I’ve made many a pecan bar in my baking life. My recipe files are littered with tattered copies that I have clipped from newspapers, surreptitiously torn from magazines in the dentist’s office, and scribbled on a pad in the car while a radio host yapped about the ingredients in her favorite version.
This is by far my favorite rendition (no corn syrup), from a 2004 edition of Southern Living magazine. Those Southern gals, they know their pecan pie!
I really like to bring bars these days instead of a pie, because they are so much easier to cut and serve. And really, people just want a couple of bites of any one flavor, before they move onto the next one. Don’t you agree?
Our #SundaySupper cooks are having a holiday cookie exchange this week, and I’m bringing these to the virtual party. They’re so rich you can cut them very small, so one pan makes a bundle. Check out all of their cookie offerings right below the Pecan Pie Bar recipe.
Recipe: Best Ever Pecan Pie Bars
Summary: Sweet but not cloying, rich and perfect when cut into small squares, these are the best Pecan Pie Bars. You won’t miss the wedge of pie!
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup butter, slightly chilled (I used unsalted butter; add 1/4 tsp. salt if using unsalted butter)
Filling
- 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2/3 cup butter (I used unsalted butter; add 1/8 tsp. salt if using unsalted butter)
- 3 tablespoons whipping cream
- 3 1/2 cups coarsely chopped toasted pecans
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350F degrees. Line a 13- by 9-inch baking dish with foil, lightly mist with nonstick spray, and set pan aside.
- Make crust: In bowl of electric mixer, mix flour and powdered sugar. Cut in butter using the paddle (or use a pastry blender or fork if you don’t have an electric mixer) just until mixture resembles coarse meal. Pat mixture on bottom and slightly up the sides of the prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven (leave oven on) and cool.
- Make filling: Bring brown sugar, honey, butter and whipping cream to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat.
- Sprinkle pecans over prepared crust, evenly pour hot filling over pecans, and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Remove from oven, cool completely, and then lift foil to remove cookies from pan onto a cutting board. Peel off and discard foil, and cut cookies into 60 pieces.
Source
Slightly adapted from Pecan Squares in Nov. 2004 Southern Living magazine, by Judy Russell of Birmingham, Alabama.
#SundaySupper
Here’s a list of all the recipes I have brought to our #SundaySupper virtual meals so far. Browse through them…lots of good ideas in here!
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Diet type: Vegetarian
Number of servings (yield): 60 pieces
Culinary tradition: USA (Southern)
My rating
Don’t stop with Pecan Pie Bars – go check out the rest of the #SundaySupper crew and their delicious cookie recipes, below! I want a cookie platter with every one of these on it!
The Sunday Supper Favorite Cookie Exchange Cookies:
- Turtle Thumbprint Cookies by Cravings of a Lunatic
- #glutenfree Almond Oatmeal Raisin Cookies by Cooking Underwriter
- Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies by The Foodie Army Wife
- M & M Cookies by Damn Delicious
- Snowball Cookies by Small Wallet Big Appetite
- Mocha Thumbprint Cookies by The Meltaways
- Cardamom-Walnut Cookies by Home Cooking Memories
- Polish Chrusciki (Bow Ties) by Comfy Cuisine
- Cherry Blossom Cookies by Flour on my Face
- Rosettes by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Millionaire’s Shortbread by Gotta Get Baked
- Double-the-Mint Chocolate Kiss Cookies by The Weekend Gourmet
- Whole Wheat Cereal Cookies by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
- Chocolate Dipped Potato Chip Shortbread Cookies by The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
- Scories De Vulcan | Lava Stones Cookies by The Daily Dish Recipes
- Zimtsterne {Cinamon Stars} #Dairyfree by Galactosemia in PDX
- S’mores Cookies by Hezzi-D’s Book and Cooks
- Chocolate Whoppers by Vintage Kitchen Notes
- Ricotta Cookies with White Chocolate Glaze Country Girl in the Village
- Turtles by Dinners, Dishes and Desserts
- Salted Caramel Brownie Cookies! by I Run For Wine
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Toffee Cookies by The Urban Mrs.
- Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies by She likes ruffles, he likes truffles
- Amaretto Almond Biscotti by Noshing With The Nolands
- Mexican Chocolate Cookies by Generation Y Foodie
- Double Chocolate Peppermin Biscotti by Pippi’s in the Kitchen Again
- Ice Cream Kolaczki by Cookistry
- Amoniaczki by What Smells So Good?
- Fruit and Nut Ice Box Cookies by In the Kitchen with Audrey
- Ginger Bourbon Balls by girlichef
- Candy Cane Blossom Cookies by Mommas Meals
- Double Chocolate Cranberry Cookies by Lovely Pantry
- Ninja Bread Men by Diabetic Foodie
- Peppermint Sugar Cookies by In The Kitchen With KP
- Christmas Crunchies by Magnolia Days
- Cream Cheese Swirled Red Velvet Cookies by Mom’s Test Kitchen
- Double Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies and Tips on Mailing Cookies by Chocolate Moosey
- Congo Bars by Supper for a Steal
- Mint Surprise Cookies by The Cookie A Day Challenge
- Salted Caramel Thumbprint Cookies by Midlife Road Trip
- Best Ever Pecan Pie Bars by Shockingly Delicious
- Oreo Cheesecake Cookies by Baker Street
- Biscoff Pillow Cookies by by The Messy Baker Blog
- Mexican Hot Cocoa Cookies by Juanita’s Cocina
- Raspberry Thumbprints for my first #SundaySupper! by Kelly Bakes
- Tea Biscuits by My Cute Bride
- Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies by Mama Mommy Mom
- Lebanese Butter Cookies for the Christmas Season by The Catholic Foodie
- Almond Joy Macaroons by Cupcakes and Kale Chips
- Gluten Free Coconut Fruit Nut Cookies by Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
- Snowball Surprise Cookies by Family Foodie
Check out Cookielicious by Food Editor Janet K. Keeler from The Tampa Bay Times now while there is a special… Buy one Cookielicious Cookbook and get one for a friend!
Do you have a favorite cookie to take to a Cookie Exchange? Please join on us on Twitter throughout the day during #SundaySupper today (Dec. 9). We’ll cyber-meet at 4 p.m. PST for our weekly #SundaySupper live chat, when Janet Keeler, Food Editor at the Tampa Bay Times, will be chatting with us. We will be giving away 5 copies of her cookbook “Cookielicious,” during our chat ( U.S. residents only; winners will be chosen from participants during the chat.) All you have to do is follow the #SundaySupper hashtag or you can follow us through TweetChat.
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Okay…now you are just reading my mind. I was going through my recipes and ran across the one I have for pecan pie bars. That recipe uses a cake mix and I thought how great it would be to find one from scratch. And now it is here – YAY!
I had my first pecan pie bar about a month ago and when I took my first bite, I thought, ‘This is GENIUS.’ Clearly, I had been living under a rock until that moment. Thanks to you, I now am armed with the recipe!
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