Maple Pecan Pie Bars is what you make when you don’t have the energy for pie dough – they really do taste just like Pecan Pie! I like mine with a good amount of filling, lots and lots of pecans, and just enough salt to balance out the sweetness. The maple flavour here really hits the spot!
Maple Pecan Pie Bars
These bars are basically Pecan Pie in disguise. It’s got all the best bits of the classic – a buttery crispy pie crust, a gooey caramel-y (maple!) custardy filling and unmissable pecan flavour and crunch (I use lots!). But none of the pie dough stress. No rolling, no blind baking, no pie weights, no pricking, just a simple mix-and-press base.
Yay!
Plus, bars have practicality going for them too – you can eat them with your hands.
So let me sum this up – they’re easier to make, easier to slice, easier to eat, and you can devour them in the car without taking your eyes off the road.
Remind me why we ever make pie? 😅
PS Just kidding (*she says immediately, defensively!*). Pecan Pie forever has a place in my life.
Ingredients in Maple Pecan Pie Bars
You could actually make this recipe with any nut you want. I can see it with cashews, walnuts, peanuts, almonds, macadamias…. – and you might see a version of it on here one of these days!!
Pecans – Use pecan halves and chop them up yourself, you get better flavour than buying them pre-cut. Also, I like to chop the pecans up for the filling then use some whole ones to decorate the surface. Other nuts – see above the ingredient photo.
Maple syrup – This makes the filling gooey and sticky as well as adding gorgeous maple flavour. Use real maple syrup for the best flavour rather than artificially flavoured maple (which also loses flavour when cooked). Honey can also be used.
Brown sugar – For caramel-y sweetness for the base and filling. It also helps set the filling because when simmered with the butter, we’re essentially making a caramel.
Eggs – You wouldn’t think having two rather than one egg would make such a difference for how the filling sets, but it really does. With one egg, the maple weeped a bit once cut. With two, it sets perfectly so it’s cuttable but the inside is still sticky and caramel-y (well, maple syrupy!).
Flour – For the simple pie crust base. Just regular plain flour / all purpose flour.
Vanilla – For flavour, for the filling. Use vanilla extract rather than imitation essence, for better flavour.
Salt – The salt in the filling and base is to bring out the flavours (I use regular salt for this), then I use salt flakes to sprinkle on the surface for lovely salt pops which is so nice with the nutty sweetness. But the flakes are optional!
How to make Maple Pecan Pie Bars
If you’ve ever made a Pecan Pie before, you will appreciate how much more straight forward this is. And if you’ve ever eaten a Pecan Pie before, you will appreciate how similar the flavour is!!
1. SIMPLE PIE CRUST Base and toasty pecans
Base – Just mix everything up in a bowl with a wooden spoon. The mixture is quite crumbly because we’re making a simple shortbread-like pie crust, but when pressed in and baked it holds together and won’t crumble apart when cut.
Bake 20 minutes – Press into a 20cm/8″ square lined pan. I crumble it across the base and press with my hands. It doesn’t need to be perfectly flat, you just want to make sure there are no cracks the filling can through, but sometimes I deploy the assistance of a spatula to press down evenly.
Then bake for 20 minutes. If time permits, let it cool for 15 minutes before pouring the filling in, it makes the base a little crisper (hot base = more porous).
Toast the pecans for 10 minutes in the oven, just pop it in at the same time you’re baking the base. Don’t skip the pecan toasting please, it really improves the flavour of the pecans – especially helpful if your pecans are a little on the older side. 🙂
PS We’re not toasting the pecans used for decorating the surface, as they’ll toast nicely in the oven while the filling bakes.
Roughly chop the pecans – not too small, we want some decent bits to bite into, but not too big else you can’t cut the slice neatly (they get in the way!). In a perfect world, every pecan would be cut into 4 or 6 pieces – that’s roughly the size to aim for (but who would cut the pecans one by one – not I!!!).
2. maple caramel filling
OK, base done, pecans chopped, let’s make the filling, a simple melt-and-whisk job!
Melt the butter in a small saucepan then add the sugar, maple and salt. Bring it to a simmer then take it off the heat.
Cool then eggs – Let the filling cool for 5 minutes so you don’t cook the eggs. Then add the eggs and vanilla, and whisk until smooth.
Stir the chopped pecans in.
Pour into the base and spread the pecans out.
Decorate the top with the whole pecans (I like to toss them in a little maple syrup and pinch of salt first).
Bake for 25 minutes until golden (I love how it gets all bubbly!). Let it cool for a couple of hours until set (prod the middle and you will know). Then cut into sixteen normal squares or nine giant squares (I will not judge, I encourage). To expedite the setting process, let it cool down a bit on the counter for about 45 minutes then pop it in the fridge.
Oh – also – sprinkle with salt flakes! The little pops of salt with pecan nuttiness and maple sweetness if just heavenly!!
