Shortbread Crust
I have been craving pecan pie lately. Bad. Sometimes you just get a hankering for certain foods so you gotta make them to feed the craving. But, instead of a pie, I figured I’d go with some bars. I decided to go with a shortbread crust for this recipe for pecan pie bars. It makes it super easy to slice and serve. 
Pecan Pie Bars
These were amazing to eat while warm but I thought they were equally delicious served at room temperature. Want to mix some sweet and salty? Try adding a little bit of crushed, salted pretzels. It really makes a tasty combination.
Also, if you want a deeper flavor, try using a dark corn syrup or dark brown sugar. It adds a deeper, molasses flavor to the bars. 
Ingredients:
for the shortbread crust:
1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter, melted
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
for the filling:
1 ½ cup chopped pecans
2 eggs
½ cup (packed) brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
¼ cup all-purpose flour
Directions:
Preheat oven to 300f degrees. Line the bottom of an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper. In a small bowl, mix butter, sugar, vanilla, and flour until you have a thick, sticky dough. 
Press into the bottom of prepared baking dish in a single thin layer and bake at 300f degrees for 10-15 minutes.
In a large bowl, mix eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup, and flour until combined. Fold in chopped pecans.
When shortbread layer is done, remove from the oven and pour over your pecan mixture. Raise the oven temperature to 350 degrees, and bake again for 25-30 minutes or until top is golden and crispy.
Take out, cool for a few minutes.
Then cut into squares.
Then dig in!
Enjoy!
Fudge-Filled Peanut Butter Bars
Chocolate Chip Caramel Butter Bars
Easy Southern Pecan Pie Bars with Shortbread Crust
Print Pin RateIngredients
- for the shortbread crust:
- 1 stick 1/2 cup salted butter, melted
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- for the filling:
- 1 ½ cup chopped pecans
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300f degrees. Line the bottom of an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper. In a small bowl, mix butter, sugar, vanilla, and flour until you have a thick, sticky dough.
- Press into the bottom of prepared baking dish in a single thin layer and bake at 300f degrees for 10-15 minutes.
- In a large bowl, mix eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup, and flour until combined. Fold in chopped pecans.
- When shortbread layer is done, remove from the oven and pour over your pecan mixture. Raise the oven temperature to 350 degrees, and bake again for 25-30 minutes or until top is golden and crispy.
- Take out, cool for a few minutes.
- Then cut into squares.
Albert Bevia says
OMG…I don´t think it get´s better than this! these southern pecan pie bars look amazing, I could easily wolf down a bunch of those, and that shortbread crust recipe is a keeper for so many other dessert recipes…great stuff 🙂
Elaine says
Those look delicious , but what has happened to cause pecans to become a luxury item? A little 6 oz bag of pecans is $5.99 at my local store so not even a measuring cup full.
Brandie @ The Country Cook says
Yikes! That is expensive! A couple of suggestions. If you have an Aldi grocery store – buy your pecans there. Much cheaper. Also, think about maybe buying in bulk. It is also a cheaper alternative. Nuts can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 years. Hope that helps!
Elaine says
I went to Aldi yesterday and found the 6 oz cellophane bag was %.99 for whole pecans and $5.69 for chopped. I don’t know if that is regional thing or what. I am in SE Ohio.I will save the recipe and hope for a better price somewhere down the line.
Brandie @ The Country Cook says
You might be right, it could be a regional thing for sure! If you see them go down in price, definitely buy in bulk, then freeze! 🙂
Julie @ Back To My Southern Roots says
These look so good! I love pecans. My dad gets them when he drives through Georgia and shares with us. Aldi’s is a great place to get pecans. I bought a lot there this past Christmas.
Marie says
These look divine and the step by step photos are so helpful
Carlee says
They do look delicious! I love being able to press in the crust rather than roll and cut it too, so these are perfect!
Mother of 3 says
Those look sooo good! I love pecan pie and must try these. Pinned.
Trudy says
do you think it is possible to put all the ingredients and directions into a normal copy or print format – scrolling through the pics and not being able to come back to is rather peculiar way of keeping a recipe unless I am missing something? Can you just print it?
Brandie @ The Country Cook says
Hi Trudy! At the bottom of every recipe post, there is a printable recipe copy. You’ll see a smaller thumbnail photo and just beneath that, you’ll see a button that says “print”. Just click on that and you’ll get a one page printable recipe that you can view and print. Hope that helps!
Nirali Gandhi says
How do I substitute eggs in pecan pie bar recipe?
Brandie @ The Country Cook says
What do you normally use to substitute eggs? I’m sorry I don’t have a suggestion for you as I’ve only ever made it this way. Maybe someone else on here will have a good suggestion! 🙂
SweetSevenCakes says
I followed all the steps but sadly, mine turned out runny.
Angela D Thetford says
I had to cook mine longer. I ended up cooking for total of 45 minutes. I covered it with aluminum foil after 30 minutes and just checked it every 5 minutes until top didnt move
Sabra says
Light brown sugar or Dark brown sugar?
Bruce says
I liked the idea of this recipe but something was off. It was waaay too runny, even though I cooked it longer than recommended and I even tried to chill if afterwards to compensate. I would say more egg and even some butter. All pecan pies have melted butter in them. Any thoughts?
Thank!
ginger says
Fabulous recipe – These turned out perfectly and were so easy for me to bring to a holiday pot luck without having to deal with a pan that needed to be brought home. This recipe is my new “go to” pecan pie recipe.
Pamela says
Help!!!
Love pecan pie like crazy. Decided to try the bars, which are delicious. However, this is my second batch, and the crust still seems undercooked. This time, I baked for 13 minutes, instead of 10 like last. Also, I doubled batch. Wouldn’t matter on baking time, would it? And, I used dark karo and dark brown sugar. (Wouldn’t think that would make a difference, either?)
I don’t bake much, but trying new recipes.
Sincerely,
Desperate from Odessa
Brandie @ The Country Cook says
Hi Pamela,
The dark syrup and brown sugar have more molasses in them and it makes the batter more “wet” which seeps into the crust and therefore makes the crust more moist. Therefore, it’ll take longer to bake and the for the crust to set up properly. Then you run the risk of burning the tops while waiting for the crust to set. :/