These easy to make pecan pie bars have a sweet, gooey pecan pie filling and nutty brown butter shortbread crust for a treat no one can resist. These are basically like pecan pie, but with a simpler, press-in-the-pan shortbread crust, so the recipe comes together quickly. Your house will smell incredible while these are baking!
Looking for more recipes like this one? You might also love these pumpkin pecan waffles, homemade butter pecan ice cream, and butter pecan pound cake with bourbon icing.
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Why You’ll Love These Recipes
Like Pie, but Easier. You get all the satisfaction of eating a piece of pecan pie, but with a lot less effort.
Nutty and Gooey. These pecan pie bars have all the best textures with the buttery, crumbly crust, and the sweet gooey filling full of crunchy pecans.
Delicious for Days. The leftover pecan bars are just as good days after baking.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
Crust
- Butter. Melted butter binds the dough together, and gives it a rich buttery flavor. By browning the butter first, you add even more toasty, nutty notes of flavor.
- All-Purpose Flour. Gives the dough structure.
- Granulated Sugar. Adds sweetness.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness of the filling and enhances the flavor of the pecans.
Filling
- Butter. Adds rich, buttery flavor and moisture to the filling.
- Dark Brown Sugar. Adds sweetness, moisture and a hint of molasses.
- Light Corn Syrup. Makes the filling sweet, thick and gooey.
- Eggs. Add richness, and helps to thicken and set the filling.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness of the filling and enhances the flavor of the pecans.
- All-Purpose Flour. Helps to thicken the filling.
- Pecans. Use raw, unsalted pecans so that your filling doesn’t end up too salty.
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat the oven to 375 F. Spray a 9-inch baking dish with non-stick baking spray.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter is very fragrant, starts to foam and nutty brown solids form on the bottom of the pan. Immediately remove the pan from the heat.
- In a bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the brown butter, scraping up all the golden brown solids, too, and stir everything together into a moist, crumbly dough.
- Press the dough crumbs evenly against the bottom of the pan.
- Bake the crust on the center oven rack for about 18 minutes, until a pale golden brown. Set aside to cool slightly while you make the filling.
Filling
- Reduce the oven temperature to 325 F.
- In a bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour, until smooth. Whisk in the chopped pecans.
- Carefully pour the filling over the hot crust.
- Bake on the center oven rack for 45-50 minutes, until the filling is set.
- Let the bars cool completely, at least 3-4 hours, before cutting into squares.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I skip the step of browning the butter in the crust?
You can, but it’s a simple step that adds so much more flavor and nutty goodness to these pecan pie bars.
How do I make the filling without corn syrup?
While I haven’t tested it in this recipe, pure maple syrup should work as a substitute. You could also use honey, but that will alter the flavor of the pecan bars considerably.
Will this recipe work with chocolate in the filling?
Sure. After baking the crust, sprinkle the crust with a handful of chocolate chips before pouring in the filling. Bake as instructed.
Do the leftover pecan bars need to be refrigerated?
No, just store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
You Might Also Like
Maple Pecan Tart 
Pumpkin Pecan Waffles 
Butter Pecan Pound Cake 
Butter Pecan Ice Cream
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Pecan Pie Bars
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet.
Equipment
- Small Saucepan
- 9 inch baking pan
Ingredients
Crust
- ½ cup unsalted butter, browned
- 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
Filling
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- ¾ cup light corn syrup
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cups unsalted raw pecans, roughly chopped
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat the oven to 375 F. Spray a 9-inch baking dish with non-stick baking spray.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter is very fragrant, starts to foam and nutty brown solids form on the bottom of the pan. Immediately remove the pan from the heat.
- In a bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the brown butter, scraping up all the golden brown solids, too, and stir everything together into a moist, crumbly dough. Press the dough crumbs evenly against the bottom of the pan.
- Bake the crust on the center oven rack for about 18 minutes, until a pale golden brown. Set aside to cool slightly while you make the filling.
Filling
- Reduce the oven temperature to 325 F.
- In a bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour, until smooth. Whisk in the chopped pecans.
- Carefully pour the filling over the hot crust. Bake on the center oven rack for 45-50 minutes, until the filling is set.
- Let the bars cool completely, at least 3-4 hours, before cutting into squares.
I made these. Very good! Chris