I made these yesterday right before starting a huge smoke emergency in our house.
The reasoning behind them was twofold. Desserts bars are generally easy to travel with, plus they look completely decadent. Also, pecans are one of the few nuts that I think make food better. Walnuts in brownies? Blech! They just ruin a perfectly good dessert.
Anyways, these were a cinch to make (i.e. making them did not result in any fires).
Pecan Pie Bars
adapted from Brown Eyed Baker
For the Crust
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup light corn syrup
- 2 Tbsp butter, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
- 1 3/4 cup coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate
Preheat the oven to 350°.
To make the crust, grease a 9″x13″ pan. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, butter, and brown sugar with a fork, your fingers, or a pastry cutter until you have crumbly mixture. Press into the baking pan with your fingers and bake 12-15 minutes until it’s light brown.
To make the filling, combine the eggs, sugar, corn syrup, butter, and vanilla in a bowl. Whisk until fully incorporated. Fold in the pecans and chocolate chunks. Pour the filling onto the crust and spread evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes until set.
Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.