If you are a fan of pecan pie, you will love these Pecan Pie Bars! This easy Thanksgiving dessert starts with a gooey pecan pie filling on top of a buttery shortbread crust and then baked to perfection.
Easy Pecan Pie Bars Recipe
These pecan squares are a crowd-pleasing, easy Holiday dessert. Pecan halves are covered in a delicious brown sugar caramel filling that goes perfectly with the crunchy shortbread crust. It’s basically like traditional pecan pie that you can pick up and eat with your hands – no fork needed! Add these bars to your holiday cookie platter and watch them be the first thing to disappear!
Ingredients Needed
Just a handful of basic ingredients for the crust and filling.
- Sugar: You will need two types of sugar, granulated sugar for the crust and dark brown sugar for the filling. You will also need light corn syrup as an additional sweetener.
- Extract: I use a combination of vanilla and almond extract for more flavor.
- Pecans: I cut my pecans in half but you can leave them whole or use chopped pecans.
How To Make Pecan Pie Bars
You can have this prepped and ready to bake in just 30 minutes. Then, you just pop them in the oven to bake to ooey-gooey perfection.
- Set the oven to 350 degrees and use baking spray to grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Add the browned butter, granulated sugar, and salt into a large bowl and whisk to combine. Gradually add in the flour and combine until moist and crumbly.
- Press the dough into the prepared baking pan covering the base of the pan in an even layer. Place into the oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
- Prepare the filling while the crust bakes. Add the melted butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, eggs, vanilla extract, and almond extract into a large bowl and combine until smooth. Put in the pecans and fold to combine.
- Take the crust out of the oven and add the filling to it while it’s still warm. Place the pan back into the oven for an additional 30-35 minutes or until golden brown on top and it no longer wiggles.
- Let them cool thoroughly before cutting. Serve and enjoy!
How To Make Browned Butter
In a medium saucepan, add the cubed butter and cook on medium-high heat. Mix constantly until melted. Allow the butter to simmer until the solids settle to the base of the pan. It will become a reddish-brown pigment. It will take about 8-12 minutes to cook the butter. Take it away from the heat and pour it into a bowl right away to halt the cooking process.
Storing and Serving
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for the best storage method. Keep them in the fridge for up to 7 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Serving. We like to serve these pecan pie bars by themselves or top them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Tips & Variations
- Can I skip the browned butter and use regular melted butter? Yes! You can use melted butter in place of brown butter instead. Although, the bars will be missing that rich browned buttery flavor. It adds a nutty flavor that is a game-changer for this recipe. So, do try to keep it in the recipe if you can.
- Cutting. I recommend cooling the bars to room temperature, then placing them in the fridge to cool. The cooler the bars are, the easier they will be to cut.
- Sweetener. You can use equal amounts of stevia or brown sugar in place of white sugar if you don’t have any.
- Additions. Feel free to sprinkle some chocolate chips on top before baking. A drizzle of caramel sauce or chocolate sauce on top would be wonderful.
More Pecan Pie Desserts:
- Pecan Pie Brownies
- Pumpkin Pecan Pie
- Pecan Pie Cheesecake
- Pecan Pie Bread Pudding
- Buttermilk Pecan Pie
- Pecan Tassies
Pecan Pie Bars
Ingredients
Crust
Filling
- ½ cup butter salted, melted
- 1 ¼ cups dark brown sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 4 large eggs
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 3 cups pecan halves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and generously spray a 9×13” baking dish with baking spray.
- Prepare the crust dough. In a large bowl, combine the browned butter, granulated sugar, and salt. Whisk.
- Slowly add the flour to the browned butter mixture, and stir well until the dough is evenly moist and crumbly.
- Pour the dough into the prepared baking and firmly press it into an even layer at the bottom of the dish.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes.
- While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, eggs, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Mix well until smooth. Stir in the pecans.
- Remove the crust from the oven, and pour the filling mixture over it while it is still hot.
- Return the dish to the oven and continue to bake for 30-35 minutes until the top is golden brown, and the filling so longer wiggles in the pan.
- Allow the pecan pie bars to cool completely before cutting them into squares.
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.Video
Nutrition
Leave a Review!
We LOVE hearing from you! Submit your question or comment here.
Your email address will not be published.