Edgar Allan Poe October: Pecan Pie Bars

Pin It

That pleasure which is at once the most pure, the most elevating and the most intense, is derived, I maintain, from the contemplation of the beautiful.

-Edgar Allan Poe

I love that quote, and although it might not have much to do with Pecan Pie bars to you, that is because you haven't had them yet, and I assure you, they are pure beauty. Erika gave me this recipe two years ago, and since that point, these bars have become one of my "Everyone dies over these" kind of recipes. People who hate pecan pie love these bars. People who love pecan pie ask to have these bars at Thanksgiving instead of pie. I am serious, people. They are a game changer. I think the secret lies in that buttery shortbread layer at the bottom. It's just salty enough to balance out that sweet, gooey topping. Oh dear, I may have to go eat another. Without further ado...

Pecan Pie Bars

Makes a 9X13 pan of cookie bars.

Ingredients
    •    2  cups flour
    •    1/2  cup sugar
    •    1/8 teaspoon salt
    •    3/4 cup  butter
    •    1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
    •    1 cup light corn syrup
    •    1/2 cup butter
    •    4 large eggs, lightly beaten
    •    2 1/2  cups finely chopped pecans
    •    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Combine first 3 ingredients in large bowl; cut in 3/4 cup butter thoroughly with a pastry blender until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Press mixture evenly into a greased 13" x 9" pan. Bake at 350 for 17 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
Combine brown sugar, corn syrup, and 1/2 cup butter in a saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring gently. Remove from heat. Stir one-fourth of hot mixture into beaten eggs; add to remaining hot mixture. Stir in pecans and vanilla. Pour filling over crust. Bake at 350° for about 25 minutes or until set (Jiggle pan, and if the filling doesn't move, they're done) Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Now go die of happiness! Enjoy :)

Sharing at . . .
Mom on Timeout
StoneGable 
Common Ground
French Country Cottage
Stuff and Nonsense
At the Picket Fence