Made with brown butter and maple syrup, you’ll love the sweet and salty flavor in each bite of brown butter pecan pie bars. They’re so much easier than baking an entire pie!
Though these bars aren’t shaped like your typical pie, they’re every bit as mouthwatering in square form. Especially when that square combines not only pecan pie + crust, but brown butter, quality nuts, pure maple syrup for extra flavor, and a sprinkle of sea salt on top.
Brown Butter Pecan Pie Bars Video
Why We Love Pecan Pie Bars
While I don’t usually like to stray from the classic, unadulterated pecan pie—I do believe there is room for both traditional pecan pie (here’s my favorite pecan pie and pie crust recipe!) and jazzy pecan pie (and even mini pecan pies and pecan pie cheesecake!). Who doesn’t want a little jazzy every now and then?? These pecan pie bars are certainly jazzy and there’s so much to love about them.
- Deliciously flavored with brown butter, brown sugar, and sea salt
- Made with maple syrup which adds flavor and takes the place of corn syrup that’s typically used in pecan pie recipes
- The shortbread crust is soft and simple
- Lots of wonderful crunchy and gooey texture in every bite
- The pecan pie topping is sweet and salty
- They’re easier to make than an entire pie—no pie crust to chill and roll
- A fun alternative to the classic pie and perfect for serving a crowd
- No mess to clean up because they’re easy to eat and transport!
Brown Butter Shortbread Crust
Brown butter brings a whole new level of flavor to these pecan pie bars. It’s the same crust as my salted caramel apple pie bars, only doubled to make a larger batch and—of course—made with brown butter. All you’ll do is brown some butter on the stovetop, then mix it with sugar, vanilla, salt, and flour. Press it into the pan and pre-bake for a few minutes while you make the pecan pie topping. So simple yet so delicious! If you like the brown butter and pecan combo here, you’ll love it in these dark chocolate pecan cookies, too.
Here’s a full tutorial on how to brown butter. It’s quick and easy.
Pecan Pie Bars Without Corn Syrup
I chose to make these pecan pie bars without corn syrup and formulate a way to have maple syrup get the job done. It works like a charm here. You’ll boil butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, and cream together into a syrup—then temper the eggs. Now before you go running at the term “tempering” let’s chat about it for a second.
Tempering means you’ll add a hot liquid to the beaten eggs. If you add the eggs directly to the pot of boiling ingredients—guess what? You’ll have some funky scrambled egg sauce. By slowly whisking *some* of the hot syrup into the beaten eggs, you are slowly bringing up their temperature—not shocking them. And then you’ll slowly drizzle and whisk that warm egg mixture into the pot. This way you’re avoiding that funky scrambled egg situation that sounds, and probably is, horrifying.
For an entire pecan pie made without corn syrup, try my maple pecan pie!
How to Make Pecan Pie Bars
They’re truly easier than pie!
- Brown the butter. Let cool for 5 minutes.
- Combine all of the crust ingredients. Press the mixture evenly into a prepared 9×13 pan.
- Bake the crust. 15 minutes is all it takes.
- Make the pecan pie topping. Combine the butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, and heavy cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk this mixture and bring to a boil.
- Temper the eggs. As the mixture boils, carefully spoon 1/2 cup of the mixture into a glass measuring cup. Slowly drizzle it into the beaten eggs. Stir frequently to keep it moving so the eggs do not scramble. Once the 1/2 cup mixture is added to the beaten eggs, slowly drizzle and whisk this back into the pot.
- Add the pecans.
- Spread topping evenly onto the crust. Don’t be alarmed if the pecan topping is too syrup-y. It will cook just fine!
- Bake. These bars take about 30-35 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out *mostly* clean. If the top is getting too brown as it bakes, loosely cover with aluminum foil.
- Cool, cut into squares, and enjoy!
The flavors marry together wonderfully between the brown butter, maple, toasty pecans, and brown sugar. I’m not a fan of cloyingly sweet pecan pie, so I added a sprinkle of coarse sea salt (or you can use flaky sea salt) on top of the baked bars. They’re crunchy in some places, soft in others. Moist with big chunks of delicious pecans on a bed of brown butter. It most certainly doesn’t get better than this.
