pecan pie squares

I know, I placed a teaser picture on my Facebook page and then made everybody wait because I was too busy being a mom and a daughter and a teacher and a multitasking human who didn’t actually get anything right last week. Cue the tears. Ok, maybe no tears. I think I put myself in time out last week maybe three times. People, one minute for every year adds up to a nice little segment of time to decompress. Or put away clean laundry. You decide.

 

Anyway… This is an absolute frankendessert of goodness. Oh. My. Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie Bars. As in…make a chocolate chip brownie like bottom and then top it with the pecan pie filling and bake.

On the edges, the pecan pie absorbs into the cookie layer. on the inside, it remains that gooey, Karo

syrupy nutty amazing ness that is all things pecan pie.

You don’t like pecan pie? We need to talk. Unless you have an allergy, it could be a deal breaker in our friendship. Like country music, or not returning one of my books (you know who you are).

This recipe is actually pretty easy to prepare, you mix your cookie dough in  the mixer, and then as it bakes, you mix your pecan pie topping.

It bakes in two sessions, and the ingredients are a little higher end (I know, pecans are expensive) but if you want to impress a crowd, this is your dessert.

This is also a large dessert. This recipe fills a 9×13 pan, to the top. I lined my pan with parchment, making it easier to lift out after baking, easier to cut into bars, and saving me a lot of time with pecan stickiness on the pan after baking.

This dessert is so beautiful.

This was one of two desserts I made for the last of the pumpkin carving parties. Nothing says hello Halloween like a fire, friends, food, and more food.

We have been lucky enough to be invited for several years, and it is hard to believe our kids are seniors this year. Sigh. We have transitioned to it being all about the pumpkins, to all about the hanging out. Party food needs to also be portable, so these bars work nicely. They don’t need a fork like pecan pie does. You will, however, need a napkin.

I did mention that these bars had to go to school the next day?

I can’t be trusted with anything this lovely. My school peeps are so worthy of great love, and desserts.

The original recipe is from www.confessionsofacookbookqueen.com. I did alter the recipe, par for the course, changing the brown sugar, the vanilla extract, and the amount of chocolate chips.

One thing I would mention is- really watch towards the end of the baking time. I actually cooked these a little longer because I wanted to make sure the topping set. In doing so, I think the color of the base layer was more brown and caramelish than intended.

Once the bars have baked, allow them to cool completely. Remove from pan, and slice into squares.

Because this is a richer dessert, the squares don’t need to be large, but I like a hearty portion, so this made enough squares for the party, to share at school, and still manage a portion to live on my countertop calling out to me.

In this season of thankfulness and abundance, this dessert just seems perfection to me. It’s a Thanksgiving treat, and my heart is always looking for another reason to be thankful.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!

Chrissy

Click below for a printable recipe.

 

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