Pecan Pie Bars

Everyone’s favorite pie, now in hand-held form.

By The Good Housekeeping Test KitchenPublished: Aug 31, 2020

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Mike Garten

Yields:

Total Time:

1 hr

These bars use honey and dark brown sugar for gooey sweetness with rich caramel notes. A splash of bourbon in the filling for these pecan pie bars without corn syrup adds even more depth of flavor and that extra special something that’ll have everyone asking about your secret ingredient.

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Ingredients

For crust

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

For filling

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
2 Tbsp. bourbon
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3 cups pecan halves, roughly chopped

Directions

1. Step 1Heat oven to 350F. Lightly coat 9- by 13-in baking pan with cooking spray. Line with parchment, leaving an overhang on two long sides; spray parchment.
2. Step 2Make crust: Using an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar and salt until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed and gradually mix in flour until small clumps form. Press into bottom of prepared pan. Using fork, poke holes all over then bake until light golden brown, 20 to 25 min. Let cool while making filling.
3. Step 3Make filling: In small saucepan on low, combine butter, sugar, honey, bourbon, heavy cream and salt. Increase heat and bring to a boil; boil for 2 min. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, then fold in pecans.
4. Step 4Pour mixture over baked crust, return to oven and bake until nuts are golden brown and edges are bubbling, 25 to 30 min. Let cool completely in pan, then use overhangs to transfer to a cutting board and cut into pieces.