Pecan Bars Recipe

Pecan bars arranged on a wooden cutting board.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: pecan bars, Pecan pie bars, pecan squares

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 40

Total Time: 55

Servings:

Calories: 350kcal

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

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US Customary - Metric

Equipment

Ingredients

For the crust:

1 cup unbleached flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
⅓ cup packed brown sugar
7 tablespoon unsalted butter cold
¼ cup roughly chopped pecans

For the filling:

4 tablespoon unsalted butter
½ cup packed brown sugar
⅓ cup dark corn syrup
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon dark rum optional
¼ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 ¾ cups 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 ¼ 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.

Notes

It’s important to use a high-quality pecan since they are the star of the show here. I recommend ordering from Millican Pecan. They use fresh, Grade 1 pecans harvested this season. Sometimes in the grocery store, you’re getting Grade 2 pecans that could be years old. Yes, years. (Like 2 - 4!)
I like to cut these into small, 2-inch squares. They make a perfect bite!
Pecan bars do not need to be refrigerated. Store them in an airtight container for up to one week.

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Nutrition