For years we have struggled with Pecan Pie. If you are like many of the people we know, you too have struggled. Growing up, we weren’t big lovers of nuts in our desserts. We still feel that way about many desserts, but can now appreciate a well placed nut in the right recipe.
Our solution to getting the nut-averse to eat a pecan-laced sweet around Thanksgiving is our Bourbon Pecan Pie Butter Bars. Part Bourbon Pecan Tart and part Gooey Butter Bar, this recipe boasts a salty-sweet sugar cookie crust and a only a very thin layer of pecan pie filling that is cut with some flour, making for a filling that is a little more cakey than gooey.
1 cup maple syrup or corn syrup (they have organic corn syrup at Whole Foods)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups chopped pecans
1 cup chocolate chips
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13×9-inch or 9×9-inch pan with butter. In a large bowl, mix together the egg and melted butter with a whisk. Add in the Organic Vanilla Cake Mix and mix together with a spatula (this is a thick dough, so using a spatula is easier than a whisk).
Place the dough into the greased (and hopefully parchment-lined) pan and pat into an even layer using your hands or a spatula.
Bake for 15-20 minutes for a 13×9-inch pan or 20-25 minutes for a 9×9-inch pan, or until the crust is slightly golden.
In the same large bowl you used before (we don’t need to unnecessarily dirty up more bowls), whisk together the 1/2 cup cake mix and brown sugar. Add in the eggs, maple or corn syrup, and vanilla, whisking until smooth. Stir in the pecans and chocolate chips, and then pour over the hot cake mix crust.
Bake for an addition 30-35 minutes for a 13×9-inch pan and 40-45 minutes for a 9×9-inch pan, or until the edges of the crust start to turn golden and the center of the bars is only slightly jiggly.
Cool completely before serving. In fact, another pro tip is to freeze these guys until they are hard and then cut them. This is how the pros create those perfectly straight little edges on every bar. Enjoy!
Recipe Note
Pro tip:
After greasing the pan, place a piece of parchment paper into the pan and grease again. After baking and cooling, you’ll be able to easily remove the bars from the pan and cut without messing up any of the bars. This trick will literally change your life.
Leave a comment