Maple Pecan Bars

Such a delicious treat for pecan pie lovers:  Maple Pecan Bars

These bars have a buttery shortbread crust and a pecan pie- like topping.  They’re a wonderful treat for fall or the holidays.

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Maple Pecan Bars

By RecipeGirl.com (Adapted barely from Bon Appetit, October 2003)

This is a delicious treat that's fun in the fall and for the holidays, but also perfect for any time of year.

Prep: 25 minutes mins

Cook: 35 minutes mins

Cooling Time: 1 hour hr

Total: 2 hours hrs

Servings: 30 bars (1 per serving)

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Ingredients

CRUST

• ▢ ½ cup (1 unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ▢ ¼ cup granulated white sugar
• ▢ 1 large egg yolk
• ▢ 1½ cups all purpose flour
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon salt

FILLING

• ▢ ½ cup pure maple syrup
• ▢ ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
• ▢ ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
• ▢ 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ▢ ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 1½ cups finely chopped pecans

Instructions 

CRUST

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9x9x2 inch metal cake pan (or use an 8x8, but it will be thicker).
• Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar and egg yolk in a bowl to blend. Add the flour and salt; beat until moist clumps form.
• Gather the dough together. Press the dough over the bottom and ½ inch up sides of pan. Bake the crust until golden, about 20 minutes. Cool.

FILLING

• Combine the first 4 ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until the butter melts and the mixture is smooth. Boil for 30 seconds. Remove from heat; mix in vanilla, then nuts.
• Pour the hot filling onto the crust. Bake the bars until the filling is bubbling in the center, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool the bars completely in the pan on a rack (the filling will become firm).
• Chill at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours. Cut into small-sized bars.

Notes

These bars may be prepared up to three days ahead.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bar, Calories: 138kcal, Carbohydrates: 13g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 20mg, Sodium: 12mg, Potassium: 48mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 174IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 16mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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• Brown Butter Toffee Pecan Blondies by RecipeGirl
• Caramel Nougat Pecan Rolls by The Food Charlatan
• Caramel Pecan Cheesecake Bars by RecipeGirl