Maple Pecan Pie Bars
These fabulous bars, loaded with pecans, have a buttery shortbread base and the gooiest butterscotch maple filling. They're at their best eaten cold and meant for those with a sweet tooth. They make wonderful holiday desserts and gifts.
Servings 12 large squares
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- pinch salt
For the topping:
- 5 cups pecans or use a differnt nut or a mix
- ½ teaspoon orange zest about 1 orange
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest about 1 lemon
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 cup brown sugar light or dark, firmly packed
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup heavy cream
Instructions
For the crust:
- Line a 13x18-inch (23x33cm) metal baking pan with 2-inch sides with parchment paper that hangs a bit over the long edges, covering the bottom and both long sides but not the short sides. This will help remove the whole block of nut bars from the pan.
- In a bowl mix 1 cup unsalted butter and ½ cup sugar with a whisk or handheld electric mixer.
- Add 2 cups all-purpose flour and pinch salt in two or three additions, mixing well. It will all come together in a shabby ball. Be sure the flour is well mixed and no dry patches remain. If using the electric mixer, do so at the lowest speed.
- Distribute the dough in small mounds on the bottom of the pan. With lightly floured hands, slowly and patiently pat the dough to cover the entire surface and go 1 inch up the sides. Start with the sides and work towards the middle, flouring your hands as necessary.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
- Bake the dough for about 15 minutes, until beginning to color. Don't bake it all the way through.
For the topping:
- When the dough is baking, start with the topping.
- In a large bowl mix the 5 cups pecans with ½ teaspoon orange zest and ½ teaspoon lemon zest.
- In a medium saucepan, melt 1 cup unsalted butter with ½ cup maple syrup.
- Add 1 cup brown sugar and ¼ cup sugar, mix well, place over medium heat and cook until it starts to boil. Cook for exactly 2 minutes without stirring after it starts to boil.
- Remove from the heat and add ¼ cup heavy cream carefully as it will bubble furiously.
- Immediately pour over the nut mixture and mix well to coat everything.
- Pour this caramel nut mixture over the pre-baked dough, carefully covering the whole surface. Don't dump everything in the middle because it will be hard to spread to the sides without tearing the dough. Some parts will have more caramel than others but it will even out in the oven.
- Bake for 25 minutes, remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.
- If the caramel spilled to the sides of the dough, run a thin knife around the edges after it's cooled for a few minutes so it doesn't stick. If it does stick and you have trouble removing it, simply pop it in the oven for 4 or 5 minutes until the caramel is warm again.
- Lift the parchment paper and place the whole block on an even surface to cut it. I cut 12 large squares. By cutting them in half again you can have 24 rectangles or triangles.
- We like to eat them cold.
Notes
Filling: maple syrup pairs well with most nuts, so substitute the pecans for your favorite ones. Or use a mix.
Dried fruit: substitute some pecans for cranberries, raisins or other dried fruits.
Freezing: you can freeze the unbaked shortbread base for a few weeks.
