Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars with Crunchy Pecans Recipe
These Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars combine a buttery shortbread crust with a rich, gooey filling packed with toasted pecans and semisweet chocolate chips. Perfectly baked to a set consistency and finished with an optional flaky salt sprinkle, these bars offer a delightful twist on traditional pecan pie in an easy-to-serve format.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 16 servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar (packed)
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter (one stick), cubed and cold
Filling
- 1 ¾ cups pecan halves
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- Flaky salt for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line the bottom of a 9x9 inch pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy removal. Spray the pan lightly with cooking spray to prevent sticking.
- Toast Pecans: Place pecan halves in a dry skillet over medium heat. Toast them, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes or until they turn a light brown color and emit a fragrant aroma. Be vigilant to prevent burning. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
- Chop Pecans: Once cooled, roughly chop the toasted pecans and set them aside for the filling.
- Make Shortbread Crust: In a food processor, pulse together the flour, brown sugar, and salt until combined. Add the cold, cubed butter and pulse again until the mixture resembles coarse sand and is evenly coated. The dough should appear dry but hold together slightly when pressed.
- Bake Crust: Press the crust mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until the crust is slightly golden brown.
- Prepare Filling: In a medium bowl, whisk together the light corn syrup, brown sugar, melted butter, vanilla extract, and salt until smooth and combined.
- Add Eggs and Mix-Ins: Whisk the room temperature eggs into the corn syrup mixture until fully incorporated. Gently fold in the chopped toasted pecans and chocolate chips.
- Assemble and Bake: Pour the filling evenly over the baked crust in the pan and spread to smooth out. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until the filling is set and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 200°F (93°C).
- Cool and Serve: Remove the bars from the oven and, if desired, sprinkle with flaky salt. Allow the bars to cool completely, at least 2 hours, to set before lifting them out using the parchment overhang and slicing into 16 servings.
Notes
- If you don’t have a food processor, mix the crust ingredients by hand using a pastry cutter or two knives, cutting the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse sand.
- Allowing the pecans to cool fully after toasting prevents them from melting the butter in the filling mixture.
- Using room temperature eggs helps the filling mix evenly.
- Flaky salt sprinkled on top adds a delightful contrast to the sweet filling but is optional.
- Ensure the bars cool completely to allow the filling to firm up for clean slicing.