Irresistible Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars: The Ultimate Gooey, Buttery Holiday Treat

Prepare to fall in love with these incredible chocolate pecan pie bars! This easy recipe takes everything you adore about classic pecan pie and elevates it with the irresistible addition of rich, melty chocolate chips, all nestled upon a perfectly buttery, crisp shortbread crust. Forget complicated traditional pies; these pecan chocolate bars offer a simpler, more delightful way to enjoy a beloved dessert, perfect for any occasion, especially the bustling holiday season. If you’re a fan of the harmonious blend of chocolate and pecans, these bars are destined to become your new favorite indulgence.

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And if you like this chocolate pecan bars recipe, you’ll also adore my S’mores Brownies, my Samoa Pie, and my Snickerdoodles without Cream of Tartar!

The Best Chocolate Pecan Bars Recipe for Any Season

These decadent pecan chocolate bars aren’t just for the holidays; they’re a dessert you’ll want to whip up all year long! They capture all the comforting, nutty goodness of traditional pecan pie that makes the festive season so special, but they come with a significant advantage: they’re incredibly easy to bake, serve, and eat. No struggling with delicate pie crusts or messy slices! Plus, with the generous addition of chocolate, who could possibly resist? These old-fashioned chocolate pecan pie bars are truly a game-changer, offering a delightful twist on a classic that will have everyone reaching for a second piece.

Our recipe is inspired by my popular Pecan Pie Tart, but these bars offer a unique texture profile that sits somewhere between a wonderfully chewy pecan pie and a tender, rich chocolate chip cookie bar. The combination creates a dessert that is both familiar and exciting, with layers of flavor and texture that are simply irresistible. Like most chocolate and pecan recipes, the pairing is pure perfection, making these bars a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

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The Secret to Success: A Buttery Shortbread Crust

The defining element that sets these chocolate pecan pie bars apart from traditional pecan pie is their magnificent crust! Instead of a delicate, standard pie crust made with pie dough, we opt for a robust, brown sugar shortbread layer. This ingenious choice creates a foundation that not only holds up beautifully to the rich, gooey filling but also soaks up its caramelized sweetness, adding an unbelievably amazing buttery and crumbly texture. The contrast between the crisp crust and the soft, chewy filling is simply divine.

This delectable shortbread crust draws inspiration from my beloved Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies and the foundational crust in my Pineapple Bars. Its simplicity and rich flavor are what truly make these the best chocolate pecan pie bars you’ll ever taste. The shortbread provides a sturdy, flavorful base that complements the sweet, nutty, and chocolatey topping perfectly, ensuring every bite is a delightful combination of textures and tastes.

What Makes Up These Delectable Chocolate Pecan Bars?

This incredible recipe for chocolate pecan pie bars is cleverly crafted from three distinct yet harmoniously blended components, each playing a vital role in creating a truly unforgettable dessert. We begin with the foundation: a rich and tender brown sugar shortbread crust. Next comes the heart of the bar: a luxurious, gooey caramel-like filling. Finally, we incorporate the stars of the show: plenty of perfectly toasted pecans and luscious chocolate chips that are mixed throughout the filling, ensuring chocolatey, nutty goodness in every single bite. Together, these layers create a symphony of flavors and textures.

Essential Ingredients for Perfect Chocolate Pecan Bars

The full list of precise ingredient measurements is conveniently located in the recipe card below. However, let’s take a closer look at the key components you’ll need to create these fantastic pecan chocolate bars, starting with the simple yet crucial ingredients for our buttery shortbread crust:

• All-Purpose Flour: This forms the essential structure of our shortbread crust. For the most accurate and consistent results in all your baking, it’s highly recommended to measure your all-purpose flour by weight using a reliable kitchen scale. This prevents accidentally adding too much, which can lead to a dry or tough crust.
• Brown Sugar: Light brown sugar is chosen for this crust because it imparts a wonderfully richer, deeper sweetness and a hint of molasses flavor compared to granulated sugar. Its moist texture also contributes to a tender crust. If you happen to be out of brown sugar, granulated sugar can be used as a substitute, though the flavor profile will be slightly different.
• Salt: A small amount of salt is vital here, not just for seasoning, but to significantly enhance and balance the rich, buttery flavor in the crust. It prevents the crust from tasting flat and brings out the best in the other ingredients.
• Unsalted Butter: In this shortbread recipe, unsalted butter is specified, allowing you to control the overall salt content. Crucially, your butter should be cold and cut into small cubes. Cold butter is key for achieving that desirable flaky, tender shortbread texture, as it creates pockets of steam during baking.

