Pecan Pie Bars Recipe

Let me share my thoughts on this really great pecanpie bars. First, you have to have the right size jelly roll pan! I used a 12X18 inch dark metal pan. I lined the pan with parchment paper (Make sure it goes up on all four sides, if not and it 'leaks' it WILL stick! But not where the paper is covered.) DO NOT GREASE/BUTTER PAPER! Since, my pan was dark, I lowered the temperature to 325. And I did not have any boil-over. Now, here is how I 'tweaked' the recipe. In the crust I used real butter and had it soft, I used 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar, instead of white;omit the salt. Then sprinkle into pan and press firmly making as even as possible. Since the filling was similar to my pecan pie recipe, I used 5 eggs, increased pecans to 3 cups, threw in a handful of left-over chocolate chips that I had on hand. I baked the crust 15 minutes; then put on the filling and baked it 27 minutes (electric oven). These are truly a "keeper" and were enjoyed by family. But if your pan is not large enough, please stick to the others who used a 9X13 pan. Either way, I don't think you will be disappointed. But do use the parchment paper, it makes a big difference.

Excellent recipe! I cater, and my clients asked me to keep these in regular rotation. Per suggestions, I also used half brown sugar and half white sugar for the filling, plus butter instead of margarine. I suggest using the large disposable foil pans found at Sam's Club or Wal-Mart. There is no run-over or clean-up required. Pam eliminates sticking troubles. I did bake the crust for 20 minutes, per the recipe. After topping with the filling, I baked the bars for 45 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time to ensure even cooking. There is no way that these bars could be cooked in 25 minutes, per the recipe (unless you expect to eat the bars with a spoon). To test for doneness, gently shake the pan. If the filling jiggles, keep baking. If you get just a slight bit of movement at the center, the bars are ready to be taken out of the oven. You don't want to cook them until there is no movement. At that point, they'll be too dry. When the bars are done cooking, cool on the counter for about 30 minutes before refrigerating for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Don't worry about the crunchy edges. As with brownies, lots of people like the crunchy edge. The center is still nice and gooey, yet not requiring utensils or a napkin. Also, don't be worried by the texture of the crust when you're mixing it. It seems too crumbly, but once it cooks and the filling is poured on top, it is a wonderful buttery shortbread consistency.

Read many many notes. First 3 times, I made them in a rectangular cake pan. Edges were too brown. Had to cook longer than recipe said. Last time, made them in a jelly roll pan, and they came very gooey on the bottom. I don't know how that happened. Despite all this, everyone in the family loves them, and requests them whenever we visit, which is a mixed blessing. Used half corn syrup and half whiskey-barrel aged maple syrup, and it was delicious.

Delicious! I cut the sugar in the crust to 1/4 cup, cut the corn syrup in the filling to 1 cup, used brown sugar in the filling and cut it to 1 cup. Very yummy and not too sweet

Loved this. Makes a huge batch. I nearly doubled pecans and vanilla (which is what I always do when I make pecan pie). I used 11 x 17 sheet pan, but I still baked longer than recipe states. I also cut in smaller sized pieces (and served in cupcake papers on a tray). Big hit with everyone.

Made mostly as directed: lined a 13x9 pan with non-stick foil, and made Christal88's recipe for the crust. For the filling: 3 eggs, butter, 1c. natural sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Baked around 30+ min until set, since it's a 9x13 they are thick and need more time! My husband loved them, nice thick and chewy with hard crunchy edges. Foil peeled right off and they were easy to cut, out of the pan on a cutting board! Better than a pie! IMHO.

I would call this more of a candy than a bar. Too sweet unless you cut in bite size pieces. I would use less sugar next time and more nuts. I toasted the nuts, used butter and 1/2 brown 1/2 white sugar. Made half a recipe in 8x8. Baked crust 20 minutes and filling 30.

I have made these several times for holidays and special occasions, and they always get rave reviews. The way that the recipe is written, I would probably give 4 stars. I’ve made a couple of alterations over the years that make these 5-star worthy. The most important is USE BUTTER, not margarine. I do also usually cut the amount of sugar down from 1.5 cups to 1 cup because the corn syrup adds so much sweetness, and I like to use brown sugar instead of white. I even accidentally forgot sugar entirely one time and they were still plenty sweet! I buy bags of pecan halves or pecan pieces and don’t chop them any smaller. I don’t have a jelly roll pan, so I usually use a 13x9 cake pan, and they still come out great. I sometimes have to bake for a little longer since they do come out thicker that way, but I like them a bit thicker anyway. These are one of my favorite desserts and they’re pretty simple to put together!

This is now the only thing I’m “required” to bring to holiday gatherings! I’ve altered a bit over the years, and it’s wonderful every time! I bake the crust about 25-30 min, until it’s crusty? I use a 10 x 15 dish. Pack it really tight. For the filling I use light & dark corn syrup (half and half) and also mix brown & white sugar. I cook the second time for close to 30 min, everyone loves the caremelized edge pieces! I get 48 pieces. Thanks for sharing this! Sure saves me having to make 3 pecan pies each holiday!

Made this based on 24 servings and used a 9x13 pan. Sub half the sugar for the filling with brown sugar. Next time I will cut the sugar down in the filling as suggested by some (cut down 1/3?). Used butter instead of margarine. Used 3 eggs. Added a pinch of salt with the pecans and syrup. Cut into small squares as even one is very rich. Lined pan with parchment paper and didn't spray.

These pecan pie bars were wonderful! Pecan pie has been on the Thanksgiving menu my entire life. My mother passed away three years ago and I've taken over the holiday meal, but I cannot make pie crust to save my life, and I don't care for store bought (spoiled by my mom's excellent homemade crust). We have missed having pecan pie the last two years, so when I saw this recipe with such good reviews, I decided to give it a try. I am happy to say that we were all pleasantly surprised and actually liked this better (sorry, Mom!). I only made two changes based on other reviews. I used half white and half brown sugars in the filling and I lined my 10x15 jelly roll pan with parchment paper (sides standing up in case of any filling cooking over). I baked it for 25 minutes and opted to tack on an additional 3 minutes which was perfect - just a slight jiggle in the center. I cooled it on a rack, then put it in the fridge for maybe 2 hours. The bars lifted out of the pan perfectly and a chef knife cut through cleanly. These will be on the Thanksgiving day menu from now on.

Tastes like flour, sugar and pecans.

Soooooo good!!!

It took another 10-15 minutes to x get it to set. My I’ve;is snow and accurate.

Made these for an open house last night and everyone LOVED them! I followed the recipe exactly including the pan size. I was a little nervous the filling would overflow the pan, but it didn’t. * it did require about 45 minutes in the oven, though, instead of the suggested 25

I read other comments and decided from the first time I made it to make a change by substituting all of the filling sugar with brown sugar. I also increased the vanilla to 2 tsp.

This made my day! 😍

I have made this several times now!!

I love it! Changed only 2 things. Half white half brown sugar as suggested by others. Real butter. Had to use dark karo because that’s what I had. 23 minutes for my final bake in a 12x15 cookie sheet.

Made it for dinner, ended up eating the whole batch.