Eat with your hands. If I hear of anyone bringing a knife and fork near these, there will be words!! 😂 – Nagi x
PS These will keep in the pantry if it’s not too hot, otherwise store them in the fridge. They are actually really great eaten cold, straight out of the fridge – I rarely say that, always insisting cakes etc. be brought to room temperature but I actually like the extra chewiness of the filling when it’s fridge cold.
FAQ – Maple Pecan Pie Bars
I personally haven’t tried but I think that using Gluten Free flour will work just fine here for the simple pie crust base.
Sure can – almonds, cashews, walnuts, peanuts and macadamias come immediately to mind! Lovely with maple. 🙂
In the fridge, they were still great after 7 days, though bear in the mind the base does soften over time (not sloppy or mushy, just not as crisp as they are on day 1 – 2).
This one actually started months ago when I had a massive oversupply of pecans for an unexplained reason! Bags and bags of them. So I actually put a call out onto Instagram and asked people for ideas, and Pecan Pie Bars was by far the most popular suggestion.
Creating it wasn’t hard, the filling is just adapted from my classic Pecan Pie and the base is a fairly standard mixture for slices and bar recipes I have on my website. The first time I made it I just used the Pecan Pie filling but because the pecan filling isn’t as thick in slice-form as it is in pie-form (which has sides so it can hold more in) I felt like I was being robbed a bit of the pecan pie experience. Simpler versions of things are good, but I’m only willing to compromise so much!
So I decided to switch out corn syrup for maple syrup to add extra flavour into it (pecans and maple being great friends, impossible to go wrong here) to compensate for not having as thick a filling. Also – any opportunity to not use corn syrup is welcome, being an ingredient not readily available here in Australia.
From there, I fiddled a bit to get the right filling texture – I wanted Pecan Pie custardy / caramely goodness, set enough to cut neat slices and hold it, but still sticky. I didn’t think I’d need 2 eggs to achieve this (my first had only 1 egg and the maple weeped a bit), but it did and it didn’t dry it out either.
It might’ve taken 6 attempts over the space of a few months until I was happy? It was just one of those recipes I’d dabble in on low-key weekends. There hasn’t been that many of late which is why this took a while before I published it!
Then as usual, I made a version to photograph then I filmed it. 🙂
Never lacking in willing recipients even for the imperfect early versions!!
Watch how to make it
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Maple Pecan Pie Bars
Ingredients
Base:
- 75g (5 tbsp) unsalted butter , melted
- 1/3 cup (tightly packed) brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
- 1 cup plain flour (all-purpose flour)
Maple Pecan Pie Filling:
- 1 1/2 cups pecans (Note 1)
- 75g (5 tbsp) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup (tightly packed) brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
- 1/3 cup maple syrup , real not artificially flavoured (honey would also work)
- 2 large eggs (~55g/2oz each)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Decorating:
- 1/3 cup pecans
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/4 tsp salt flakes , for sprinkling at the end (optional but recommended)
Instructions
ABBREVIATED RECIPE:
- Base – mix butter, sugar and salt, then flour. Press into 20cm/8" lined pan, bake 15 min at 180C/350F (160C fan), cool 15 min. Oven toast pecans 10 min (put in with base), roughly chop. Filling – bring butter, maple, sugar and salt to simmer, cool 5 min, whisk in eggs and vanilla, then pecans. Pour on base, top with maple coated whole pecans, bake 25 min.
FULL RECIPE:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced).
- Grease a 20cm/8" square pan lightly with butter then line with paper, with overhang to lift out later. (Note 2 for scaling up)
- Make base – Melt the butter in a microwave proof bowl. Mix in the sugar and salt, then the flour. Press evenly into the base of the pan (I use my hands first, then finish with a spatula to make it fairly even, no need to be meticulous).
- Bake and cool – Bake for 20 minutes, then cool for 15 minutes before filling (keeps the base crisper but you can skip this).
- Toast pecans – Spread the pecans for the filling on a tray and bake in the oven for 10 minutes (I put them in with the base). Remove, then when cool enough to handle, roughly chop.
- Maple filling – Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Mix in the sugar, maple syrup and salt. Once it comes to a proper simmer, remove from the stove and cool for 5 minutes. Whisk the eggs and vanilla in, then stir the chopped pecans in. (You can set aside until ready to use).
- Decorating pecans – Toss the pecans with the maple syrup.
- Fill and bake – Pour the pecan filling onto the base and spread out evenly. Top with the Decorating Pecans. Bake 25 minutes.
- Cool – Remove and cool fully to room temperature to let it set (~ 2 hrs, fridge will expedite). Then cut into 16 squares (or 9…) and eat with your hands!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
More bars and slices
I like food you can eat with your hands.
