I’ve been dying to share this recipe with you guys. I made these almost two weeks ago and it’s been so hard to hold off posting these until now.
These dessert bars are extremely simple to make – they literally take zero effort to make and they come out as if you just brought them home from a professional bakery.
The hardest part of making these is the chill time. You gotta let it chill long enough to get perfectly clean slices. I swear Jason and I were hovering over the pan for 6 hours straight. We kept smelling the pan and touching the top to see if maybe they have set. Oh, the torture!
Every person I had sample a piece of this all came to the same conclusion: so good. They all said they were afraid it’d be super sweet but they were happily surprised to find that it was the perfect balance of sweetness to the buttery crust.
Make this apart of your dessert table this Thanksgiving! You won’t be missing the pie ;)
Pecan Pie Bars
Yield: 12-16 servings | Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
For the crust:
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
For the topping:
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
2 tbsp. heavy cream
2 cups chopped pecans
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line your 9 x 13″ pan with tin foil, leaving a 2 inch overhang on all sides.
- To make the crust, cream together butter and dark brown sugar until light and fluffy. Then add in the flour and salt until mixture is crumbly.
- Pour the crust mixture into the lined pan and press into an even layer. Bake for 20 minutes until nice and golden brown. Remove and set aside. Keep oven temperature.
- While the crust bakes, in a medium stockpot, melt butter, dark brown sugar, honey, and heavy cream. Bring to a boil then turn the heat down to a low simmer and pour the pecans in and stir to combine.
- When crust is ready, pour pecan mixture over the entire crust, using a spatula to make it a smooth, even layer.
- Return pan to oven and bake for another 20 minutes.
- When done, remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting into bars.
- Use the foil to lift out the bars and place on cutting board to slice. Peel down the foil sides and slice with a very sharp knife for a clean edge.
- Store in airtight container for up to 5 days.
Source: from Just a Taste
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I have such a soft spot for pecan pie but I never really make it – totally love this version!
So easy, much easier than pie! ;)
Pie crust and I are enemies, so this is perfect. And it’s so pretty!!!
Julie you are a goddess – I LOVE anything pecan and these look divine!
I love how clean the slices are! I can’t totally picturing you hovering over the pan waiting to slice lol
We have serious business to discuss!!! Jason is a fellow Southerner?! Well, butter my butt & call me a biscuit! Hooray! If it’s possible for me to like him even more, it juuuuust happened :)
ps I licked my screen when I saw these pecan pie bars.
Haha, you might hate me for this but, I’m not sure if you really consider him a Southerner after I tell you this. His brother & SIL live in Baton Rouge and his parents live in Atlanta. His brother & SIL are definitely Southerners but I’m not sure if you consider Atlanta southern. I only do because I’ve been in the Northeast my whole life and Atlanta always had really nice people (as in a lot nicer than up here0 so I leaned towards the “oh it’s cause they’re from the South” thing.
Mmmmm, my family would be so in love with these! Pies are the one thing I don’t love baking so this is a great solution :)
These look awesome, Julie. I would have been hovering over them for 6 hours too!
These look wonderful. I don’t normally celebrate Thanksgiving but this year we’re going to see some American friends and I’ve been asked to bring dessert. This may just be the recipe!
Most gorgeous, photogenic bars ever!! I always have to taste BOTH a pumpkin and a pecan dessert at Thanksgiving, because it is too hard to choose just one. I love that these are corn syrup free (every pie recipe I see is packed with the stuff), and I admire your self control-6 hours is a long time to wait, but these must be worth it!
I will definitely be adding these to my list for thanksgiving!! looks amazing. (:
I will definitely be adding these to my list for thanksgiving!! looks amazing. (:
yummmmm! i love pecan pie, and these bars look just wonderful!
Uhhhh you just won me major girlfriend points–these are the bf’s favorite pie, in bar form, and I needed a treat for his upcoming birthday. Scoreeeeee.
These look phenomenal! I’m not a huge pie fan, so alternatives are always desired.
These are beautiful! Pecan pie is a favorite dessert of ours during the holidays but I’m going to make these bars instead this year!
Julie, these bars are so good I’ve been dreaming of making them since you gave me one. They are the perfect combo of sweet and salty. The buttery crust balances the sweetness of the pecan mixture. Can’t wait to make them.
