These Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars are made with a brown sugar shortbread crust topped with maple-brown sugar filling and loaded with pecans and chocolate chips. Delicious flavor and texture in every sweet and sticky bite!
This is the most incredible way to get your pecan pie fix. Imagine the best pecan pie you’ve ever tasted, then add chocolate chips! I’ll be making these for Thanksgiving, and approximately one million more times after that. Promise me you’ll do the same.
I figured you might be busy assembling your Thanksgiving menu, so I wanted to remind you that we turned our favorite Chocolate Pecan Pie into bars. Why bars? For one, no pie crust! This easy press-in crust is topped with a filling that comes together in minutes. These bars are one of our favorite holiday desserts.
Prefer cookies? Try our Pecan Pie Cookies. Prefer brownies? Try our Pecan Pie Brownies.
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Why you’ll love this recipe
Ease: No fussy pie crust! Just an easy shortbread dough that gets pressed into the pan along with a filling that comes together in minutes!
Flavor: Brown sugar, maple, pecans, and chocolate. An incredible flavor combo! You’ll want to add chocolate to your pecan pie from now on. 🙂
Texture: Gooey filling, buttery soft crust, crunchy pecans, and melty chocolate chips.
No corn syrup: We don’t make our pecan pie with corn syrup and these bars are no different. This recipe is sweetened with brown sugar and maple syrup which add incredible flavor.
Key ingredients
Here’s what gives these bars incredible flavor and texture:
Brown sugar: Both in the crust and the filling
Pure maple syrup: For a hint of maple flavor and the classic sticky pecan pie texture.
Butter: Adds richness to both the crust and the filling.
Pecans: Lots of chopped pecans running through every bite!
Chocolate chips: Choose bittersweet (my preference) or semisweet chocolate chips.
Recipe overview
*Full recipe below in recipe card*
Crust: This easy shortbread crust gets mixed up and pressed into a 9×9 pan. Prebake the crust for about 15 minutes before adding the filling.
Filling: A mixture of melted butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, milk, egg, pecans, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips. Whisk it up and pour over the crust.
Bake: Bake the bars for about 18-20 minutes, The edges will be set but the center will still be a bit jiggly. It will firm up as it cools.
Recipe tips
Chop the pecans small, this makes the bars easier to cut and serve.
Use bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips. I prefer bittersweet because the dark chocolate creates a nice balance with the other flavors.
Allow time for the bars to cool completely before cutting.
The cooler the bars are the more firm they will be. Serve at room temperature, or refrigerated for a handheld dessert, or heat each serving just slightly and serve with a fork (they will be gooey!).
Just like with pie, the edges will be more “well done” and the center pieces will be a bit more soft and gooey.
Serve as is or top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
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Recipe
Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars
Ingredients
Crust:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 ⅓ cups all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Filling:
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ⅔ cups chopped pecans
- ⅔ cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips, I prefer bittersweet
Instructions
Crust:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 9×9 pan with foil or parchment paper, leaving a couple inches overhang. Lightly grease the pan, set aside.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat butter and brown sugar until creamy and combined. Add flour and salt, beat until thoroughly combined. Dump the mixture (it will be crumbly) into the prepared pan and press it evenly into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the filling.
Filling:
- In a large bowl, whisk melted butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, milk, egg, cocoa powder, and salt. Stir in pecans and chocolate chips. Pour the filling over the crust and gently spread it around with a rubber spatula so that the liquid and solids are evenly distributed.
- Return to the oven and cook for about 18-22 minutes. The mixture should be bubbling slightly around the edges. The edges will be set but the center will still be a bit jiggly. It will firm up as it cools. Place pan on a wire rack to cool completely before cutting into squares. Sprinkle lightly with flaky sea salt, if desired, to add a contrast to the sweetness.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Maggie Unzueta
I need to print this recipe and make it for my mom. She will love this!
Hannah Adkins
Pecan pie is no joke one of my favorite desserts, especially this time of year. So making them in little bars – amazing!
Lauren Gaskill
Chocolate, coconut and pecans all in one bar? I think I just died and went to dessert heaven!
Carol
STOP! That was my reaction when seeing this recipe and the German chocolat brownies and the coconut brownies and the pumpkin pie praline bars… Sunday marked one year of making your recipe for the carrot/pumpkin/pineapple/coconut cake with cream cheese frosting. It is still the BEST recipe and requested often. I wrote that could be the only recipe I need. Now I must try all these. I would love to have that coffee with you and not count the calories or the sugar content. Thanks for the recipes.
Celebrating Sweets
Thank you for the kind words, Carol. You have made my day! You are very welcome for the recipes. Have a fabulous holiday season. -Allison
Privana
Can I leave out the egg in this
Celebrating Sweets
I would not recommend it. The eggs acts a binder. You can try using this recipe instead and adding coconut and chocolate chips. https://celebratingsweets.com/maple-pecan-bars/
Nora S Ackerley
Is it ok to double or triple this recipe?
Celebrating Sweets
Sure! Just make sure you use a large enough pan. Enjoy!
pam
can these be frozen?
Celebrating Sweets
I’ve never tried it, but I would guess that they can be frozen. Enjoy!
Meg Carroll
Really enjoyed these!
Celebrating Sweets
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
bonnie benson
made these today top was yummy, bottom was hard as a rock,any ideas what I could of done wrong seems so simple?
Celebrating Sweets
Hhhhmm…I haven’t had that problem. Maybe the crust was packed too tightly into the pan. Or if you baked the bars in the lower portion of your oven the crust might have been overbaked. I’m not quite sure.
Ben
Could you use dark Karo instead of maple syrup? Many thanks! This recipe has all my favorite “food groups!” ?
Allison
That should work. Enjoy!