Honey Pecan Pie Shortbread Dream Bars
Crisp, buttery shortbread topped with a pecan pie filling you don't want to miss. These Honey Pecan Pie Shortbread Dream Bars are the perfect dessert for your fall table.
Servings: 9 slices
Ingredients
For the Shortbread Crust
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups (215g) all-purpose flour
For the Honey Pecan Pie Filling
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3 Tbsp (23g) all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 3/4 cup pure honey
- 1 Tbsp melted unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups pecan halves
Instructions
For the Shortbread Crust
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square pan with cooking spray, then line with parchment paper.
- Beat the butter, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed for 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl.
- Gradually beat in flour, mixing on low speed until just combined. Stop the mixer, scrape down the bowl, and continue mixing by hand, if needed, to combine everything. Note: The mixture will look crumbly, but just make sure you can't see streaks of flour anywhere (especially on the bottom of the bowl).
- Pour crust into your prepared pan, and use your hand to pat the crust down into an even layer in the bottom and edges of the pan. Use the bottom of a glass or measuring cup to smooth everything out and make sure it's completely flat.
- Bake the crust for 10 minutes.
For the Honey Pecan Pie Filling
- Combine the brown sugar and flour in a large bowl. Whisk in honey, eggs, butter, salt, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the pecan halves.
- Let stand 10 minutes (so the flour can absorb some of the liquid). Pour the filing into the crust and bake 40 to 45 minutes or until the center is set.
- Remove from the oven and let the bars cool completely at room temperature before slicing. You don't want the bars to be even slightly warm to the touch, they need to be completely cool so the filing has a chance to set.