Pecan Pie Bars

While it may seem that I have stopped baking/cooking... that is only partially true. I have been storing up for some holiday baking!! Here are some pecan pie bars that I made for work! I found the original recipe on Pinterest and I love making things in bar form - you can taste things before serving! Folks will be sure to notice a slice of pie missing!

I couldn't believe how easy these were to put together. I changed only the halved the recipe and used a 9x9 pan. I swapped heavy cream for light cream and dark brown sugar for light brown (since that was what I have). The dark brown sugar won't make a big difference except that the topping will be a bit darker and the taste may be a bit sweeter. I sliced the bars very small so it created about 35 bite size desserts.

All in all this took maybe an hour to make and at least half of it was the bars baking.

The bottom was similar to a shortbread. I would under cook the bars a little because the top does get a little crunchy/crispy if is cooked too long.

What would I do differently? I would make a bigger batch!

Add dough, its crumbly

Press down

Combine Butter, Brown Sugar, Honey, and Cream

Melted!

Pour onto the cooked shortbread

Bake!

Let it cool over night, remove from pan, slice and serve!

Pecan Pie Bars

Adapted from Just a Taste 

Ingredients:

For crust:

1 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

For topping:

1/2 stick unsalted butter

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 of 1/3 cup honey (approx 2 2/3 tbsp)

1 tablespoons light cream

1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a 9x9-inch pan with foil, with enough of an edge to be able to pull it out at the end.

Make the crust by creaming together the butter and brown sugar until fluffy in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add in the flour and salt and mix until crumbly.

Press the crust into the foil-lined pan and bake for 20 minutes until a light golden brown (it might not change color too much, but keep an eye out for the edges starting to get really brown, I took mine out at 17 minutes).

While the crust bakes (since it only took about 10 minutes to prepare the filling, I the stove on low and stirred occasionally until the crust was done), prepare the filling by combining the butter, brown sugar, honey and heavy cream in a saucepan and stirring constantly it over medium heat (it all melts and comes together). Simmer the mixture for 1 minute, and then stir in the chopped pecans.

Remove the crust from the oven and immediately pour the pecan filling over the hot crust spreading it to cover the entire surface. Return the pan to the oven and bake an additional 20 minutes.

Remove the pan and allow the bars to fully cool in the pan (I did over night on the counter).

Use the foil overhang to lift out the bars and transfer them to a cutting board. Peel off the foil, slice into bars and serve!