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Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars are a new twist on the classic holiday dessert! An easy shortbread crust topped with sweet filling, chocolate chips and tons of pecans, these Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars are great for Thanksgiving or any time of the year. Perfectly portable, hand-held pecan pie!
Dessert is always the one thing everyone looks forward to. You know it, I know it .. ask any random person on the street and the answer will almost always be the same… dessert is where IT is at!!
But pecan pie?? Why mess with pecan pie?… it’s not like you can’t reinvent the wheel, can you? Oh yes you CAN!! I give you… Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars!!
WHAT IS PECAN PIE?
Pecan pie is traditionally classified a ‘sugar pie’ and calling for the use of corn syrup and mixed with eggs, sugar, butter and pecans. It is most often served during the holidays but is a delicious dessert to serve up anytime of the year.
WHY ARE PECAN PIE BARS BETTER?
These chocolate pecan pie bars are a dream come true when it comes to easy Thanksgiving desserts. While everyone is serving up the same ol’ pecan pie, surprise everyone with a new twist on their favorite turkey day dessert.
- These pecan pie bars are handheld and completely portable. You aren’t stuck at the dinner table with Aunt Martha who already had too much wine and talks about her magnet collection.
- They are packed with all of the classic pecan pie flavors that you crave.
- Pumpkin pie is overrated. I said it.
- If you serve them cut up on a plate, no one will ever know how many you really ate when you were in the kitchen unsupervised.
- There are no plates, no forks, no mess to clean up after you serve these pecan pie bars… just your hands!
- Shortbread crust is life! Buttery, tender and the perfect foundation to hold all of the sweetness these bars deliver.
To make these Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars, you will need:
- All purpose flour – keeping it simple with all purpose!
- Sugar – adds sweetness to the crust
- Butter – brings all the buttery flavor to the foundation
- Milk – adds a bit of moisture
- Salt – every dessert needs a bit of salt for balance
- Brown sugar – brown sugar brings the molasses flavor to the party
- Eggs – adds moisture, stability and helps bind our filling
- Dark corn syrup – dark sweetness
- Vanilla extract – adds another layer of flavor
- Chocolate chips – because chocolate makes everything better
- Chopped pecans – rough chopped so you know you are biting into a pecan!
HOW DO YOU MAKE CHOCOLATE PECAN PIE BARS?
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with cooking spray then line it with parchment paper, letting it hang over the sides to make it easy to lift out your pecan bars.
Add your pecans to the baking pan and toast them for 5 minutes in the oven. This will really bring out their flavor. Once toasted, move them to a small bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and sugar together to make your crust. If you have a food processor, pour in the flour mixture and add in the milk and butter chunks. Pulse until it resembles course sand.
If you do not want to use a food processor, add the milk and butter to your flour mixture and kneed all ingredients together with your hands until it all incorporates into a sand like consistency.
Transfer the shortbread crust to the baking pan and press it down firmly and evenly. Bake for 20 minutes.
While the crust is baking, using a hand mixer combine the flour, brown sugar, melted butter, vanilla and salt together in that same large mixing bowl you used before.
Mix in the eggs, one by one and then the corn syrup.
Using a spatula, stir in the chocolate morsels and pecans. Let this filling stand for 15 minutes while your crust is cooking.
Once the crust has cooked, remove and pour the filling on top of the crust.
Return to the oven for another 45 minutes and when done, remove from oven and sprinkle with extra chocolate chips and chopped pecans.
Let cool completely before removing the bars from pan. Once cool, pull up on parchment paper and remove.
Cut into bars and serve. Store in air tight container in the refrigerator.
PRO TIPS FOR PERFECT PECAN BARS
- Be sure to use cold butter for the shortbread crust. Cold butter helps with the crumb texture.
- Don’t skip the step of letting your pecan pie bar filling rest for 15 minutes. Your filling with thicken as it sits and you want that to happen.
- Don’t want to add chocolate chips? No worries, leave them out and your pecan pie bars will still be amazing!
- Your bars need to cool completely before cutting into them. Cutting them while they are still warm could leave them falling apart.
STORING LEFTOVER BARS
Chocolate pecan pie bars are the perfect make ahead holiday dessert.
Simply prepare you bars a day or two ahead, let them cool completely then wrap them in plastic wrap and store in the fridge until ready to serve.
They will keep for up to five days stored this way.
HOW TO FREEZE PECAN PIE BARS
Really want to get a jump on your holiday baking? Start early! Prepare these bars and freeze them.
Bake them, let them cool completely, cut them into squares then wrap them in plastic wrap before placing them in a freezer bag before moving them to your freezer.
The day before you are ready to serve them, move them to the refrigerator to thaw completely.
MORE HOLIDAY DESSERTS YOU WILL LOVE
- Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake
- Pumpkin Cobbler with Bourbon Salted Caramel Sauce
- Cranberry Walnut Apple Slab Pie
- Pumpkin Crunch Cake
- Easy Apple Pear Crisp
- Pumpkin Monkey Bread with Salted Caramel Glaze
Enjoy!
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Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust
- 1-3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup cold butter, cut into chunks
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons milk
Pecan Pie Filling
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- 2/3 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup dark corn syrup
- 2/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate morsels
- 2 cups pecan chopped
- extra pecans and chocolate chips for garnish .. optional but why not?
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with cooking spray then line it with parchment paper, letting it hang over the sides to make it easy to lift out your pecan bars.
- Add your pecans to the baking pan and toast them for 5 minutes in the oven. This will really bring out their flavor. Once toasted, move them to a small bowl and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and sugar together to make your crust. If you have a food processor, pour in the flour mixture and add in the milk and butter chunks. Pulse until it resembles course sand.
- If you do not want to use a food processor, add the milk and butter to your flour mixture and kneed all ingredients together with your hands until it all incorporates into a sand like consistency.
- Transfer the shortbread crust to the baking pan and press it down firmly and evenly. Bake for 20 minutes.
- While the crust is baking, using a hand mixer combine the flour, brown sugar, melted butter, vanilla and salt together in that same large mixing bowl you used before. Mix in the eggs, one by one and then the corn syrup.
- Using a spatula, stir in the chocolate morsels and pecans. Let this filling stand for 15 minutes while your crust is cooking.
- Once the crust has cooked, remove and pour the filling on top of the crust.
- Return to the oven for another 45 minutes and when done, remove from oven and sprinkle with extra chocolate chips and chopped pecans. Let cool completely before removing the bars from pan. Once cool, pull up on parchment paper and remove. Cut into bars and serve. Store in air tight container in the refrigerator.
Notes
PRO TIPS FOR PERFECT PECAN BARS
- Be sure to use cold butter for the shortbread crust. Cold butter helps with the crumb texture.
- Don't skip the step of letting your pecan pie bar filling rest for 15 minutes. Your filling with thicken as it sits and you want that to happen.
- Don't want to add chocolate chips? No worries, leave them out and your pecan pie bars will still be amazing!
- Your bars need to cool completely before cutting into them. Cutting them while they are still warm could leave them falling apart.
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Update Notes: This post was originally published in April of 2018 but was republished with an updated recipe, new photos, step by step instructions and tips in November of 2019.
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