Easy Pecan Pie Bars

“These gooey Easy Pecan Pie Bars are …full of decadence,” says Julie Albert and Lisa Gnat, authors of The Bite Me Balance Cookbook. “They’re like handheld tasty treaties, smoothing the way with their thick layer of caramelized pecan pie filling sitting atop a buttery shortbread crust. The laid-back cousin to the traditional pie, these bars are super easy to make, to portion out, to freeze, and to take on the road. Really, there just can’t be strife in the presence of these sweet, salty, crunchy, and nutty crowd-pleasers. So, bring it on—hot-button topics, drunken relatives, crying babies—because nothing can dampen the mood when there’s a plate of these peacekeeping pecan squares present.”

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Easy Pecan Pie Bars

Course Dessert

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings 25 bars

Author Julie Albert and Lisa Gnat, authors of The Bite Me Balance Cookbook

Ingredients

Pecan Pie Filling

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 5 tbsp flour
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 6 eggs
• 1 cups corn syrup
• 6 tbsp melted butter
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups coarsely chopped pecan halves

Shortbread Crust

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup icing sugar
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup melted butter

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment paper, extending the paper over the edges for easier removal.
• For the pecan filling, in a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt until there are no lumps.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, corn syrup, melted butter, and vanilla. Add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture and whisk until combined. Let the mixture stand while preparing the crust.
• For the crust, in a large bowl, stir together the flour, icing sugar, vanilla, and salt. Add the melted butter and stir until combined. Press the dough onto the bottom of the prepared pan. Poke the crust with a fork 5 or 6 times in different locations to prevent air bubbles. Bake the crust in preheated oven for 20 minutes, until golden.
• Stir the pecans into the pecan filling and pour the filling evenly over the crust. Bake at 350ºF for 45 minutes until the filling is just set; the center should be a little wobbly but not runny. Cool completely, refrigerate, and chill at least 2 hours before cutting.

Notes

Lessons from Lisa
Light or dark corn syrup can be used; the dark syrup gives more color and a deeper flavor.

Excerpted from The Bite Me Balance Cookbook by Julie Albert and Lisa Gnat. Copyright © 2020 Julie Albert and Lisa Gnat. Photography by Maya Visnyei. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

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