Name: Pecan Pie Bars
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 60 min
Ingredients: 1 sweet pie crust (store bought or homemade Recipe here ); 3/4 cup light brown sugar; 1/3 cup honey; 5 Tablespoons butter (unsalted); Pinch of salt; 1 teaspoon vanilla; 1 Tablespoon cream (optional); 2 eggs; 2 cups Pecans (whole or chopped)

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Pecan Pie Bars are a show stopping Holiday dessert that’s so easy to make and tastes so much better than store-bought. It tastes like the best pecan pie you’ve ever had but in the shape of cookie bars. We make our pecan pies with no corn syrup, we use honey caramel so it’s guaranteed tastier than any! Be sure to read step by step and video for the perfect pecan pie bars recipe.

Do you remember these Mini Pecan Pies? A recipe that we created years ago for social media only, and then wet viral on Instagram. So last year we decided to make a video and write the whole article on them. Today’s pecan pie bars are a derivative of that AMAZING pecan pie, yet cut into bars.

If you’ve shied from homemade pastry, try our fool proof Pie Dough which uses frozen butter grated into the flour. Guaranteed flakey! You can definitely use store bought however, we love the flakey no fail pie dough recipe above.

And if you love mini treats, make sure to try our Mini Cherry Pie, Mini Black Forest Cupcakes, Mini Cheesecakes, Mini Pavlova and much more.

Why You’ll Love This Pecan Pie Bare Recipe

They’re simply SO TASTY and delicious 💛 The caramel is made using some honey which adds a rich yet not to sweet flavor to the pecan pie bars.
You don’t need any fancy tools, it comes together in a saucepan if your crust is ready.
The recipe is SUPER easy to make!
You can easily double the recipe or half it for smaller crowds.
Likewise, you can easily make these in advance! Bonus: they freeze so well!
Pecan pie bars can be turned into Mini Pecan Pies for a swap in presentation.
The flavor of honey is so subtle yet rich, and yet you can swap it for Maple syrup if you love that taste.
The caramel is a no brainer one here with no thermometer or fuss neeeded.
No Corn syrup is used here, similar to our popular Easy Candy Apples so it’s healthier for you!
Pecan Pie Bars have a wonderful texture of crunchy pecans, soft caramel and flakey pie crust all in one bite!

Ingredients to Make Pecan Pie Bars

Have your Pie Dough prepared in advance. Watch the video, step by step and tips for this fool proof crust recipe which you’ll never believe how easy it is! I’ve bee teaching it at the cooking school and it’s SO popular!
Light Brown Sugar. It adds a rich flavor to the caramel because of the molasses.
Eggs. They bind the filling together while adding a rich taste to the pecan pie bars.
Honey. Instead of the corn syrup, the honey adds more nutritional value, taste and better consistency.
Butter. For richness and a toffee like caramel sauce flavor.
Vanilla. Flavoring ingreident, and you can add to that cinnamon if you’d like.
Cream. Optional for a luscious finish.
Salt. To spike the flavor
Pecans. Our hero nuts, which you can still substitute for cashews or walnuts or hazelnuts. You can use whole or chopped pecans here, we love whole.

How to Make Pecan Pie Bars

Make the Crust

You’ll start by fitting the pie crust into a 9 inch square pan, and trim any excess. The crust needs to be pre-baked for about 15 minutes at high temperature first before adding the filling. This ensures that the crust won’t be soggy.
Preheat the oven to 420 degrees, and bake the pie crust for just anout 15-18 minutes until it starts to have a light tan color, and feels set. It won’t be entirely cooked through. You’ll need the curst to cool down before adding the warm filling over it.

Make Pecan Pie Filling
To start making the filling, use a small sauce pan to melt in the butter, light brown sugar and honey. Have the pot over medium heat and stir using a whisk. You need to completely dissolve the brown sugar, otherwise you’ll have a gritty pecan pie filling. This takes about 2 minutes. The honey will also loosen up and the filling will be smooth.
Transfer the hot caramel to a large bowl, this helps it cool faster before adding the egg. If you add the egg to a hot caramel, they will get cooked and have an unpleasant texture and taste.
Start by adding in the vanilla, cream, salt and whisk well. The filling should be warm but not hot before adding in the eggs.
Add the eggs one at a time while continuously whisking to make sure it blends well into the filling without being cooked.
Finally add in the pecans. You can use chopped or whole. We love whole for aesthetic purposes only.

