Sweet, buttery and decadent, these pecan pie bars are perfect for the holidays. Plus they’re so much easier to make than traditional pecan pie with an easy press-in crust and a one-bowl, custard like filling. There are so many similar recipes for pecan pie bars online, but mine has all the hacks and variations to save you time and headache.

One of the most valuable tips in this pecan pie bar recipe is to grease and prepare your pan to ensure that the sweet and sticky bars are easy to get out of the pan after baking. I use butter and a left over butter wrapper to grease and then line both the sides and the bottom of the baking dish with parchment paper. Simply cool, lift and cut into bars!

You can make these pecan pie bars up to 3 days in advance and store in the fridge until serving. They also freeze incredibly well. Just remove them from the freezer and thaw in the fridge the day before serving.

Pecan Pie Bars Recipe:
In this recipe I am using a 9×7 inch baking pan to get thicker bars (I like a gooey center and to see all those layers). But, if you like them thinner or want them to cook faster, you can also use a standard 9×13 baking pan. I made them both ways and they are equally as delicious. I’ll leave instructions for both options.

Crust Ingredients:
1¾ cups all purpose flour 
½ cup sugar 
¾ cup cold butter cut into cubes

Filling & Topping Ingredients:
⅔ cup firmly packed brown sugar
⅓ cup + 1 tbsp flour 
4 large eggs 
1 tablespoon vanilla extract 
½ tsp salt 
1½ cups dark corn syrup
2 cups pecans roughly chopped

Step 1:
Prepare your baking dish by lightly greasing and covering the sides and bottom with parchment paper. This will make the pecan pie bars much easier to lift out of the pan and cut once cooled. 

Step 2:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F for a glass baking pan or 350 degrees F for a metal baking pan.

Step 3:
Make the crust by mixing together the flour and sugar until all lumps are gone, then adding the cubes of butter. I did this in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. You can also pulse the ingredients in a food processor, or mix by hand, by crumbling the butter cubes in your hands and rubbing it through the flour mixture. Mix until it looks like a dry coarse meal. It will not stick together yet.

Step 4:
Pour the crumb mixture into the prepared baking pan and firmly, press down into the pan. (I used a mini rolling pin to evenly distribute the crust on the bottom later). Bake until edges start to turn lightly golden. The rest of the crust will still look pale. Bake time is 30 minutes if using a 9×7 inch pan or 20 minutes if using a 9×13 inch pan. 

Step 5:
While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment (or by hand), mix together flour and brown sugar until all lumps are gone. Whisk in eggs, vanilla, salt and corn syrup until evenly combined. Let it sit, stirring occasionally to remove the bubbles at the top. When the crust comes out of the oven, stir in chopped pecans and pour the mixture over the crust while still piping hot.

Step 5:
Bake until the filling is set. This is approximately 60-65 minutes for a 9×7 inch pan, 40-45 minutes for a 13×9 inch pan. The bake time varies a little depending on your bakeware. To see if the filling has set, jiggle the pan and it should be a Jello or jelly-like consistency in the middle, not soupy or sloshy. I prefer it slightly firmer, to make it easier to cut the bars later.

Step 6:
Cool to room temperature on the counter. Then chill further in the fridge several hours (or preferably overnight) before cutting.

Step 7:
Cut pecan pie bars by running a butter knife around the edges of the pan in between the parchment paper and the pan. Lift up the parchment paper to remove from pan, transfer to a cutting board. Use a sharp serrated knife to delicately saw through the pecan layer, then push down firmly to cut bars into small squares. Store in the fridge until serving. Serve at room temperature. Enjoy!