These pecan pie cookie bars have toasted crunchy pecans with a gooey, rich, caramel filing in a brown butter shortbread cookie crust!
These pecan pie bars are a fun addition to the Thanksgiving dessert table. But they're also perfect for Christmas or anytime of year really!
You might also like these chai spice cookies or these butter pecan cupcakes!
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Ingredient Notes
You just need a few simple ingredients to make these pecan cookie bars!
Brown Butter - My favorite ingredient of all time is brown butter!! Brown butter is just unsalted butter that has been melted and gently cooked to bring out a toasty, nutty flavor. If you've never made brown butter before, you can check out this post with all my tips for how to make brown butter!
Pecans - I like using toasted unsalted pecans for the filling and whole raw pecan halves for arranging on top! If you want to arrange pecans on top, you'll need about 1 ½ cups of whole pecan halves.
Eggs - The eggs are essential for binding the filling together.
Corn Syrup - The corny syrup not only sweetens the filling, but helps hold it together and also prevents crystallization while the cookie bars bake. I prefer using dark corn syrup because it has a richer flavor, but light corn syrup works too.
Brown Sugar - I like using brown sugar for that little extra molasses flavor, but regular granulated sugar works too.
Cinnamon - This is optional, but I like adding in a pinch of cinnamon for that warming fall flavor.
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
Optional Add-Ins
- Different flavorings! Add in ½ teaspoon of maple extract or rum extract. Or 1 tablespoon of bourbon!
- Add chocolate! Add ½ cup of chocolate chips to make chocolate pecan pie bars.
- Use a variety of nuts! Replace up to 1 cup of the pecans with chopped walnuts, almonds, pistachios, or hazelnuts!
How to Make Pecan Pie Bars
In a large bowl, cream together the softened brown butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt until combined. Then mix in the flour until the dough comes together into a ball.
Line a 9x9 inch square cake pan with parchment paper. To make a parchment sling, cut the parchment paper slightly smaller than the width of the cake pan and make sure it fits flatly in the bottom. Then lightly spray the bottom and sides of the pan with a vegetable oil based spray (I love Bakers Joy or Everbake). Place you parchment paper sling in the bottom of the pan and smooth it out so that it sticks to the pan spray (you can use metal binder clips to secure it to the pan). After baking you’ll be able to just slide the pecan pie bars right out of the pan!
Press the dough into your lined baking pan and smooth into an even layer. Poke a few holes in the dough with a fork to allow air to escape while baking.
Let the cookie crust chill in the fridge for about 20 minutes to firm up before baking.
While the crust is chilling preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake the crust at 350°F for 15 minutes or until the top is lightly browned.
Remove from the oven and let cool slightly while you make the filling.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the corn syrup, eggs, melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until combined and smooth.
Add the chopped toasted pecans to the slightly cooled cookie crust.
Pour the filling evenly over the pecans.
If desired, add the whole pecan halves on top and arrange into a pattern.
Bake at 350°F for 45-60 minutes or until the filling is set. It should jiggle just slightly when jostled. If the top of the cookie bars are getting too dark during baking, you can loosely tent the pie with aluminum foil for the remainder of the baking time.
Remove from the oven and allow the bars to cool completely to room temperature (at least 4 hours) in the baking pan before slicing. Top with flaky sea salt if desired.
Once cool, use the parchment paper sling to pull the pecan cookies out of the pan and then slice into bars.
You can also cut the pecan pie cookie bars into smaller squares if desired!
Tips for the Best Brownies!
(and blondies too!)
Use room temperature ingredients! Always make sure ingredients like butter, eggs, milk, etc. are at room temperature before baking (unless the recipe indicates otherwise)! This ensures they'll incorporate into the batter more easily and leads to overall better texture. Remove all ingredients from the fridge 30 minutes to an hour before baking for best results.
Measure your flour correctly! It's most accurate to use a kitchen scale, but if you're measuring by volume you want to spoon and level! Fluff up the flour a bit with a spoon, and then spoon flour into the measuring cup. Once it's overflowing, use the back of a knife to level it off. Don't ever pack flour into the measuring cup or you'll end up with way too much! Improperly measured flour can lead to dry, dense baked goods. Same goes for cocoa powder!
Use an oven thermometer! Just because your oven says it's 350, doesn't mean it is! If you oven hasn't been calibrated recently, it can be as much as 30 degrees off, which will negatively affect all baked goods from cakes to macarons! An oven thermometer is the easiest/cheapest way to ensure your oven is always at the proper temperature.
