Pecan Pie Bars -- The Recipe That Became Mine

Pecan shelling Sunday. This year James moved more slowly through the yard picking up the pecans. I went out with the second bucket and worked the other side and we met in the middle with enough pecans for two pies. He said: I am glad you are going to UAB. I said thank you. He said: Birmingham is not so far. I said forty-five minutes. He said: we will see you every Sunday. I said yes. He said good. We went inside and shelled pecans at the kitchen table and Gloria made coffee and none of us said anything more important than that for the rest of the afternoon but everything important had been said.

I made the first batch of the pecan pie this season from the shelled pecans. I have made this pie five times now. I know it well enough that the recipe from memory is complete and accurate and precise and I wrote it down in the composition notebook alongside Gloria recipes. This is my pie now. It came from her kitchen. It is mine now.

The blog has been receiving more emails than before. Someone who runs an online magazine about foster care wrote to ask if they could share my post about the biscuits. I said yes. The magazine reached a lot of people and some of them emailed me directly. I have been responding to every one. I do not know what this is yet, the blog, what it might become. I just know that people are finding it and recognizing themselves in it and that feels like the most important kind of work.

The pecans James and I shelled that afternoon went into my fifth pecan pie of the season — the one I now make from memory, the one I wrote down in the composition notebook next to Gloria’s recipes. These pecan pie bars carry that same deep, buttery sweetness in a form that travels well and shares easily, which feels right for a season when I am about to take everything I have learned in this kitchen out into a wider world.

Pecan Pie Bars

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 24 bars

Ingredients

• Crust
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• Filling
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups pecan halves or coarsely chopped pecans

Instructions

1. Preheat and prepare. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides for easy lifting.
2. Make the crust. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Cut in the cold butter using a pastry cutter or your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
3. Par-bake the crust. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the edges are just beginning to turn golden. Remove from the oven and set aside while you make the filling.
4. Mix the filling. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, corn syrup, brown sugar, melted butter, vanilla, and salt until smooth and well combined. Stir in the pecans.
5. Fill and bake. Pour the pecan filling evenly over the warm crust. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the filling is set and does not jiggle in the center.
6. Cool completely. Allow the bars to cool fully in the pan on a wire rack, at least 1 hour. Use the parchment overhang to lift them out before cutting into bars.
7. Cut and serve. Slice into 24 bars. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or refrigerate for up to 1 week.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 240 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 28g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 75mg