Chocolate Chip-Pecan Pie Bars

These pecan bars were the first thing that we ever baked on our own. Like, EVER. Sure, we helped our mom make Christmas cookies when we were a kid, but we began baking on our own in high school with this recipe. These bars showed up at a family party and given our affinity for pecan pie, it’s no surprise that we were totally and completely enamored with them. Our grandma gave us the recipe and we found myself making them quite frequently. They quickly became our “signature” and were for a long time – we would take them to work potlucks, family parties, and anywhere else we thought people could use a little something sweet.

These bars are a breeze to throw together and don’t require much in the way of equipment or time. You can easily mix together the crust ingredients with a fork, a pastry blender, or your fingers – just make sure you get the mixture to a crumbly texture. The bars need to cool completely before you cut them or the filling and chocolate will smear and run a bit. We actually prefer these chilled in the refrigerator, but you can keep and serve them at room temperature if you’d like.

Ironically, we never made these bars around Thanksgiving, but it goes without saying that they are the reliable portable Thanksgiving dessert. They’re a great alternative for a full-blown pie, and you could easily omit the chocolate and add more pecans if you’d like. Although, we do think the combination of chocolate and pecans is something extra-special.

Do you remember the first thing you learned how to bake all on your own?

One year ago: Sweet Potato Scones with Maple Cream Glaze
Two years ago: Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake Pie
Four years ago: Pecan Pie
Five years ago: Lebkuchen

Chunky Pecan Pie Bars

Yield: 24 bars Straightforward to mix nut bars reliable for a snack

For the Crust:

• 1½ cups (187.5 g) all-purpose flour
• ½ cup (113.5 g) salted butter, at room temperature, (1 stick)
• ¼ cup (55 g) packed light brown sugar

Filling:

• 3 large eggs
• ¾ cup (255.75 g) light corn syrup
• ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1¾ cups (306.25 g) coarsely chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, or chocolate chunks in a bag!
• 1½ cups (148.5 g) chopped pecans

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.
• For the crust, mix together the flour, butter and brown sugar until crumbly. Press into the baking pan and bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly brown.
• For the filling, beat the eggs, corn syrup, sugar, butter and vanilla extract with a wire whisk. Stir in the chunks and pecans. Pour evenly over the baked crust and bake for 25-30 minutes or until set.
• Cool in the pan on a wire rack. Cool completely and cut into bars. Store in an airtight container at room temperature (or in the refrigerator if you live in a warm/humid area with no air conditioning).

Notes

Nutritional values are based on one bar

• Yield: 24 bars
• Prep: 15 minutes
• Cook: 25 minutes
• Total: 40 minutes

Ingredients

For the Crust:

• 1½ cups ( 187.5 g ) all-purpose flour
• ½ cup ( 113.5 g ) salted butter, at room temperature, (1 stick)
• ¼ cup ( 55 g ) packed light brown sugar

Filling:

• 3 large eggs
• ¾ cup ( 255.75 g ) light corn syrup
• ¾ cup ( 150 g ) granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1¾ cups ( 306.25 g ) coarsely chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, or chocolate chunks in a bag!
• 1½ cups ( 148.5 g ) chopped pecans

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.
2. For the crust, mix together the flour, butter and brown sugar until crumbly. Press into the baking pan and bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly brown.
3. For the filling, beat the eggs, corn syrup, sugar, butter and vanilla extract with a wire whisk. Stir in the chunks and pecans. Pour evenly over the baked crust and bake for 25-30 minutes or until set.
4. Cool in the pan on a wire rack. Cool completely and cut into bars. Store in an airtight container at room temperature (or in the refrigerator if you live in a warm/humid area with no air conditioning).