Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars
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Chocolate pecan pie bars are a pecan pie filling with mini chocolate chips melted right into it, baked over a thick shortbread crust you stir together in one bowl and press into the pan by hand. There’s no dough to roll and no wedges to cut, just twelve squares lifted out of a 9×13 dish on a parchment sling. I wanted these for one reason: pecan pie flavor in a shape that fits the places a whole pie doesn’t.
Pecan pie is a must at our family Thanksgiving table, and the recipe came down from my grandma to my aunt and then to me as my family’s pecan pie. The trouble is that it’s so strongly tied to the other Thanksgiving recipes on that table that a whole pie feels out of place any other time of year, and honestly a little over the top when all I want is the flavor. That’s where these bars come in, with chocolate added just for the fun of it. A small square instead of a big slice is the whole point for me.
How It Comes Together
The crust takes melted butter, not cold. Stir it into the flour, powdered sugar, and salt until you have a soft dough, then press it evenly into a parchment-lined 9×13 glass dish with your fingers. Leave the parchment hanging over the sides, because that overhang is what lets you lift the whole slab out later. The crust bakes on its own for 15 minutes and comes out still pale, which is right. Don’t wait for it to brown, since it goes back in the oven under the filling.
The crust is one bowl and your hands. Many chocolate pecan pie bars start from a cake mix, crushed store-bought cookies, or cold butter worked into flour with a pastry blender or food processor. This one stirs melted butter into flour, powdered sugar, and salt, and you press it into the dish with your fingers. No appliance, no cutting in, and no chilling the dough before it bakes.
Make the filling while the crust bakes. Let the melted butter for the filling cool slightly first, since hot butter whisked straight into eggs can start to scramble them. Then whisk it with the eggs, corn syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt, stir in the pecans and mini chips, and pour everything over the warm crust.
The doneness test is the one to get right. After 30 minutes, give the dish a gentle shake. A slight wobble right at the center means the bars are done, and a noticeable jiggle means they need more time. Everything in you will want to leave them in until the middle is completely still, but pull them at the slight wobble and let the hour in the fridge do the rest.
Looking through the side of the glass dish, you’ll see the chocolate has melted and settled into a dark layer under the pecans. That’s how these are supposed to look, not a sign that something went wrong.
Set the hot dish on a hot pad or folded towel in the refrigerator so the glass isn’t sitting straight on a cold shelf, and chill it for a full hour. Wait the whole hour before you slice, since the chill is what gives you clean edges. Then lift the slab out by the parchment and cut it into 12 bars.
Scroll down to the printable recipe card for the full ingredient list, measurements, and step-by-step instructions.
Ingredient Notes
- Unsalted butter: It goes in twice, 1 cup for the crust and ¼ cup for the filling, both melted, so you’ll need 1¼ cups total. It’s the same press-it-in idea as the no-roll oil crust under my pecan pie, with melted butter doing the job the oil does there.
- Packed light brown sugar: Pack it firmly into the measuring cup. This is also where the bars part ways with my family’s pie, which uses white sugar, so don’t expect a pecan pie cut into squares.
- Pecans: Coarsely chopped, not fine. Those big pieces are what you see across the top of the finished bars.
- Mini semisweet chocolate chips: Use minis, because they melt smoothly into the filling as it bakes. If you’d rather use dark chocolate, stay with the mini size for the same reason.
Serving and Storing
Squares mean nobody needs a plate, a fork, or someone stuck behind the table cutting wedges. Like butterscotch brownies, these bake in a 9×13 pan and cut into pieces people can grab on their way past the dessert table and keep talking. That makes them easy to bring to an office party, a fall potluck, or a holiday open house, and old-fashioned walnut fudge is another chilled, make-ahead square for the same tray.
Serve them cold from the fridge or let them come to room temperature, whichever you like. When you want a plated dessert instead, a scoop of homemade chai ice cream on the side turns one bar into that. Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.
Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars with a Press-In Shortbread Crust
Ingredients
For the crust
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted, for the crust
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt for the crust
For the filling
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted, for the filling
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt for the filling
- 2 cups pecans coarsely chopped
- 1½ cups mini semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13-inch glass baking dish with parchment paper, leaving the edges hanging over the sides.
- In a large bowl, stir together the 1 cup melted butter, flour, powdered sugar, and ¼ teaspoon salt until a soft dough forms.
- Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the baking dish. Bake the crust for 15 minutes, then take it out and set it aside while you finish the filling.
- While the crust bakes, let the ¼ cup melted butter cool slightly so it doesn’t scramble the eggs. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, corn syrup, brown sugar, cooled melted butter, vanilla, and ¼ teaspoon salt until smooth.
- Stir in the pecans and chocolate chips.
- Pour the filling over the warm crust and spread it evenly. Return the baking dish to the oven and bake for 30 minutes, until the center only wobbles slightly when you gently shake the dish. A noticeable jiggle means the filling needs more time.
- Set the hot baking dish on a hot pad or folded towel in the refrigerator so the glass isn’t shocked by the cold shelf, and chill for 1 hour so the bars slice cleanly.
- Lift them out by the parchment overhang and slice into 12 bars.
Notes
- Mini chocolate chips are the size to buy here, since they melt smoothly into the filling while it bakes. Dark chocolate minis can go in their place if you prefer them.