Next, for the star of our show – the luscious chocolate pecan bar filling – you’ll need these carefully selected ingredients:

• Pecans: To unlock their absolute best flavor and add an incredible crunch, take a few minutes to toast your pecan halves in a dry pan over medium heat until they turn golden brown and release their wonderfully fragrant aroma. This simple step makes a huge difference! After toasting, allow your crunchy pecans to cool completely before roughly chopping them to mix into the filling.
• Melted Unsalted Butter: More unsalted butter is added to the filling, contributing to its luxurious richness and smooth texture. Ensure it’s melted and then allowed to cool slightly before incorporating it with the other ingredients, preventing it from scrambling the eggs.
• Light Corn Syrup: This ingredient is essential for achieving the signature gooey, chewy texture of classic pecan pie filling. It helps prevent sugar crystallization, ensuring a smooth and perfectly viscous consistency.
• Brown Sugar: Light brown sugar in the filling amplifies the caramel-y notes, creating a deeper, more complex sweetness that pairs beautifully with the pecans and chocolate.
• Pure Vanilla Extract: For an unparalleled depth of flavor, I always recommend using pure vanilla extract. Its warm, aromatic notes are crucial for a truly delicious pecan dessert. For an extra special touch, you can even make your own!
• Salt: A touch of salt in the filling is paramount. It acts as a flavor enhancer, balancing the intense sweetness and bringing out the nutty flavors of the pecans and the richness of the chocolate.
• Large Eggs: Eggs serve as a critical binding agent, helping the filling set and creating that wonderfully custard-like yet gooey consistency. For optimal mixing and a smooth filling, ensure your eggs are at room temperature. If they’re cold, simply submerge them in a bowl of lukewarm water for about 15 minutes.
• Chocolate Chips: We’re making these truly decadent pecan pie bars with a generous amount of chocolate chips! For the best flavor balance, I highly recommend using semi-sweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips. These provide a lovely counterpoint to the sweetness of the filling without being overly rich.

Recommended Equipment for Easy Baking

Having the right tools can make all the difference in the baking process, ensuring your chocolate pecan pie bars turn out perfectly. For preparing your shortbread crust, I highly recommend using a food processor. It makes quick work of cutting the cold butter into the flour mixture, ensuring even distribution and a perfectly crumbly texture. If you don’t own a food processor, a pastry cutter (or even two knives) can achieve similar results, though it will require a bit more manual effort. To mix the luscious filling for this pecan chocolate bars recipe, you’ll simply need a large mixing bowl and a whisk – no electric mixer required for the filling, which adds to the ease of this recipe. Finally, you’ll need a 9×9 baking pan, ideally lined with parchment paper (with a slight overhang for easy removal) and sprayed with a little cooking spray to prevent sticking.

For best results and faster cooling, you may also want to have a wire rack on hand to cool the bars. To ensure your bars are perfectly baked and the filling is set but still gooey, I highly recommend using an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the pan. The thermometer should register around 200℉ (93°C) when the bars are done. This takes all the guesswork out of baking and ensures a perfectly set filling every time.

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Step-by-Step Instructions for Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

While the detailed, step-by-step instructions (complete with a handy recipe video!) are provided in the recipe card below, here’s a quick overview of the basic process you’ll follow to create these luscious chocolate pecan pie bars. This simplified guide will walk you through each stage, from preparing the buttery shortbread crust to baking the gooey, chocolatey filling to perfection.

Hint: For achieving those wonderfully neat, super clean cuts that look professional, consider letting your chocolate chip pecan pie bars chill in the refrigerator for at least 30-60 minutes after they’ve cooled at room temperature. A cold filling is much easier to slice cleanly!

Elevate Your Dessert with Chocolate Chunk Pecan Pie Bars

While these easy chocolate pecan pie bars are designed to be made with convenient chocolate chips, don’t hesitate to experiment with different types of chocolate to customize your dessert! If you prefer a more intense chocolate flavor and dramatic pools of melted chocolate throughout your bars, I highly recommend using high-quality bittersweet baking chocolate or semi-sweet baking chocolate. Simply chop it into delightful pieces or “chunks” before folding into the filling. Chocolate chunks melt beautifully, creating pockets of rich, molten chocolate that elevate this pecan chocolate dessert to another level. It’s a fantastic way to add a gourmet touch and a more pronounced chocolate presence, making this already great recipe even more spectacular.

Making Chocolate Pecan Bars Without Corn Syrup

Absolutely, you can still enjoy these delectable chocolate pecan bars without using corn syrup! If you don’t have corn syrup on hand, or simply prefer to avoid it, you have excellent alternatives. You can easily swap it out for an equal amount of pure maple syrup or honey. It’s important to note that this substitution will definitely introduce a slight change in the texture of the filling, making it perhaps a little less sticky-gooey and slightly denser, and it will certainly impart the distinct flavor of maple or honey to your bars. However, rest assured, that even with these adjustments, these will still be incredibly delicious and arguably the best chocolate pecan pie bars you’ve ever made!

Storage and Freezing Tips for Freshness

To keep these delicious bars fresh and enjoyable, store them covered tightly at room temperature for up to 3 days. For extended freshness, you can refrigerate them for up to a week. The flavors often deepen and meld beautifully after a day or two in the fridge. These bars also freeze exceptionally well, making them perfect for meal prepping or preparing ahead for special events. To freeze, simply wrap each individual bar tightly in plastic wrap, then place them in an airtight freezer-safe container or bag. They will maintain their quality for up to 2 months in the freezer. Thaw them at room temperature or in the refrigerator before serving for a delightful treat anytime.

Frequently Asked Questions About Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

Other Delicious Recipes You Might Love

Looking for more delightful recipes that feature similar flavors or are perfect for dessert lovers, just like these pecan pie bars with chocolate chips? Explore these wonderful options:

Perfect Pairings for Your Chocolate Pecan Bars

While these decadent chocolate pecan bars are certainly a showstopper on their own, they also complement a variety of dishes beautifully. Consider these delightful options for serving alongside your freshly baked bars, creating a well-rounded and satisfying meal or dessert spread:

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