Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

These chocolate pecan pie bars have an easy shortbread crust and a corn syrup-free filling sweetened with maple syrup and brown sugar, plus plenty of chocolate chips. You can make them with all-purpose, white whole wheat or gluten-free flour.

They’re a great Thanksgiving dessert that feeds a crowd. From a 9×13-inch (23×33-cm) pan, you can get 24-32 bars. They’re pretty sweet but not obnoxiously sweet like a lot of pecan pies, so you can cut them quite small when people want to sample several desserts.

I used the filling from my Gluten-Free Pecan Pie, added a bunch of chocolate chips and poured it over a shortbread crust.

My photographer said that these bars may be her husband’s new favorite. I can see why! They’re pretty addictive.

Ingredients

Please scroll down for the full recipe. These are just notes on select ingredients.

• Unsalted butter – you’ll use it in both the crust and the filling. I’ve only tried the shortbread crust with butter, and that’s what I recommend sticking with. The butter flavor is essential!
• Light brown sugar – this is also used in both the crust and the filling. Dark brown sugar works in the crust, and coconut sugar works in the filling. Don’t omit or reduce the sugar in the filling.
• Flour – all-purpose flour, white whole wheat flour and Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour all work in the crust. For the gluten-free version, use 1 1/4 cups (173 grams) of the gluten-free flour instead of 1 1/4 cups (156 grams) of all-purpose or white whole wheat flour.
• Vanilla extract and salt – both are used in the crust and filling.
• Maple syrup – instead of corn syrup, this recipe calls for a whopping cup of maple syrup. That’s unfortunate from a cost perspective, but it adds great flavor. Unfortunately, there’s no good substitute. Honey, corn syrup, more brown sugar or another sweetener won’t work the same way. Pies, especially pecan pies and pecan pie bars, are so finicky, so I really don’t recommend experimenting with the filling.
• Eggs – you’ll need 3 large eggs at room temperature. There isn’t a substitute for them in this filling.
• Cornstarch – tapioca starch or arrowroot starch also work.
• Pecans – you can use walnuts if you’d prefer walnut chocolate chip bars. I tried them once, and the bars were good, but we preferred them with pecans. That’s just personal preference.
• Chocolate – use semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips or chopped chocolate. Please don’t use milk chocolate. I have quite a sweet tooth, and even I think these bars would be too sweet with milk chocolate.

How to Make Them

Line a 9×13-inch (23×33-cm) pan with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C).

For the shortbread crust, beat the butter and brown sugar at medium speed until fluffy and well combined. Beat in the vanilla and salt, then beat in the flour at low speed. You’ll have crumbs rather than a ball of dough.

Evenly and gently distribute the crumbs over the bottom of the pan. The crust will be quite thin, but it’s enough. Lightly press the crumbs together so they’re no longer loose, but don’t compact them firmly.

Bake for 13-15 minutes or until lightly browned, then place the pan on a cooling rack and let the crust cool for at least 10 minutes.

For the filling, stir together everything except the pecans and chocolate. Once combined, stir in the pecans and chocolate, then pour the filling over the partially cooled crust.

Bake for 28-31 minutes. The filling should look set rather than liquidy, although the whole pan will still jiggle slightly when it comes out of the oven.

If you cut into the bars while they’re warm, they’ll be a gooey mess and you won’t see two distinct layers. Let them cool completely, which takes about 2 hours, and then refrigerate for at least 4 more hours. Once chilled, you’ll have a distinct shortbread crust and pecan filling.

Tips

• Use room-temperature eggs – the recipe calls for them, so set them out before you start making the filling.
• Sprinkle on the cornstarch – rather than adding it in one big clump, sprinkle it over the other filling ingredients so it’s easier to mix in evenly.
• Don’t overmix the filling – stir just until everything is combined. If there are any eggy bits that won’t mix in, remove them so they don’t bake up visibly.

Troubleshooting

• The crust is soggy or messy – make sure you pre-bake it and let it cool for at least 10 minutes before adding the filling.
• The fat separated and floated to the top – don’t reduce or omit the brown sugar or maple syrup. When I reduced the sweetener, the fat separated and floated to the top.
• The bars look too gooey – if they’re still warm, that’s normal. As long as the filling looked set rather than liquidy when it came out of the oven, let the bars cool and chill for the full amount of time before judging the texture.

