Maple Pecan Pie Bars made with a brown sugar shortbread crust and a gooey maple pecan filling. Sweet, salty, crunchy, chewy – absolutely addicting! With no crust to roll out, these bars are even easier than pecan pie.
You are looking at one of my all-time favorite recipes. You are also looking at what I have eaten for every meal dessert for the past week. And, you are also looking at the reason I need to spend 100 hours in the gym. Totally worth it, though.
This is one of the first recipes I originally shared 5 years ago. It was an immediate family favorite, and a recipe that I continue to make every holiday season. I updated the photos and made a couple tiny tweaks to the recipe itself (it’s better than ever, guys).
You might also like: Maple Oatmeal Cookies, Maple Pecan Pie, Pecan Pie Brownies, Chocolate Coconut Pecan Bars
These Maple Pecan Pie Bars taste like the BEST pecan pie you’ve ever eaten. MELT IN YOUR MOUTH perfection. A brown sugar crust, a sweet and sticky maple filling (no corn syrup here), chopped pecans, and a finishing sprinkle of sea salt.
I like to think of these bars as a less fussy and way better tasting version of pecan pie. As Ina Garten would say, pecan pie “with the volume turned up.”
How to Make Pecan Pie Bars
- Shortbread Crust – The easiest crust you’ll ever make – no rolling out dough! A quick brown sugar shortbread gets mixed up – butter, flour, brown sugar, and salt. This crumbly mixture gets dumped into a foil-lined 9×9 baking dish and pressed into an even flat layer. The crust gets a head start in the oven while we prepare the filling.
- Maple Pecan Pie Filling – This filling is different than traditional pecan pie in that there are no eggs and no corn syrup. The mixture is sweetened with brown sugar and pure maple syrup. Butter and milk add richness and moisture, which helps our filling bake into a thick and gooey masterpiece. This mixture simmers on the stovetop for a solid minute, then gets poured over our beautiful crust. And back to the oven it goes.
How to Cut and Store Pecan Pie Bars
- Cool the bars completely before you cut them. I cool the pan to room temp, then transfer to the fridge to cool completely. They are easier to cut when chilled.
- Lift the whole pan of bars out of the baking dish – this is easy to do since it’s lined with foil. Use a very sharp knife to cut into desired pieces.
- I recommend storing these bars in the refrigerator (bring to room temp before serving). When they are chilled and firm, they can be easily packed up and transported.
- These bars travel really well. Pack them (still chilled) in a food storage container with parchment paper between each layer. Note: These are sturdiest when cold. If you are traveling with them you might want to put a couple ice packs around the food storage container. Once they come to room temperature they will soften significantly – this is how they taste the best!
Can I Freeze Pecan Pie Bars?
- Yes, yes, absolutely YES! These bars freeze beautifully.
- Pack them up when they’re chilled and layer them with parchment paper in a tightly sealed food storage container.
- Bring the bars to room temperature before serving, and/or occasionally steal chewy cold bites straight from the freezer. 😉
- These bars will last 1-2 months in the freezer. Although, we always eat them way before that.
Everyone goes crazy for the gooey, crunchy, sweet, and buttery textures and flavors going on here. These make a fantastic addition to any holiday gathering, and they are the perfect way to end a meal on a sweet note.
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Recipe
Maple Pecan Pie Bars
Ingredients
For the crust:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ⅓ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 ⅓ cups all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the filling:
- 6 tablespoons butter, diced
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- ⅓ cup milk, whole or 2%
- 2 cups chopped pecans, the smaller you chop them the easier it is to cut the bars
- ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon salt, optional, I prefer flaked sea salt
Instructions
For the crust:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 9×9 square baking pan with foil, leaving a couple inches overhang. Spray or butter the foil.
- Beat butter and brown sugar for several minutes. 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. When the crust has about 5 minutes left to cook, start the filling.
For the filling:
- In a medium saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, and milk. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Once it begins simmering, simmer for one full minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the pecans.
- Carefully pour the filling evenly over the crust (gently spread it around with a rubber spatula so that the nuts and liquid are evenly distributed).
