Pecan Bars Or Squares

The recipe for Pecan Bars or Squares is straightforward. Pecans, well known for their delectable taste, are especially delightful when toasted to bring out their flavor. Pair them with a shortbread base and a caramel-type sauce, and you’ll create a perfect bar or square.

The recipe consists of two parts, as it involves two rounds of baking. Firstly, the shortbread base needs to bake to set it up for the topping. Then, while the pan is still hot, the topping is poured over the shortbread, and it undergoes a second baking.

Since the topping is in liquid form, it’s crucial to pour it over the hot pan immediately to initiate the cooking process and prevent excessive liquid from seeping down the sides of the shortbread.

Ingredients for Pecan Bars Or Squares

Before moving on to the process of making Pecan Bars or Squares, let’s go over the ingredients.

The shortbread contains basic ingredients such as flour, butter, sugar, and a touch of salt. The topping includes pecans, along with a caramel mixture consisting of eggs, brown sugar, vanilla extract, syrup (golden syrup in this case, but maple syrup or corn syrup will suffice), a bit of flour, and salt.

Process

The process is quite simple as well. Mix the shortbread ingredients together until they start to clump. Press this mixture into a lined 9-inch (23cm) square pan to form the base. Then, place it in a preheated oven at 180°C/160°C Fan/350°F and bake for approximately 18 minutes. While the shortbread bakes, prepare the topping by mixing eggs, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and golden syrup, then adding in the flour and stirring in the chopped pecans.

After the shortbread has baked for 18 minutes, remove it from the oven and pour the topping onto it. Continue baking for another 25 minutes, or until the centre is just set. Take the Pecan Bars or Squares out of the oven, allow them to cool in the pan, then remove them from the pan, peel back the lining, and cut them into squares.

My Bars, Or Squares

My bars or squares baked nicely, although some liquid did seep down the sides. This might have occurred because I allowed the pan to cool too much before adding the topping. Nonetheless, the bars or squares were very good indeed. Upon tasting them, I found the shortbread to be tender, the top slightly gooey, and the pecan flavour was delightful, blending well with the caramel. If desired, serving the bars warm will provide an even more gooey texture.

I love these with some whipped cream, as a dessert.

Another great recipe is Easy Buttermilk Cake With Pecans

Pecan Bars Or Squares

Recipe by geoffcooCourse: Biscuits, Cookies, DessertsDifficulty: Easy

Servings

16

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

45

minutes

Ingredients

• Shortbread

• 200g(1 cup, based on scooping packed flour into a 250ml cup)
  plain flour

• 44g(5 1/2 tbsp) icing sugar

• 113g(8 tbsp) melted unsalted butter

• 1.5g(1/4 tsp)salt

• Topping

• 100g(1 cup) toasted chopped pecans

• 3 medium eggs(large in USA) – about 130g(4 1/2 oz)

• 95g(1/2 cup minus 1 tsp) light brown sugar

• 240ml(1 cup) golden syrup – or corn/maple syrup

• 28g(3 tbsp) plain flour

• 3g(1/2 tsp) salt

• 10ml(2 tsp) vanilla extract

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/350F
• Line a 9 inch/23cm square pan with parchment paper.
• Place the flour, icing sugar and salt into a large bowl and mix to combine.
• Add the melted butter and stir until it is combined and has formed clumps with all the dry ingredients incorporated.
• Tip the dough into the prepared pan and press it down to cover the base entirely, as evenly as possible.
• Place the pan in the oven and bake for 18 minutes.
• Put the eggs and brown sugar, along with the vanilla extract and golden syrup into a large bowl and whisk them until fully combined.
• Sprinkle the salt and flour over the surface and stir to fully combine.
• Stir in the chopped pecans.
• Take the pan out of the oven and pour the mixture onto the shortbread.
• Use a spatula to spread the pecans evenly.
• Place the pan into the oven and bake for 25 minutes, or until the centre is just about set.
• Remove the pan from the oven and leave it to cool before transferring the bars, or squares, to a board for cutting.
• Peel the parchment paper off the sides and slice the square into 16 equal pieces.