Do you love pecan pie, but want to feed more than eight people? Pecan Pie Bars are exactly what you need! These bars are made in a 13 x 9 pan with a shortbread crust. You can cut large pieces and have 12 or you can cut smaller ones and have 24.
For me it depends on what you are serving. If this is the main dessert, by all means cut large pieces. If these Pecan Pie Bars are part of a dessert bar, cut them into smaller one inch pieces and serve on a platter. These are seriously the best little bite of pecan pie you have ever had. I just served these at a dinner catered and everyone loved them!
How To Make Pecan Pie Bars
1. Grate 3/4 cup of butter on a large box grater. Scrape off the back of the grater to make sure you get all the butter.
2. Add the flour, sugar and salt to the grated butter. Use your hands or a large spoon to mix everything together. Make sure all the butter is separated and has flour and sugar on it.
3. Grease a 13 x 9 pan with vegetable spray and pour the butter mixture in. Smooth it out by using a piece of plastic wrap. Place it on the crust and use your hands to spread the crust out evenly. Pat it down to create a compact layer of crust.
4. Place this in a preheated 350° oven and bake for 12 minutes. You want the edges to be barely brown. You can cook longer, but I like a soft crust. It makes it easier to cut the bars.
Breaking pecans by hand is a beautiful thing.
5. Chop the pecans to the size you like. I am a big fan of this handheld chopper. It takes minutes to create the size of nuts you want. Pecans are very soft and can be broken in your hand as well. I love the organic shapes that are made when breaking the nuts by hand.
6. Place the 1/2 cup of butter, light corn syrup and brown sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Stir the sugar mixture occasionally. While the sugar mixture is coming to a boil, get the eggs ready.
7. Beat four eggs while the sugar mixture is coming to a boil. When it boils, gradually add a little stream of hot sugar mixture to the eggs beating continuously.
This is called tempering the eggs. You do not want the eggs to cook too fast while adding the hot mixture. Then you get scrambled eggs. Keep beating as you stream the entire pan of hot sugar mixture. Towards the end you can start pouring faster, but continue to stir or whisk everything.
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Gradually stream in the hot sugar mixture to the beaten eggs.
8. Add the chopped pecans and vanilla. Once in the saucepan, stir everything together. Pour over the hot crust.
9. Bake for 20 minutes in a 350°. The edges will be dark brown and the center should be set. Let these cool completely before cutting.
10. Cutting these bars can be a challenge. You can make beautifully square pieces if you use a sharp knife and are willing to be patient. Continually make cuts on the sides of the pan. These are the hardest to cut because they are attached to the pan.
Fill a tall glass with very hot water. Keep dipping your knife in the hot water. Then quickly wipe it off with a paper towel and make another cut into the Pecan Pie Bars. Keep cutting on the same lines going deeper each time until the pieces start to come out when you lift the knife out.
Here are a few products I like to use when making Pecan Pie Bars.
When you purchase items from the Amazon links below, I receive a small commission.
Let me know on Instagram or Facebook if you make this. Post a picture and tag me @dinasdiner.
Pecan Pie Bars
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 Cups Flour
- 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/8 tsp. Salt
- 3/4 Cup Butter, Grated
Filling
- 1 Cup Brown Sugar
- 1 Cup Light Corn Syrup
- 1/2 Cup Butter
- 4 Eggs
- 2 1/2 Cup Pecans, chopped or broken up
- 1 tsp. Vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- To make the crust, grate the butter and add the flour, granulated sugar and salt. Mix well.
- Pour the flour mixture into a greased 13 x 9 pan. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until sides are starting to brown.
- While crust is baking, chop pecans.
- In a saucepan, heat the brown sugar, 1/2 cup of butter and light corn syrup. Stir occasionally.
- Beat eggs until light and fluffy.
- When the mixture in the saucepan boils, start streaming into the beaten eggs. Stir or whisk continuously so the eggs do not cook.
- Continue to add all the hot mixture to eggs and mix well.
- Add the chopped pecans and vanilla to the filling.
- Pour the filling on the hot crust and bake for 20 minutes.
- Cool completely and cut into squares.
This recipe was amazing! I made it for my girlfriend’s Christmas party and they were a huge hit!! Darin say I like them better than pecan pie. The crust was so yummy—almost like a shortbread cookie. They are super easy too.
Love this recipe and I t was so easy to make! I love pecan pie but these bars are better. I took them to a dinner party this week and they were a big hit.