Pecan Pie Bars   marydukecooks.com

Pecan Pie Bars are a delicious pick-up dessert for a party or family gathering. They can be prepared, cut, and placed on a serving tray days before the event. Some pecan pie bars are dry and crumbly. This recipe has a thick gooey filling with crunchy, toasted, sugared pecans. The best part is the compliments you will receive when your friends and family taste them!

Pecan Pie Bars

Crust
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
¼ teaspoon iodized salt
11 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, sliced

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 9 X 13-inch pan with 2 sheets of parchment paper. (Cut one sheet to fit vertically and cut the other sheet to fit horizontally. Cut paper long enough to hang over the sides of the pan to use as handles for easy removal.)

Mix flour, brown sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter until butter is the size of coarse crumbs. Pour crust into prepared pan and level. (Make sure there aren’t any thin spots or places where the crust doesn’t cover the bottom of the pan or the filling will go under, instead of on top of, the crust!) Press crust with bottom of a measuring cup to compact. Bake 15 minutes. Make filling while crust is baking.

Pecan Pie Filling

1 cup packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs
½ cup light corn syrup
⅓cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 ½ cups chopped pecans

In a mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, eggs, corn syrup, butter, and vanilla. Mix with a mixer 2 minutes until frothy. Stir in pecans making sure all pecans are coated with filling. Pour filling into hot crust and bake 30-35 minutes or until set. (It won’t jiggle in the middle when pan is gently shaken.)

Cool completely then refrigerate until cold before cutting. To cut bars: remove pan from refrigerator and take the entire 13 X 9-inch dessert out of pan using parchment paper handles. Set on a cutting board and cut into bars. Place on a serving tray. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the day you plan to use them. Serve at room temperature. Makes 12 to 24 bars depending on the size they are cut. Happy Baking!

Published in The News and Neighbor on November 7, 2018