Pecan Bars

These pecan bars give you the flavor of pecan pie combined with a shortbread crust. Salty and sweet, and incredibly portable, they are my favorite easy dessert recipe for fall.

Oh fall, I adore you! Crisp mornings and the sound of leaves crunching under my feet! Fall is my favorite. I’ve told you this before. There’s something about the light, the temperature, the color, it energizes me. I wake up early, I feel motivated to get things done. Some people like spring cleaning – I’m into fall cleaning. I clean, I purge, I evaluate, I organize. Maybe it’s because my body knows it will be stuck inside for the next few months, so I feel like I have to get a handle on my surroundings before the deep freeze sets in.

And another thing: pecans! And these pecan bars help you take full advantage of their glory with very little effort. They are like pecan pie, but with more of a sandy cookie crust. Salty and sweet, I cut them into bite size pieces so you can just pop them in your mouth all day long and somehow feel less guilty about eating half the pan.

These pecan bars are easy to make, and very portable. Sometimes you just can’t take a whole pecan pie with you wherever you go, no matter how badly you want to. So make these instead. Take them to the office, pack them in your picnic at the wineries, make them for Thanksgiving dessert, bring them to Christmas parties. They are my go-to easy dessert recipe for fall and the holiday season.

I debated over whether I should call these pecan bars or pecan pie bars. I went with pecan bars, because this recipe is much simpler and uses fewer ingredients than the ones I looked at labeled as pecan pie bars. They let the pecan flavor come through without being overly sweet. And they also have rum in them, so there’s that…

I adapted these slightly from one of my favorite cookbooks, Fat Witch Brownies. As I’ve told you before, if you’re in their neighborhood – Chelsea Market in NYC, get your butt in there and buy something.

For more pecan inspiration and other fall recipe ideas try Aunt Vickie’s Pecan Cream Cheese Pie, or Sheet Pan Italian Sausages with Roasted Root Vegetables and Arugula.

Pecan Bars

Adapted lightly from Fat Witch Brownies by Patricia Helding

For the crust:

1 cup unbleached flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

7 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/4 cup roughly chopped pecans

For the filling:

4 tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup dark corn syrup

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp dark rum (optional)

1/4 tsp salt

1 large egg

1 3/4 cup roughly chopped pecans

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease  a 9 x 9 inch baking pan with butter, dust with flour and tap out excess.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar with a fork or whisk.

Add the butter a piece or two at a time, combining with a fork or pastry blender until well blended. You should have a sandy texture with some small bits of butter here and there.

Stir in 1/4 cup pecans gently by hand to combine.

Spread the mixture evenly in the pan and tamp down gently with your fingers. You just want it to hold together, you’re not trying to make a smooth, flat dough.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the crust is lightly golden and the edges are light brown. Remove from the oven and set aside.

While the crust is cooking, make the filling. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, vanilla, corn syrup, rum (if using) and salt. Stir in the butter until just blended. Add the egg and mix until well incorporated.

Pour the filling over the crust, and sprinkle the pecans evenly on top. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, or  until the top is brown and little bubbles and cracks start to form on the surface.

Remove from the oven and let cool at least 2 hours before cutting into squares.