that way, too.  Maybe someday I'll get a picture up.

2 sticks butter
4 C. Brown Sugar
4 Eggs
2 C. Flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Vanilla
1 C. Pecans, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and cream with brown sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time. Add the dry ingredients and mix. Add vanilla and pecans and stir. Pour into a 9x13 greased pan (for easier removal, line pan with aluminum foil and grease the foil). Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Yields 24 bars