- Return to the oven and cook for an additional 15-18 minutes. The mixture should be bubbling, and the very center will still be slightly jiggly, it will thicken as it cools. Remove from oven and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt (optional).
- Cool completely before cutting into squares or bars. Note: Once cooled to room temp I transfer to the pan to the fridge. The colder they are the easier they are to cut. Use the foil overhang to remove the whole pan of bars before cutting. I serve them at room temp.
Video
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!
Alejandra says
Hi! Love to try this!
Can i replace maple syrup with honey?
Celebrating Sweets says
I have never tried it. You are welcome to try. Hopefully it works out for you. Enjoy!
Ana says
This is a good idea but it’s inedible in practice. The crust tastes like flour mixed with butter. It’s soggy and greasy. Not good. Waste of pecans – have you made this actual recipe? It would work if crust was pie crust or cookie crust.
Celebrating Sweets says
Hi, Ana. Sorry you didn’t like these. Yes, I have actually made them, probably close to a dozen times. The crust is considered a shortbread cookie crust, which means it will be buttery, flaky, and just barely sweet (this is intentional since the pecan filling is very sweet). The crust definitely should not have been soggy. If you changed the pan size, or swapped any ingredients (margarine for butter for example) the end result will vary. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience.
Jeanetta Brown says
These are amazing. Accidentally blind baked at 425 for 15 mins (too much multi-tasking) but still turned out great. Will definitely recommend and make again. Hit with the whole family.
Celebrating Sweets says
Wonderful! I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂 -Allison
Avis Washington says
The desserts are wonderful . Especially, the pecan pie.
Bethany Payne says
The maple pecan bars are delicious! They’re super easy and I plan to make them again.
Celebrating Sweets says
I’m glad you liked them! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Jan Winchell says
What accommodations do I need to make to increase this to 9 x 13? I would like to make this for a crowd .
Celebrating Sweets says
Hi, Jan. I have only made this recipe as written. I would guess that you could double the recipe for a 9×13. Bake time might be a couple minutes longer, but other than that I don’t think you’ll need to make any changes. Best of luck playing around with it. Enjoy!
Carol says
This recipe looks so good, have you ever done anything gluten free? I am allergic to wheat so must use a wheat free flour? Just asking if you’d done any of this before
Celebrating Sweets says
Hi, Carol. I do not have very many gluten free recipes, but I’ve listed a few of them below. You can try making these bars with a cup-to-cup gluten free flour blend, although I have not tested it that way. Enjoy!
Pumpkin Cornbread
Healthy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Almond Coconut Cookies
Vanilla Pudding
Energy Bites
Anna says
Made these today and they are SO good! I realized I didn’t have a 9×9 pan so I used an 8×8 and just didn’t use quite all of the crust mixture or filling – still turned out great! Loved that I already had most of the ingredients and the recipe was super easy to follow. Definitely will make again 🙂 thank you!
Celebrating Sweets says
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Jen says
If I misread and didn’t beat the butter and brown sugar first and just added flour right away will that mess up the crust ? I beat it all together well but worried I screwed it up….
Celebrating Sweets says
That should be ok. Enjoy!
Sheila says
These turned out great! As a girl who grew up with a mom who couldn’t cook I always had to use recipes from others and cookbooks and sometimes my attempts made me ask the same question as someone else here, “did they ever try to make this?” However, now we have the internet where we can read and leave reviews! Looking for a bar recipe with no chocolate (husband doesn’t like) I stumbled upon these great bars. I had looked at several that were gluten-free calling for all sorts of unique flours and ingredients I didn’t have. I had everything in my cabinet for these and was a little skeptical after reading that ONE review and seeing how syrupy my pecans turned out but the finished product was even more beautiful than the pictures here and just like you would expect. The crust was golden and cookie like, the top was chewy and sweet and nutty and delicious! Follow direction perfectly. Printed and saved this on my fridge.
Celebrating Sweets says
Thanks for the kind review, Sheila. I’m so glad that you enjoyed them. 🙂