Make Ahead & Storage

Plan for about 2 hours of cooling plus at least 4 hours in the refrigerator before slicing the bars, so this isn’t a dessert to start shortly before serving.

• Refrigerate – store the bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
• Freeze – freeze the whole slab or cut it into individual bars first and freeze those. They’ll keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• Serve after freezing – the bars don’t freeze particularly hard, so you can cut or even eat them straight from the freezer. The chocolate gets quite firm, though, so I prefer to let them sit for a few minutes first.

More Pecan Desserts

• Pecan Tart – a buttery, flaky crust with an easy pecan pie filling made without corn syrup.
• Cheesecake Pecan Pie Bars – creamy cheesecake with a gooey caramel pecan pie topping.
• Cocoa Pecan Pie – a flaky, buttery crust with a chocolate pecan pie filling.

Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

Author Erin Dooner

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 24 bars

5 from 3 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 43 minutes mins

Total Time 7 hours hrs

These chocolate pecan pie bars have an easy shortbread crust and a rich, corn syrup-free filling sweetened with maple syrup and brown sugar, with plenty of chocolate chips. Make them with all-purpose, white whole wheat or gluten-free flour.

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Ingredients

Crust:

• ▢ 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter room temp
• ▢ 1/4 cup (50 grams) light brown sugar
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 1/4 cups (156 grams) flour see notes

Filling:

• ▢ 3/4 cup (150 grams) light brown sugar
• ▢ 1 cup (320 grams) maple syrup
• ▢ 3 large eggs 50 grams each, out of shell, room temperature
• ▢ 1/4 cup (56 grams) unsalted butter melted and still warm
• ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 2 1/2 cups (285 grams) pecans chopped
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups (225 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

Instructions

Prepare the crust:

• Line a 9” X 13” pan with a piece of baking paper and preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C).
• In a medium mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat together the butter and brown sugar at medium speed until fluffy and well combined.
  1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, 1/4 cup (50 grams) light brown sugar
• Beat in the vanilla and salt at medium speed until combined, and then beat in the flour at low speed. You’ll have crumbs and not a ball of dough.
  1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 1/4 cups (156 grams) flour
• Evenly and gently put onto the bottom of the prepared pan. It’ll be quite a thin crust. You don’t need to press it down very firmly, but it shouldn’t be loose crumbs.
• Bake for 13-15 minutes or until lightly browned.
• Place on a cooling rack to cool for at least 10 minutes while preparing the filling.

Make the filling:

• In a large mixing bowl, stir together all filling ingredients except for the pecans and chocolate chips, sprinkling on the cornstarch, rather than plopping it down a big clump. Do not overmix! If there are any eggy bits that aren't coming out when mixing, remove them or they’ll bake up ugly.
  3/4 cup (150 grams) light brown sugar, 1 cup (320 grams) maple syrup, 3 large eggs, 1/4 cup (56 grams) unsalted butter, 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Once combined, stir in the pecans and chocolate chips.
  2 1/2 cups (285 grams) pecans, 1 1/2 cups (225 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Pour the filling into the partially cooled crust and bake for 28-31 minutes. The filling should appear set and not liquidy, but the whole thing kind of jiggles when you remove it from the oven. If you were to cut into them right now, it’d just look like goo. But it separates into layers as it cools and chills.
• Let cool completely, about 2 hours, and then refrigerate for at least 4 more.
• Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Notes

• For the gluten-free version, use 1 1/4 cups (173 grams) Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour instead of 156 grams of all-purpose or white whole wheat flour. Make sure your chocolate is gluten-free if needed.
• Tapioca starch or arrowroot starch can be used instead of cornstarch. Walnuts also work in place of the pecans.
• Don’t omit or reduce the brown sugar or maple syrup, and don’t substitute another sweetener for the maple syrup. Reducing the sweetener can cause the fat to separate.
• The nutrition information provided is calculated as a courtesy and is only an estimate. I am not a licensed nutritionist or dietitian. For the most accurate nutritional data, consult a professional or use your preferred calculator.

Nutrition

Calories: 291kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 3gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 111mgPotassium: 165mgFiber: 2gSugar: 22gVitamin A: 218IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 42mgIron: 1mgNet Carbs: 29

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