I love wine, and I love dessert. I have a bumper sticker on my car that says "Will run for wine" and my post-race go-to treat is a donut - so suffice it to say, I believe that enjoying life's finer things is a-ok, even for pro runners. As long as you're indulging in moderation, I think it's just fine to have a beer and dessert to celebrate a hard effort, a birthday, or a holiday.
As such, my kitchen is full of baked goods this time of year. For Thanksgiving, I made my husband's favorite dessert and one of my mom's best recipes: Pecan Pie Bars. Why bars, and not pie? Well, I didn't register for pie tins when we got married, and I have plenty of large Pyrexs. Also, you can cut bars into smaller pieces than pie, thus making room on your Thanksgiving dessert plate for pieces of pumpkin and apple pie ;-)
My mom's famous Pecan Pie Bars, perfect for any holiday gathering
Without further ado, here's the recipe for my mom's Pecan Pie Bars. Note that I didn't make any substitutes to try to "healthify" these - when indulging in dessert, you may as well enjoy the full-fat version, none of this non-fat nonsense. Enjoy these Pecan Pie Bars at your next holiday gathering or to celebrate running a new PR!
Ingredients:
Crust:
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 cup (2 sticks) of butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Filling:
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups light or dark corn syrup
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups of pecan bits
Plenty of butter makes the crust taste like a shortbread cookie
Crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 15 x 10 inch glass Pyrex pan. Mix the flour, butter, sugar, and salt at medium speed until the mixture resembles a fine crumble. Pour into greased pan and press firmly into pan to form a crust. Bake for 20-23 minutes or until golden brown.
Getting ready to press the crust
Crust pressed firmly into the Pyrex pan
Filling: While the crust is baking, beat eggs, corn syrup, sugar, butter, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Stir in the pecan bits. Once crust is done baking, pour filling immediately over hot crust; spread evenly. Bake another 25-30 minutes, or until filling is firm around the edges and no longer jiggles at the center. Let cool completely, for 1-2 hours. Then cut into bars, serve, & enjoy!
Some of the ingredients for the filling
Mixing the pecans with the eggs, corn syrup, vanilla, sugar, and butter.
Before: the pecan filling poured on top of the baked crust
After: golden brown pecan pie bars, post-baking. Just needs to cool, then serve!
The finished product: Pecan Pie Bars!