Pecan Pie Bars

Pecan pie is an amazing dessert. However, when it comes to holiday parties or potlucks, a regular pie doesn’t really go very far. You’d likely have to make a couple pies to make sure no one gets gipped. Anyway, that was my dilemma when my office had their most recent gathering. Since I’m incredibly fond of baking, I wanted to make a pecan pie-like dessert. After a little searching, I found a couple recipes that seemed doable and quite simple. While some called for a ridiculous amount of butter (four sticks) or way too much of a time investment (two and a half hours), this one was just about right - like Goldilocks finding the perfect temperature porridge.

Crust

1-3/4 cups flour

3/4 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup chopped pecans

Filling

1-1/2 cups dark corn syrup

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

4 large eggs

6 Tbsp flour

2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. salt

1-3/4 cups chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, for the crust, combine flour, butter and sugar. Beat with a hand mixer at medium speed until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in pecans. Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Bake for about 20 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine all of the filling ingredients except the pecans; mix well. Stir in the pecans. Spread the filling evenly over the hot, partially baked crust. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until filling is set and a knife inserted into the outer edge comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting into bars.