Use a metal baking pan! Not all materials are created equal when it comes to baking. Metal cake pans conduct heat much better than other materials like glass or ceramic, so your baked goods will cook faster and more evenly!
It's better to undercook the brownies slightly, than overcook them! Brownies will dry out quick, so it's best to err on the side of caution when baking brownies! Bake just until an inserted toothpick comes out mostly clean but still a tad gooey. If you aren't sure, just go ahead and take them out because they'll continue to firm up as they cool. Note: the larger the pan, the less time the brownies will take to cook.
Be patient and let them cool. Warm brownies fresh out of the oven are delish, I know. But it's best to let them fully cool before digging in. The brownies will be less likely to crumble when you cut them and the center is more likely to be fully cooked while still being perfectly fudgy.
Special Equipment
Recipe FAQ's
Store covered in the fridge for up to 4 days. I like to remove them from the fridge for an hour before serving.
Yes, these pecan pie bars can be made up to 4 days in advance and stored in the fridge! They're perfect to make ahead for Thanksgiving dessert!
Yes! These pecan pie cookie bars freeze great! Let the pie bars cool completely and then cut into slices. Then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Let thaw in the fridge overnight.
The pecan pie filling should be a bit gooey, but never runny. If your pie bars are runny it's either because they didn't bake long enough or they still need more time to cool completely to fully set up. You can chill the bars in the fridge for a few hours to help the filling set more quickly.
No, you can use regular unsalted butter if you prefer! I just love the extra flavor that brown butter adds!
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
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Recipe Card
Pecan Pie Cookie Bars
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Brown Butter Crust
- 1 cup unsalted brown butter, room temperature
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups all purpose flour
Pecan Pie Filling
- 1 cup dark corn syrup
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups toasted pecans, roughly chopped
- 1 ½ cups whole pecan halves, for topping
- flaky sea salt, for topping
Instructions
Brown Butter Crust
- In a large bowl, cream together the softened brown butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt until combined. Then mix in the flour until the dough comes together into a ball.
- Line a 9x9 inch square cake pan with parchment paper. To make a parchment sling, cut the parchment paper slightly smaller than the width of the cake pan and make sure it fits flatly in the bottom. Then lightly spray the bottom and sides of the pan with a vegetable oil based spray (I love Bakers Joy or Everbake). Place you parchment paper sling in the bottom of the pan and smooth it out so that it sticks to the pan spray (you can use metal binder clips to secure it to the pan). After baking you’ll be able to just slide the pecan pie bars right out of the pan!
- Press the dough into your lined baking pan and smooth into an even layer. Poke a few holes in the dough with a fork to allow air to escape while baking.
- Let the cookie crust chill in the fridge for about 20 minutes to firm up before baking.
- While the crust is chilling preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake the crust at 350°F for 15 minutes or until the top is lightly browned.
- Remove from the oven and let cool slightly while you make the filling.
Pecan Pie Filling
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the corn syrup, eggs, melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until combined and smooth.
- Add the chopped toasted pecans to the slightly cooled cookie crust.
- Pour the filling evenly over the pecans.
- If desired, add the whole pecan halves on top and arrange into a pattern.
- Bake at 350°F for 45-60 minutes or until the filling is set. It should jiggle just slightly when jostled. If the top of the cookie bars are getting too dark during baking, you can loosely tent the pie with aluminum foil for the remainder of the baking time.
- Remove from the oven and allow the bars to cool completely to room temperature (at least 4 hours) in the baking pan before slicing. Top with flaky sea salt if desired.
- Once cool, use the parchment paper sling to pull the pecan cookies out of the pan and then slice into bars.
- You can also cut the pecan pie cookie bars into smaller squares if desired!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Andrea says
Can the recipe be doubled for a 9x13? Would baking times double?
Kyleigh Sage says
Yes I like to double it for a 9x13! The baking time doesn't quite double, start by increasing for 5-10 minutes and check to see if a toothpick comes out clean.
Alison says
These were SO YUM!! The dates seriously took it to the next level!
Brianna says
One of my favorite pies in cookie form!
Jessica Stroup says
AMAZING! So, So, So GOOD! And your pictures are stunning!
Jessie says
These cookie bars look amazing! Browned butter is one of those flavors I never get tired of!
Gourmet Vegetarians says
This sound ridiculously good. Love any kind of baking with pecans in it!
Lindsay says
These are a dream!
Tiffany Smith says
I enjoy the tips and explanations of the terms. Newbie in the kitchen and I usually spend way too much time trying to figure out what the steps actually mean! LOL
Katie says
This looks so good and I love your tip for getting the bars out of the pan easily!