I’ll take these over pie ANY DAY. YUM!!!!
First of all, these are completely brilliant! I am not the biggest fan of pies and am always looking for news ways to gobble up any kind of pecan dessert. Friend, I seriously want to lick the screen! Our Friends Thanksgiving is weekend and I am definitely actioning these bad boys!
These look soooooooooo amazing! I HATE having to wait for food to chill or settle before tasting it. Complete Torture!
I’ve always been a little intimidated by making a pecan pie, but this is perfect as a pie alternative! I could even bake these here in DC and then bring them to FL for Thanksgiving since my parents don’t have all the baking equipment I have. Thank you for solving my dessert dilemma!
So glad you enjoyed my recipe, Julie! They look fantastic!
Double-triple-quadruple-WANT!! I actually don’t like pecan pie either, but these bars look fantastical!!
These are so good, perfect combinations of nutty and sweet!
Pecan pie is my ultimate weakness. I know I’d eat the entire pan of these! They look fantastic!
Julie!!! Holy cow – these are STUNNING!!!
I know this sounds crazy but I can’t get cream here in Tunisia. Can I substitute milk for the cream? Please tell me I can!!!
Yes, you can. Do you have whole milk or 2%? I’d use those as opposed to skim or 1%.
I’d take a couple of these over a slice of pie any day!
oh my gorgeous. I don’t even like pecans and I want these! I might have to give these beauties a shot!
This is looks like pecan sugar porn to me, and I love it.
Whoa these look delish! It isnt even lunch time and I am about ready to reach through the screen and try to eat ten of these! Sometimes being a food blogger is hard! I just want to eat all of the recipes people post. I guess I can handle it though ;) These are stunning Julie!
COME. TO . MAMA. The only problem with these bars is I’d want to eat the entire tray … I must make these asap!! and then ofcouse give them away just as quickly ;) lol
Pecan pie might actually over take pumpkin as my favorite pie – but pecan in BAR FORM? Hold the phone, hold the door, hold my jaw up so it doesn’t hit the ground.
Done and done. These are so getting made this year.
The waiting was the hardest part when I made mine too. These look amazing though!! I love the crust!
I love pecan pie, but don’t care to make it! What an easy way to allllways have it ready at my fingertips :)
Yum!! I will definitely give this one a go. It looks so simple. Is there any variations for folks that are allergic to nuts?
I’m drooling over these bars, gorgeous!
I’m so glad you finally shared this! These are to die for! You know I’m so making this for Thanksgiving, right? It is going to be a hit!
I mean, IF YOU INSIST.
Can I just say OMG those looks AMAZING! :) truly mouthwatering pics!
instead of honey, may i substitute corn syrup?
Yes.
OK, you’ve convinced me- I just need to convert to crust to gluten-free, but I’ll 100% be bringing these to Thanksgiving this year :)
It’ll be my redemption for my pecan pie bar failure of Thanksgiving 2010. Seriously, the failure’s documented here- http://www.girlcooksworld.com/2011/12/gluten-free-chocolate-mint-chocolate-chip-cookies.html!
These look so good Julie!! I am a huge fan of pecan pie but my hubby hates it – these would be the perfect way for me to get my fix since the rest would be easier to share and I would have a whole pie in my fridge taunting me haha
Oh lala – I’m blown away. This recipe is too good to be true! Should have this, for sure.
I’ve actually been looking for a pecan pie bar recipe to make for dessert so thank you or sharing this! They look out of this world!
I am so lovin the recipes making a pie as a bar – love that idea!
We are traveling for the holidays & think these would be great to take. I also want to introduce my 4 yr old daughter to pecan pie, but she is allergic to ALL dairy. The marg we use subs well for butter, but can I just omit the cream? Or could I use soy 1/2 & 1/2?
It shouldn’t be an issue if you omit the cream. If the mixture seems too thick without it (not easily pourable), I’d use the soy 1/2 & 1/2 but I’m pretty sure you’ll be fine without it. Good luck!
Julie, these were an absolute hit!! I made four pies for Thanksgiving and these were disappearing so fast, I had to fake “we ran out!” so some would be left for me to snack on.. Even my husband, who seriously hates pecans, said that although he hates pecans he would absolutely eat this again.. I’m so impressed :)