The Easiest Pecan Pie Bars Recipe! Skip making a pecan pie and make these pecan bars instead. Sweet, gooey and absolutely delicious!
These sweet and gooey pecan pie bars are the perfect way to serve pecan pie to a crowd for the holidays!
Crunchy toasted pecans are folded into a caramel filling and baked on top of a buttery shortbread crust. Just cool and slice into squares for a dessert that is simple to make, yet so delicious!
These would be the perfect dessert on your holiday table next to an Instant Pot Pumpkin Cheesecake or Pumpkin Bundt Cake.
Why you'll love these bars
- Delicious Pecan Pie Flavors: Pecan Pie Bars give you the same great taste of a traditional Pecan Pie without the tough parts. You get the sweet caramely filling and crunchy pecan topping without the tricky pie crust!
- Quick and Easy: If you want pecan pie but don't want to spend a long time baking, these bars are perfect. They're easy to make and don't need special baking skills. It's the perfect option for both experienced bakers and beginners who want a stress free dessert.
- Portable and Sharable: These bars are great for holiday parties or simply sharing with family and friends. They're easy to carry, so you can take them to events without a mess. Plus, they're small, so everyone can enjoy them without needing plates or forks.
Ingredients
For this recipe you’ll need:
- all purpose flour
- powdered sugar
- salt
- salted butter
- dark brown sugar
- eggs
- corn syrup
- vanilla extract
- pecans
substitutions and additions
All Purpose Flour: I haven't tried this with 1:1 GF flour but I think it might work.
Butter: Butter is essential to this recipe. We haven't tried it with dairy free butter but it might work!
Brown Sugar: You can make brown sugar with white sugar. You can add 1 tablespoon of molasses to 1 cup white sugar to make brown sugar.
Vanilla Extract: Helps to add flavor, we don't recommend substituting.
Corn Syrup: For a different flavor, you could substitute ¼ cup of the corn syrup for maple syrup. You can use light or dark corn syrup. Dark corn syrup will give you a more molasses-like flavor and a darker filling.
Pecans: Using finely chopped pecans will create a more dense topping, whereas a more roughly chopped pecan will give you a consistency close to pecan pie.
You can use pre toasted pecans if you like a deeper toasted flavor in your pie. The bake time will toast the top layer of the pecans, giving you a toasted flavor without the need to pre toast the pecans.
For an extra level of flavor, you can top these with some flakey sea salt when they come out of the oven. Add ½ cup dark chocolate chunks in with the pecans for an even more rich bar.
This Pecan Pie Bread Pudding is also a delicious dessert if you love pecan pie.
How to make Pecan Pie Bars
- Whisk together the flour, powdered sugar, and salt. With a pastry cutter cut the cubed butter into the flour mixture until it resembles wet sand. It will be very crumbly and dry, but that is ok.
- Push the crust into a lightly greased 9 x 13 pan, and using a glass press the crust evenly into the bottom of the pan and slightly up the sides. Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned.
- While the crust bakes, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, and salt. Whisk in the eggs, corn syrup, and vanilla extract until smooth. Fold in the pecans.
- Pour mixture evenly over the baked crust and return to the oven for 25-35 minutes, or until the center is just set and no longer liquidy.
- Cool completely and refrigerate until ready to cut and serve.
Liz's Tips for the best pie bars!
Make sure to cool the bars: If you do not cool the bars before cutting, you could risk the chance that the filling will not be set and it can squish out of the bars as you cut them.
Similarly, under baking the bars will make the filling too liquidy. The center of the bars should be set, and have a little jiggle like a jello. It will firm up more as it cools.
Storage
Serving: For best flavor and texture, allow bars to come up to room temperature before serving.
Storing: These pecan bars store best in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Freezing: You can freeze pecan bars for up to 3 months in an airtight container, tightly wrapped and separated with parchment paper. Thaw in the fridge.
Pecan Pie Bars FAQs
If your pecan pie bars are soggy, you likely didn't cool the bars long enough to allow the filling to set or the crust wasn't cooked long enough before pouring the filling on.
The most common reason for gummy pecan pie bars is underbaking the bars and not allowing the filling to fully cook.
The center of the pecan bars should be set, and have a little jiggle like a jello. It will firm up more as it cools.
Other bar recipes:
- Apple Pie Bars
- Easy Pumpkin Bars
- Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars
- Lemon Bars
- 7 Layer Magic Bars
- Homemade Blueberry Bars
Pecan Bar Recipe
Ingredients
Shortbread crust
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup salted butter cubed
For the filling
- ⅓ cup all purpose flour
- ⅔ cup dark brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 ½ cup corn syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups rough chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Lightly grease a 9” x 13” cake pan or baking dish.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, powdered sugar and salt. With a pastry cutter or your hands cut the cubed butter into the flour mixture until it resembles wet sand. It will be very crumbly and dry, but that is ok.
- Push the crust into the pan, and using a glass press the crust evenly into the bottom of the pan and slightly up the sides. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned.
- While the crust bakes, in a medium size bowl whisk together the flour, brown sugar and salt. Whisk in the eggs, corn syrup and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Fold in the pecans. Pour mixture evenly over the baked crust and return to the oven for 25-35 minutes, or until the center is just set and no longer liquidy.
- Cool completely and refrigerate until ready to cut and serve. Store in the fridge, tightly wrapped for up to 6 days.
- If you do not cool the bars before cutting, you could risk the chance that the filling will not be set and it can squish out of the bars as you cut them. Similarly, underbaking the bars will make the filling too liquidy. The center of the bars should be set, and have a little jiggle like a jello. It will firm up more as it cools.
Gina
Made this for Thanksgiving and it was delicious! Even the pickiest of eaters loved it.
Kyle
So delicious and easy to make!! Lots of compliments on these.