Pecan Pie Bars (gluten-free, whole wheat, all-purpose flour options)
These pecan pie bars with a shortbread crust and a caramel pecan topping can be made with gluten-free, all-purpose or whole wheat flour and are made without corn syrup.
Pies can be tricky, so I’m a huge fan of making dessert bars. The crust is so much easier, and as long as the recipe’s good and you follow it, you can’t really mess it up! If you prefer a pie, try this Gluten-free Pecan Pie (or this Gluten-free Dairy-free Pecan Pie).
These pecan pie bars are made without corn syrup and instead use brown sugar, some honey, and maple syrup. If you want to use another liquid sweetener or all maple syrup instead of the combination of honey and maple, I’m not sure how they’d come out, as I haven’t tried it. Honey is a lot stickier than maple syrup, which I’m guessing would affect things.
I hope you’ll enjoy these pecan pie bars! I’d love to hear your thoughts below if you try them. :)
Pecan Pie Bars (gluten-free, whole wheat, all-purpose flour options)
Servings 16 bars
These pecan pie bars with a shortbread crust and a caramel pecan topping can be made with gluten-free, all-purpose or whole wheat flour and are made without corn syrup.
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 6 tablespoons (84 grams) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) brown sugar
- 1 large egg 50 grams, out of shell
- 1 1/2 cups (207 grams) flour see notes
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the topping:
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup (80 grams) honey
- 1/4 cup (80 grams) maple syrup
- 6 tablespoons (75 grams) brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 1/4 cups (138 grams) pecans chopped in 1/3" pieces
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 °F (190 °C). Line an 8″x8″ pan with a piece of parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, starting off on low and increasing to medium speed until light and fluffy.6 tablespoons (84 grams) unsalted butter, 1/2 cup (100 grams) brown sugar
- Beat in the egg on low and once well combined, add the flour, baking powder and salt. Beat on low until well combined and it comes together, almost like a dough.1 large egg, 1 1/2 cups (207 grams) flour, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Pat onto the bottom of the prepared pan. You may want to use a silicone spatula to help evenly spread it out. Use a fork to poke holes about every 2″.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the dough no longer appears wet. It won’t have browned, except a little bit around the edges, and it will be quite soft. While the crust is cooking, start preparing the topping.
- In a medium or large saucepan, add the butter, honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon and salt. Let sit until you remove the crust from the oven.1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, 1/4 cup (80 grams) honey, 1/4 cup (80 grams) maple syrup, 6 tablespoons (75 grams) brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 3/8 teaspoon salt
- Once you remove the crust from the oven, reduce the heat to 350 F (176 C), and let partially cool while continuing with the topping.
- Bring the mixture to a boil at medium heat and simmer, while stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat as needed to just keep it at a boil and so that it doesn’t burn. Remove from the heat and stir in the whipping cream and chopped pecans.2 tablespoons heavy cream, 1 1/4 cups (138 grams) pecans
- Pour the mixture over the partially baked and partially cooled crust and spread to even it out.
- Bake at 350 F (176 C) for 30 minutes. The topping will be bubbly and have turned a darker, more golden color. It’ll appear very greasy at first, but don’t worry – it’ll be fine! Remove from the oven and let cool for about 2 hours or until firm. Cut into squares.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Notes
- For the flour you can use, Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour for the gluten-free version or 1 1/2 cups (188 grams) ivory whole wheat or all-purpose flour for a non-gluten-free version.
- 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. This recipe yields 12-16 servings. The nutritional info was calculated based on 16 servings.
Nutrition
Calories: 268kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 2gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 39mgSodium: 107mgPotassium: 82mgFiber: 1gSugar: 19gVitamin A: 355IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 33mgIron: 1mgNet Carbs: 28
Tried this recipe?Tag me today! Mention @texanerin or tag #texanerin! Thanks. 🖤
Can you substitute coconut sugar for the brown sugar and have it work? Staying away from gluten and fake and processed sugar. Thank you.
I haven’t tried it, but pecan pie/bars are super finicky, so I wouldn’t recommend it. I remember testing the topping a ton of times to get it perfect. It might work, but the result likely won’t be 100% the same. Sorry I can’t be more helpful!
Erin- would a chia egg work in the crust here? Usually you say so in your recipe notes if it works so I’m hesitant to try it. Thanks!
I haven’t tried it in this crust but I think it’d probably work. But I can’t be sure! Sorry about that. Please let me know how it works if you try it. :)
Hi there! These look delicious and I can’t wait to try them. I’m wondering what I can substitute the milk with as I’m dairy free. Can I use full fat coconut milk? Thanks!
Hello! There’s no milk in this recipe but there is whipping cream. I’d use coconut cream as a sub. The bigger problem is all the butter! I normally like to sub coconut oil but it’d likely come out way too greasy in this recipe. I believe I tried a dairy-free version of this before posting and I just wasn’t successful. Sorry about that. :( It could work if you use some kind of vegan butter sub that’s a 1:1 sub for regular butter!
I was recently diagnosed with celiac and made these for Christmas. They are absolutely delicious! A new favorite in our house for sure!
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed them! Thanks for your comment. :)
Just in time for Thanksgiving!
Pecans are my FAVORITE!!! How are you feeling? Weren’t you due last week?!
Erin, how did you know this was my favorite? Shortbread and pecan filling. YUM!
These look so ooey gooey delicious. Love them!
I really like their GF flour! Good to know it makes such great shortbread crust. These bars look fantastic. I hope you’re hanging in there these last few weeks, Erin! xoxo
YUM! We’re going to LOVE these beauties at Thanksgiving! One of my family members recently went gluten free, so these will be great to have on hand for dessert!
These look amazing, and I love that they don’t include corn syrup. Also, nice to include different options! Yum!
These look so good! I could eat the whole pan…..by myself!
One of my favorite pies in bar form! Swoon
I love how easy the bars are to serve and eat! They looks amazing!
Thank you, thank you! We just found out that our youngest has a gluten intolerance and I’ve been trying to figure out how to change up how I bake things and this is perfect!! I can’t wait to make these for him too.
I wish I had one of these bars right now! Pecan pie is my favorite!
These sure look like a yummy bar.
Hope you are doing well. When is your due date?
It was November 1! Still waiting. :(