Life of Dozer
Before:
After:
It’s cucumber.😅
May I point out he gave it a good chomp – but then decided it wasn’t worth swallowing.
**BREAKING NEWS**
And in exciting news, Dozer stood up by himself today, for the first time in 25 days!! 🎉🎉🎉 It just happened! After 25 days of hauling him to his feet every time he wants to eat / drink / move for no reason / toilet break / bed time / get his toy / scavenge for food, I can’t tell you how excited I am!!
GO DOZER GO!!!
Hi Nagi! Any suggestions for a substitute for maple syrup? Thanks!
P.S. congrats to Dozer on his amazing recovery progress!
Dozer must be feeling stronger and I’m teary for you both and oh, the pecan bars are on my ‘to make’ list.
Thank you again for your hard work with your beautiful recipes
🙌 Nagi your love for Dozer and determination has got him through. Well done. I made this slice and we all enjoyed it so much. Yet again Nagi 10/10
Go Dozer!!!! So happy for you
Aww go Dozer !!
I haven’t tried baking these yet, but I am so irresistibly tempted that I know I will try them soon! So happy that your Dozer stood up! And I must say that Abigail my beagle absolutely adores cucumbers, so just send them over her way she’ll chomp them down lol👍🏻❤️. Thanks for sharing all your recipes! You definitely have tons of winners.
Dozer you did it! Great job! You know Dozer you probably have the biggest fan club around. We all love you. ❤️
When I made these delicious bars, I found 5 minutes was enough to toast the nuts. 10 minutes and they would have burnt. Lovely recipe, thank you Nagi.
Just tasted my first pie bar after making this and it’s yummy. I was worried I got the base wrong as the mix appeared more dry than Nagi’s, but it turned out fine. I baked the base at 160C fan forced but it was still quite blonde, so baked it for another 10mins. Still not as golden as Nagi’s. Baked the filling at 180C for the 25mins and the timing was perfect. My oven must run a little cooler than Nagi’s. My partner prefers these without the sprinkling of salt flakes at the end, where as I prefer it with the salt. Will make this again for sure.
OMG no way! I have been making a version of this for years and it’s a huge family favourite…I converted a pecan pie recipe to a 20 x 30cm lamington slice pan size (this is for self-control purposes…cutting up the slice into small rectangles makes reasonable portion sizes compared to a triangle of traditional pecan pie and then it also lasts longer as it is quite a decadent slice!) My recipe has similar proportions of ingredients as yours, but I use glucose syrup in the filling instead of maple (but I add a bit of golden syrup, and dark brown sugar…you can also use dark Karo syrup if you’re in the USA). What’s amazing is I hadn’t made it in over a year but had a hankering the other day and made some…so good! And then I see your recipe today…I’m going to have to try it with some maple syrup like your recipe has, next time 😉
Well I’ve made these delicious looking bars and am now waiting the 2 hours for them to cool before tasting. Though I’ve just stolen a bit on the corner and they are super yum. Nobody will notice!
And speaking of sick dogs, I’m also waiting for Coco my border collie’s leg to heal so I can take her for a walk. I’ve lost my identity when I walk at the local beach without her. Nobody recognises me! I’ve become anonymous! Coco sends her best wishes to Dozer.
Also, pictures of the pecan bars and your Garlic Chicken Thighs recipe I am cooking tonight have convinced my son to come and visit! Winner,
Wow! I just made these Gluten Free and they are incredible.
GF swaps: I used the same amount of flour, Becky Excell’s flour blend on her website, and added 1/4 tsp of xanthum gum to the base. No other changes. So good!
My family went nuts 😄 for this recipe! So easy and so delicious. Thanks Nagi xx
Mmmm sooo good
maple… bars!
TY from Sweden🥰
Oh Nagi, So happy to hear Dozer is back on track. Hydro could be good! Gentle and effective. He’s just an adorable boy (even with that old man butt!) We do what we have to, we just love our fur babies so much. Can’t wait to try the pecan slice. Take care of both of you. x
Oh. My. God.
I’ve never commented on your recipes before (they’re all awesome, BTW) but this. This. THIS!
I don’t think I’ll ever feel compelled to make pecan pie again. These bars hit all those notes just perfectly, and I don’t need to have an argument with dough and blind baking.
You’ve made my weekend!
These are so good. They remind me of the maple pecan plaits that coles sells. Love the flavour so much. Thankyou Nagi
OMG goosebumps and tears here watching Dozer stand up and hearing your cheering in the background! ❤️❤️❤️ (Oh, the recipe looks awesome too 🤣🤣🤣)
We’re all so happy we could cry right along with you!!! You are such an outstanding dog mom. (Not too bad of a cook either! Can’t wait to make these pecan pie bars.
I think that is your “glimmer” for the day seeing Dozer being able to get up. Mine is this delightful recipe! Thanks Nagi