Maple Pecan Pie Bars

These Maple Pecan Pie Bars are a delicious dessert for Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving or Christmas! Loaded with all the classic flavors of your favorite pecan pie but made without corn syrup the sweetness is much more balanced. A rich maple pecan filling is layered over an easy shortbread crust for a holiday dessert you’ll love.

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These bars are buttery and made with a mix of maple syrup and brown sugar for an indulgent dessert that tastes like pecan pie but is far easier to make. A simple shortbread crust is serves as a base for the delicious filling that’s the perfect mix of sweet buttery filling and nutty pecans. For other delicious pecan recipes look at my Homemade Pecan Brittle, Maple Pecan Cookies , Baked Brie with Hot Honey Pecans and Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecans.

Ingredients

For the Crust

• Unsalted butter 
• Granulated sugar
• Vanilla extract
• All purpose flour
• Kosher salt

For the Pecan Filling

• Maple syrup
• Brown sugar
• Unsalted butter
• Heavy cream
• Large eggs 
• Pecans, halves or pieces
• Kosher salt

Baking Tips

• Make sure to use pure maple syrup for these bars and not pancake syrup
• For a delicious variation you can substitute walnuts for the pecans
• When making the maple filling be sure to allow it to cool at least 5 minutes before adding in the eggs to avoid curdling
• You can use either pecan halces or chopped pecans for this recipe
• If the crumble topping begins to brown too quickly while baking youcan cover the bars with a sheet of aluminum foil.
• Depending on what size you’d like to serve you can cut these bars into 9, 12 or 16 slices.

How to Make Maple Pecan Bars

This recipe for maple pecan bars is fairly straight forwardPreheat the oven to 350 degrees F while you prepare the crust. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once it’s melted transfer the butter to a large mixing bowl. Add in the sugar and vanilla extract to the butter and whisk until combined. Pour in the flour and salt and stir until the dough is combined, the texture of the dough will be slightly slick.

Line an 8×8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the crust is lightly golden around the edges. Allow the crust to cool slightly while you prepare the filling.

In the same saucepan you used before add the maple syrup, brown sugar, butter and cream and cook until the butter is melted, whisking occasionally ensuring everything is combined. Transfer the maple mixture to a medium bowl and allow to cool for 5 minutes.Slowly whisk in the beaten eggs, fold in the pecans and salt.

Pour the pecan pie filling into the baking pan and spread it out making sure the top is even. Sprinkle with flaky salt if desired. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 25-28 minutes or until the top is golden and set.

Allow the pecan bars to cool fully in the pan. Lift the bars from the pan using the parchment paper and slice into squares using a sharp knife. Serve as desired.

Storage

You can store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container with parchment paper in between the layers, store for up to 5 days.

If you like these Maple Pecan Pie Bars be sure to take a look at some of my other recipes!

Cranberry Apple Crumble Pie

Brown Butter Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Three Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

Gingerbread Latte Cookies

Peppermint Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

If you make these Maple Pecan Bars please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a five star rating! Be sure to follow me on Youtube, Facebook and Pinterest for my latest recipes. Also, if you do make this recipe please tag me on Instagram, I’d love to see what you guys are making!