Gooey Bourbon Pecan Pie Bars Recipe Is Better Than the Pie for Dessert by Donna John

Recipes using pecans are always popular on 30Seconds, especially pecan bars. Our maple pecan bars and shortcut pecan bars were such a hit that we thought another pecan bar recipe was in order. Because of my love for bourbon and spirited desserts (check out my rum cake recipe) around the holidays, I thought we needed a simple bourbon pecan pie bars recipe. These easy pecan pie bars need to be on your Thanksgiving dessert table!

Photo credit (all photos): Donna John

To make this ooey, gooey bourbon pecan dessert bars recipe you will need the following ingredients from your fridge and pantry: butter, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, salt, flour (all-purpose or gluten-free flour), light brown sugar, light corn syrup, bourbon, eggs and pecans. The prep is super simple and before you know it, you'll have a pan of pecan pie bars cooling on the counter waiting to be cut into squares.

This sweet dessert tastes like a pecan pie in bar form. The pecan pie bars are wonderful for dessert after dinner, as an indulgent snack or as part of your holiday menu. The pecan pie bars are especially delicious warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting on top. Oh, my.

Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 12

Ingredients

Crust

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or 1:1 gluten-free flour

Filling

• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup light corn syrup
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup bourbon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 cups chopped pecans

Here's how to make it: 

1. Put all the crust ingredients into a mixing bowl. Mix well to form a dough. (This is easiest done with clean hands.)
   
2. Press the dough into the bottom of a buttered 8x8-inch baking pan or dish. (Use the butter wrapper to butter your dish! You could also use parchment paper so you can lift them out of the pan once cooled.) Bake in a preheated 350-degree F oven for about 12 minutes, or until crust is lightly golden. (Do not overbake.) Remove from the oven and set aside.
   
3. Whisk the eggs together in a small bowl until light and airy. Set aside.
   
4. Put the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt into a saucepot.
   
5. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
   
6. Turn off the heat. Stir in the bourbon and vanilla. (The mixture will foam up.)
   
7. Add about 1/2 cup of the mixture to the eggs. Stir to temper the eggs. Slowly pour the eggs into the filling, stirring, until completely combined.
   
8. Stir in the pecans. (The mixture will be thin.)
   
9. Pour the filling onto the crust.
   
10. Bake another 30 to 35 minutes, or until the center doesn't jiggle. (Mine took about 32 minutes, but start checking at 30. All ovens are different.)
    
11. Let the bars cool completely before cutting into squares. Store the bars in an airtight container.
    

Recipe cooking times, nutritional information and servings are approximate and provided for your convenience. However, 30Seconds is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe, nor may you have the same results because of variations in ingredients, temperatures, altitude, errors, omissions or cooking/baking abilities. Any nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and it is up to the individual to ascertain accuracy. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography.

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