Bourbon Pecan Pie Bars

Bourbon Pecan Pie Bars taste like the favorite holiday pie... elevated. With a buttery homemade crust, these sweet, decadent bars are the perfect dessert for any fall or winter gathering and are made without corn syrup!

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 15

Servings servings

Calories 532kcal

Ingredients

Butter Crust

½ cup unsalted butter softened
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
½ cup brown sugar dark or light work
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats not the instant kind
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Bourbon Pecan Pie Filling

3 eggs
1/3 cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup local honey
2 oz. bourbon
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
1 1/3 cup pecan halves

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9"x9" square cake pan with nonstick baking spray, then line with parchment paper. Set aside.

Make the Butter Crust

Combine the softened butter, applesauce and brown sugar in a large bowl. Use a hand mixer or a rubber spatula to mix together until smooth.
Measure in the flour, oats and salt. Stir until combined.
Spread the crust mixture onto the bottom of the prepared baking dish using a rubber spatula or your hands. (If you use your hands, spray them with nonstick baking spray so that the mixture doesn't stick to you.)
When the crust is evenly spread out across the bottom of the baking dish, pop it in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. You don't want the crust to brown, but you do want it to firm up.
When the crust has pre-baked, remove from the oven and set aside.

Make the Bourbon Pecan Pie Filling

Break the eggs and measure in the sugar into a large bowl. Use a hand mixer or a metal whisk to mix until the ingredients are light yellow and creamy.
Measure in the salt, maple syrup, honey, bourbon, vanilla extract and melted butter. Stir the ingredients until incorporated.
Add the pecan halves to the mixture, and use a rubber spatula to stir them into the batter.
Pour the filling on top of the baked crust, and transfer to the oven.
Bake the bars for 45-60 minutes, or until the bars are set. (They'll have browned on top, and when you move the cake pan, they will not appear to be liquidy anymore.)
When they are baked through, remove the bars from the oven.
Let the bars cool for 30-45 minutes, then slice into even bars and serve.

Notes

This recipe makes 9 large squares, but you can easily slice the bars into smaller pieces for a bigger crowd. They're decadent enough that you don't need to have them be that big unless you want them to be. :)

How to store: Store in the refrigerator in an airtight food storage container for up to 5 days.

Nutrition