These Pecan Pie Bars are sweet, crunchy, gooey, loaded with pecans, an easy shortbread crust and perfect for a crowd! Just like pecan pie but better!
I’m a huge pecan pie fan. I mean HUGE. Whenever I go to a restaurant and pecan pie is on the menu, I always order it. However, sometimes it’s hard to find a really good pecan pie. I don’t like a soggy crust, or not super ooey-gooey, or the flavor is not there. Which is why, I now make my own Pecan Pie, or when I feel adventurous, I make a killer Bourbon Pecan Pie.
But here’s what I love about pecan pie bars. They’re the perfect pecan pie in handheld form. Think about it, no plates or forks to dirty, the only thing you’re dirtying are your fingers. But that’s ok, because these pecan pie bars are finger licking good.
The perfect crust for a pecan pie bar is a shortbread crust. It’s super easy to make, no food processor or mixer necessary, just a pastry cutter or two forks is all you need. A good shortbread has only 3 ingredients; flour, butter and sugar. Nothing else fancy is required.
Ingredients
Shortbread crust
- Butter – Unsalted as we are adding the salt ourselves into this recipe. If using salted butter, you can omit adding any additional salt to the recipe.
- Flour – Just all purpose flour is all we need, nothing fancy required here!
- Sugar – I used granulated white sugar to give a super clean sweet flavor to our crust.
- Salt – Every baked good needs a bit of seasoning to balance out all that sugar, it’s a science in baking so be sure to be precise.
Filling
- Pecans – all chopped up roughly. You don’t want fine crumbs, because you actually want to feel the pecan when you bite into these bars.
- Sugar – Some packed brown sugar is all we need, that molasses flavor is going to add complexity and depth to our filling.
- Flour – Just a bit of all purpose to help keep our filling from getting too liquidy, it’ll bind the filling and help us achieve a custardy consistency.
- Eggs – We want whole eggs for richness and to help us bind our filling.
- Lemon – Some fresh zest to brighten up our whole filling.
- Vanilla – This is a bit of a secret weapon flavor enhancer.
- Corn syrup – This ingredient offers both sweetness and texture to our filling.
Crank Up The Flavor
To bring out the flavor of the pecans even more, toast them in the oven for about 5 minutes at 350 F degrees or until you start to smell them. You can even brown the butter before incorporating it into your filling. I know I’m crazy, but aren’t we all a little?
How To Make Pecan Pie Bars
- Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees. Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with cooking spray then line it with parchment paper, but with the parchment paper hanging off the sides to make it easy to lift out bars.
Crust
- Combine the crust: Add all the crust ingredients to a large bowl and using a pastry cutter or two forks, blend everything together until it resembles a dry coarse meal. Alternatively, you could use a food processor.
- Bake the crust: Transfer the crumb mixture to the prepared baking dish and press it down evenly into the bottom. Place the pan into the oven and bake it for about 20 minutes, until the curst is set and dry on top, but it hasn’t yet browned. Let the crust cool completely before adding the filling.
Filling
- Combine the dry ingredients: In a large bowl add the flour, brown sugar, salt and whisk everything together. This will ensure there will be no lumps.
- Combine the wet ingredients: Add the lemon zest and whisk. Add the corn syrup, eggs, vanilla, and whisk everything together until well combined. Fold in the chopped pecans. Let the mixture rest while the crust bakes and cools. During this time the pecan mixture will slightly thicken.
- Bake the bars: Pour the pecan filling over the prepared crust and use a spatula to spread the pecans evenly, if needed. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the filling is set. To check if the filling is set, shake the pan and if the center is not wobbly then it’s done.
- Cool completely at room temperature, then place the pan in the fridge for several hours or overnight before cutting them.
- Cut the bars: The next day, use the parchment paper to gently lift the bars from the pan, then cut into squares using a sharp serrated knife. I cut it into 24 pieces, but you can cut it into 12 if you wish for larger squares.
Let The Bars Rest
I recommend in the instructions above to give the squares plenty of hours to set completely. This will ensure the filling is totally set, that the integrity of the filling and crust is completely sound, aka no slippage.
No Corn Syrup?
You can make these pecan pie bars without corn syrup, although I have to be honest, it won’t be quite the same without it. Just combine maple syrup with 1 tablespoon of flour and you’ve got a perfectly sweet and decadent substitute! Yum.
Substitutions
- All-purpose flour can be substituted with pastry flour or cake flour.
- Corn syrup can be substituted with honey or maple syrup.
Storing Leftovers
Pecan pie bars are great because they can easily be made a day or two ahead. You can bake it, cool it, then wrap it in plastic wrap and store it in the fridge until ready to serve. They will keep for up to 3 – 5 days stored this way.
FREEZER
These pecan pie bars freeze great! I find it easier to let them cool completely first, cut them into squares then wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and finally place them in a freezer bag before freezing. This way you can wrap them individually, a few or all together.
The day before you want to serve them, take them out of the freezer and thaw them out completely in the refrigerator.
Craving More Pecan? Try These Delicious Recipes:
- Pecan Pie
- Pecan Pie Cheesecake
- Chocolate Pecan Pie Cookies
- Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars
- Bourbon Pecan Pie
- Brown Sugar Coated Pecans
- Banana Nut Muffins
- Soft Oatmeal Cookies
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Pecan Pie Bars
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup butter unsalted, cold
- ½ cup sugar granulated
- ¼ tsp salt
Filling
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 ½ cups corn syrup dark
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups pecans chopped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees. Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with cooking spray then line it with parchment paper, but with the parchment paper hanging off the sides to make it easy to lift out bars.
Crust
- Add all the crust ingredients to a large bowl and using a pastry cutter or two forks, blend everything together until it resembles a dry coarse meal. Alternatively, you could use a food processor.
- Transfer the crumb mixture to the prepared baking dish and press it down evenly into the bottom.
- Place the pan into the oven and bake it for about 20 minutes, until the curst is set and dry on top, but it hasn’t yet browned. Let the crust cool completely before adding the filling.
Filling
- In a large bowl add the flour, brown sugar, salt and whisk everything together. This will ensure there will be no lumps.
- Add the lemon zest and whisk. Add the corn syrup, eggs, vanilla, and whisk everything together until well combined.
- Fold in the chopped pecans. Let the mixture rest while the crust bakes and cools. During this time the pecan mixture will slightly thicken.
- Pour the pecan filling over the prepared crust and use a spatula to spread the pecans evenly, if needed.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the filling is set. To check if the filling is set, shake the pan and if the center is not wobbly then it’s done.
- Cool completely at room temperature, then place the pan in the fridge for several hours or overnight before cutting them.
- The next day, use the parchment paper to gently lift the bars from the pan, then cut into squares using a sharp serrated knife. I cut it into 24 pieces, but you can cut it into 12 if you wish for larger squares.
Video
Recipe Notes
- All-purpose flour can be substituted with pastry flour or cake flour.
- Corn syrup can be substituted with honey or maple syrup.
- Store the bars into an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