Like my cranberry crumble pie bars, blueberry pie bars, cherry pie bars, and apple pie bars, this process is much easier than an entire pie! Both great (easy!) additions to your favorite Thanksgiving pie recipes 🙂
This recipe is part of Sally’s Pie Week, an annual tradition where I share a handful of new recipes that fit into the pie/crisp/tart category. Join the community below!
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Brown Butter Pecan Pie Bars
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 18-24 squares
- Category: Pie
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These ultra flavorful brown butter pecan pie bars made with maple syrup are so much easier than baking an entire pie.
Ingredients
Brown Butter Crust
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
Pecan Pie Topping
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar (I prefer dark here)
- 1/2 cup (120ml) pure maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) heavy cream
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 3 cups (300g) coarsely chopped shelled pecans
- optional: coarse sea salt or flaky sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and grease a 9×13-inch pan or line with parchment paper leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the finished bars out. Set aside.
- For the crust: Slice the butter up into pieces and place in a light-colored skillet. (Light colored helps you determine when the butter begins browning.) Melt the butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once melted, the butter will begin to foam. Keep stirring occasionally. After 5-8 minutes, the butter will begin browning—you’ll notice lightly browned specks begin to form at the bottom of the pan and it will have a nutty aroma. Once browned, remove from heat immediately and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, stir together the brown butter, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir in the flour until evenly combined. Press the mixture evenly into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
- For the topping: Combine the butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, and heavy cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk to combine the ingredients and dissolve the sugar. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 3 minutes. As it is boiling, carefully spoon 1/2 cup of the mixture into a glass measuring cup. Slowly drizzle it into the beaten eggs. Stir frequently to keep it moving so the eggs do not scramble. Once the 1/2 cup mixture is added to the beaten eggs, slowly drizzle and whisk this back into the pot. The trick is to always be stirring/whisking to avoid scrambling the eggs. Remove from heat, stir in the pecans, and pour evenly over the crust. Sprinkle the top with sea salt, if desired.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out *mostly* clean. If the top is getting too brown as it bakes, loosely cover with aluminum foil. Remove from the oven, set on a wire rack, and allow to cool completely before cutting into squares. Cover and store leftover bars at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Bars freeze well up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator then bring to room temperature before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×13-inch Glass Baking Pan or 9×13-inch Metal Baking Pan | Light-Colored Skillet or Stainless Steel Skillet (for browning butter) | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Cooling Rack | Coarse Sea Salt or Flaky Sea Salt
OMG these are amazing. A few things I did differently because I only had 1 cup of pecans on hand. I halfed the recipe and made in a glass pie dish inatead of a 9×13, which worked seamlessly, and because I only had 1/3 of the pecans the recipe called for I allowed the filling mixture to cool down completely, and then added 1/2 cup of chocolate chips to give the filling some volume that was lacking from the additional 1/2 cup of pecans. these gave the bars a chocolatey gooey finish that was divine!
Could I make these with a graham cracker crust instead?
Hi Marie, I fear they would fall apart easily with the graham cracker crust; it’s not as sturdy as the brown butter shortbread. However, feel free to try it.
I too am waiting for the crust to set up. I allowed the browned butter to cook for fifteen minutes and mixed it as directed. Instructions said to allow to cool five minutes or so. Poured it into prepared pan. No pressing required. Now I’m baking additional minutes.
Maybe increase amount of flour? Two sticks of butter (1 cup) seems too much for the crust. Help. Hoping I can salvage this as it’s for a birthday celebration tonight and ingredients are expensive! Ugh
Hi Claire, Did the texture of the crust look like the video before baking? If it seems like there was too much butter, feel free to add an extra tablespoon of flour next time.
No. The crust was pourable. Not like video at all. The butter to flour ratio is wrong in my opinion or the browned butter should be solidified in the frig before mixing with the flour.
These bars were just ok in my opinion. The crust stayed together- no issues there, and I love the brown butter flavor.
For me, the filling was too dry and not “gooey” enough like a pecan pie or bar usually is in my experience. If I try them again, I’d be tempted to double the liquid portion of the filling while leaving the pecan quantity the same to see what happens.
Hi Sally! If I’d like to make these chocolate pecan pie bars, can I just add a layer of chocolate chips or chopped baking chocolate before pouring on the pecan pie topping? Thanks!
