Pecan Pie Bars with Chocolate Drizzle

Pecan pie meets shortbread for these incredible pecan pie bars with dark chocolate drizzle and sea salt. These bars start with a thick, golden shortbread crust. We then layer on both whole and chopped pecans for texture and flavor. After layering on the pecans, we pour over the brown sugar filling. In the filling, we add a little bit of bourbon and some orange zest for extra flavor. The bars bake up to be soft and a little chewy and sticky. They are dangerously delicious, especially when drizzled with dark chocolate and finished with a little bit of sea salt. 

Print

Pecan Pie Bars with Chocolate Drizzle

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Cooling 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 16

Ingredients

Filling:

• 4 tablespoons butter 56 g
• 2/3 brown sugar 130 g
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
• 1/2 cup dark corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon bourbon Maker’s Mark optional
• Zest of an orange

Nuts:

• 2.5 cups pecans 250 g
• 1 cup chopped pecans 100 g

Shortbread Crust:

• 2 cups salted butter room temperature 450 g
• 1 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar 150 g
• 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 400 g
• 1/2 cup cornstarch 75 g
• 1 teaspoon salt 1 g
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional

Assembly:

• ½ cup dark chocolate chips melted
• Sea salt optional

Instructions

Shortbread layer:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
• In the base of a stand mixer, add softened butter and sugar. Cream sugar and butter together until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Then add in the flour, cornstarch, and salt. Pulse together the ingredients until they are just combined
• Pat the shortbread into a parchment lined 9×13 pan until it forms an even layer
• Bake for ~45 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Set aside to cool slightly while making the filling

Filling:

• After the crust is baked, make the filling
• In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, beat together butter and brown sugar
• After butter and sugar are well combined, add in the egg. Mix the egg and butter together until fully incorporated
• Add vanilla, corn syrup, salt, bourbon, orange zest and mix. Set aside

Assembly:

• Spread the nuts in an even layer over the golden shortbread base. Pour filling over top
• Cook at 350 for 30 minutes (filling shouldn’t jiggle when shaken)
• Allow the bars to cool
• After the bars have cooled, drizzle with the melted dark chocolate and sprinkle with sea salt