Brunettes

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease an 8x8 pan. In a small bowl, combine ¼ cup of the softened butter with ½ cup of the brown sugar. Mix well. Add the pecans and mix well again. Set aside. Melt the remaining butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Remove from the heat. Stir in the remaining brown sugar and molasses and mix well. Add the eggs and mix well again. Add flour, baking powder and salt and mix well. Pour the mixture into your prepared pan and spread to the corners. Sprinkle with half of the reserved nut mixture. Bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining nut mixture and return to the oven for 10-12 more minutes. The top will be golden and set and the sides will be beginning to crisp, but the inside will not be set yet. Do not overbake! Transfer to a cooling rack, let cool 2 minutes, then loosen the edges and slice into 16 squares. Cool completely before removing from the pan.