Bake the Pecan Pie Bars
Now pour the pecan pie filling over the cooled crust and take the pan bake into a 350 degrees oven.
The pecan pie bars will bake for about 35-40 minutes until you see the filling has set. It shouldn’t jiggle anymore, and it will look slightly poofed up.
It’s BEST to let the bars cool down entirely before slicing because the filling will still be soft and may smudge.
You can chill the pan in the fridge if you’re rushed to serve them or even in the freezer.
Cut the pecan pie bars into 2-3 inch squares (depending on your preference ) and serve them right away!

Pecan Pie Bars Tips and FAQ

Have your Pie Dough prepared in advance, it keeps in the freezer and fridge for a while. Alternatively you can use store bought.
Pre-baking the crust at high temperature before adding the filling ensures the crust never gets soggy.
Likewise waiting for 10 minutes for the caramel to cool before adding it over the crust is important to avoid a soggy crust.
When making the pecan pie filling, make sure to dissolve the sugar and honey and butter together. Otherwise the filling will have a gritty texture form the brown sugar.
To avoid waiting for the caramel to cool off, we transfer it to a larger bowl that’s cold and whisk it continuously.
Having a warm caramel and adding the eggs one at a time while whisking is key. This will guarantee the eggs don’t curdle and cook in the caramel.
You can flavor the caramel with spices if you like like apple spice, or just cinnamon.
Likewise, feel free to use hazelnuts, cashews or walnuts if you can’t have pecans or maybe want a variation on the recipe.
While we love the look of using whole pecans, you can just as well use chopped nuts.
When baking the filling into the crust, make sure you have dropped the oven temperature. This is because the crust will need a high temperature oven initially.
The filling will be set when the pecan pie bars are ready, but still too soft to cut when warm. So make sure the filing has cooled off completely before cutting.

How to Store Pecan Pie Bars

Once cooled, you can keep the bars at room temperature in a sealed container or well covered in a serving plate for 1 week. If you prefer a cold dessert, they can be refrigerated for up to 10 days and have a unique taste when cold.

Can you Freeze Pecan Pie Bars?

YES! Once cooled completely, cut them into squares and wrap each square with plastic wrap and freeze. Once frozen, place the squares in a ziploc bag and freeze them for upto 3 months. To enjoy them, thaw the bars at room temperature on the counter and enjoy. If you’d like to warm them up, you may place them wrapped in foil in a 350 degree oven for 7 minutes or air fryer for 2 minutes.

Which Pecan to use?

Chopped or whole pecans work just as well here, we however prefer whole pecans for aesthetic reasons. Both work well in the recipe.

Can I make this recipe into a Pecan Pie?

YES Totally! Use a 9 inch round pie dish and follow the recipe.

How to Double or Triple this Recipe?

Use 2 or 3 square pans and follow the recipe as is.

More Holiday Dessert Recipes

Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread

Apple Crumble

Homemade Caramel Sauce for Cinnamon Roll Pancakes for a Holiday breakfast the next day!

5 from 5 votes

Pecan Pie Bars

Pecan Pie Bars are a show stopping Holiday dessert that's so easy to make and tastes so much better than store-bought. It tastes like the best pecan pie you've ever had but in the shape of cookie bars. We make our pecan pies with no corn syrup, we use honey caramel so it's guaranteed tastier than any!

Course bars, cookies, Dessert, holiday, thanksgiving

Cuisine American

Keyword bars, Holiday dessert, how to make pecan pie, Pecan pie, pecan pie bars, pecan pie filling, pecan pie recipe, pecan recipes, pecans, Thanksgiving dessert

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Servings 12 bars

Calories 317 kcal

Author Mahy

Ingredients

Crust

1 sweet pie crust store bought or homemade Recipe here

Pecan Pie Filling

3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
5 Tablespoons butter unsalted
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon cream optional
2 eggs
2 cups Pecans whole or chopped

Instructions

Roll the crust and line a 9 inch baking pan with it.
Preheat the oven to 420 degrees F.
Use a fork to pierce the crust so that it doesn’t rise during baking.
Prebake the crust for 15-18 minutes only until it sets, but not fully golden.
Remove the crust and let it cool.
To make the filling: In a medium saucepan, add the butter, light brown sugar and honey.
Cook them over medium heat until the sugar has completely dissolved: this takes about 2 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and pour the mixture into a cold bowl.
Add vanilla, salt and cream. Whisk them well.
Add the eggs when the mixture has cooled slightly (3 minutes later) and whisk it in, one at a time.
Finally add in the pecans and toss them well with the mixture.
Pour the pecan honey mix right over the cooled crust.
Drop the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
Bake the pecan pie bars fro 30-35 minutes until the filling has set and no longer jiggles.
Cool the pecan pie bars in the pan for 30 minutes before attempting to slice them.
You can alternatively cool them in the fridge or freezer if you’re rushed.
When they have cooled down, slice into squares and enjoy!

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes