This is one of those times where I’m going to write about something that I’ve been eating all day. Or, um, all week. Two weeks?
No matter. I’ve loved every sticky second.
Cause THESE PECAN PIE BARS ARE GOOD.
I take my dessert bars very seriously, and I just couldn’t quite get it right the first one million times I made them. Too runny, too brown, too buttery. Or not.
So, what happened was I made them again. And again and again and again.
Cause that’s what food bloggers do.
They eat maple pecan pie bars for the greater good of the world.
They bring pecan bars to their neighbors, they hide pecan bars from their husbands, and they share pecan bars with their guards. Wait, food bloggers have guards?
Food bloggers have lots of secrets, guys.
Let’s just let this one happen, ok?
It’s a buttery pie crust that is under baked – because why not make it taste more like cookie dough? – and it’s soaked with a sweet, sugary maple pecan sauce that will melt your face off. Except not really, because the crunchy sea salt will wake you right back up with a jolt to the heart.
Is that normal to get your heart jolted by stuff like this?
I thought so. That’s why we get along so well.
Salted Maple Pecan Pie Bars
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 24 1x
Description
These salted maple pecan pie bars are incredibly addicting. With perfect salty-sweet flavor and a chewy pie-crust base. Awesome dessert!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 cups flour (plus a few more tablespoons if necessary)
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup corn syrup
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and 1 cup brown sugar. Add the flour and beat until coarse crumbs form. If the mixture is too soft, add a little more flour. It should be crumbly but stick together when pressed.
- Press the crust into a 9×13 baking dish. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until top appears dry and slightly puffed. I like to underbake mine so the crust stays softer, but if you like more of a shortbread-type crust, bake a few minutes longer.
- For the filling, whisk the eggs, corn syrup, brown sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla. Stir in the pecans and pour the mixture over the crust. The filling should not be more than just a light layer of sauce over the crust. Arrange any stray pecans and return to the oven for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven when the filling appears mostly set. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
- Cool completely and refrigerate overnight. Cut into 24 pieces and serve slightly chilled.
Notes
When baking the filling, look for a top that is set enough so that it doesn’t stick to your hand when you touch it. It might still be a tiny bit runny underneath, but it will hold together more as it cools. It’s sad, I know, but these HAVE to cool completely and chill before they hold together well. You can see how mine look in the photos – still a little soft and saucy – and that was after refrigerating them. You can eat them straight out of the oven – yum! but for the real, stick together bars, I recommend cooling and refrigerating overnight.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: salted maple pecan pie bars, pecan pie bars, maple pecan bars
For crying out loud, make these already.