Hi Amy, you can add 1 cup of dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips to the filling when you stir in the pecans. Enjoy!
Hi Sally! I really love your recipes and I plan to try this one 🙂
Just a few questions:
What does the heavy cream do to this recipe? Is it really required?
And can I still add vanilla to filling?
Hi Daniela, the heavy cream helps thicken and set the filling—we don’t recommend leaving it out. Yes, you can absolutely add some vanilla to the filling if you wish. Enjoy!
Sorry quick follow up, can I use the filling from your maple pecan pie for this instead as the recipe is different and Im already making that one so could just make extra.
Hi Bronwyn! We recommend following this recipe for bars so it sets up properly.
Can I make this with a biscuit base? I have someone who will eat this who is gluten free and Gluten free biscuit base is way easier to make than a gluten free pastry as I’ve seen…for me at least
Hi Bronwyn, we haven’t tested these bars with a biscuit base, but let us know if you do any experimenting.
This sounds DELICIOUS! However, I really do not like maple syrup. Do you think these bars would work if I just substituted the same amount of corn syrup for the maple syrup?
Hi Amy, Yes, you can use corn syrup instead of maple syrup. Same amount. Enjoy!
Very good! I really like vanilla in my pecan pie so I added some to my filling. Our oven isn’t working at the moment so I baked this in an 8×8 in our toaster oven and was pretty happy with the results.
This recipe has made me FAMOUS with friends and family! Sea salt is DEFINITELY NOT optional! It is a key, defining ingredient!
Thank you for this recipe!!!
This is a delicious recipe and so easy! I am wondering about how the eggs are added. I’ve never whisked the eggs and then added some of the batter as called for. How does this help the recipe?
Hi Darcy, we temper the eggs in this recipe. Tempering means you’ll add a hot liquid to the beaten eggs. If you add the eggs directly to the pot of boiling ingredients, you’ll have scrambled egg sauce. By slowly whisking *some* of the hot syrup into the beaten eggs, you are slowly bringing up their temperature—not shocking them. And then you’ll slowly drizzle and whisk that warm egg mixture into the pot. Hope this helps!
I made the crust (twice) exactly as the recipe states and the crust was way too loose. It was poured & spread vs pressed in and after 15 mins did not look baked. I can’t figured out what I did wrong. Any advice/guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Hi Megan! It sounds like your browned butter was too warm/hot. Try letting it cool down until closer to room temperature before continuing with the recipe. That should help!
Issues with the crust. I made it twice and the first time it was like liquid. It did not set. So I threw it out. The second time it was still softer. I am just hoping the baking it the second time will do the trick. It’s been ages for me that a recipe did not work. Was a bit disappointed.
These are sooooo delicious.
I want to add some semisweet chocolate chips (I know they’ll melt). How much would you recommend? I was thinking about a cup when I add the pecans…
Hi Andy, you can add 1 cup of dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips to the filling when you stir in the pecans.
No bake version? I just ordered a case of shortbread tartlets for a catering event and they’re ready to serve. Any chance you have something similar to this that could be prepared on the strovetop and refrigerated?
Hi Bridget! None of our pecan pie recipes are no-bake at this time, so we can’t offer much advice. Let us know if you give anything a try!
The key to the crust not crumbling is to let it cool completely and even overnight. I tried cutting too soon and it was a disaster. Covered and cut them in the morning and they were perfect. I used Karo syrup since it would be closer to my mom’s pecan pie recipe that everyone loved. This is a great recipe for those like me who cannot seem to master the perfect pie crust. Everyone loved them. I will be making again for next year.
Holy wow these are good. I got creative because I wanted a little chocolate flair and I subbed 1/4 of the maple syrup for 1/4 semisweet chocolate chips and … *chef’s kids* yum!! Bringing these to thanksgiving tomorrow!
I don’t have unsalted butter. What are the issues with that. This is a last minute decision.
Hi Jill, you will just want to reduce the added salt in the recipe.
Sally, can I use honey instead of maple syrup?
Hi Jenna, that should work – it will be a 1:1 switch. The consistency should relatively be the same – just a flavor difference. Enjoy!