Not sure there’s a better way to welcome in the weekend than with these bars. These remind me so much of Thanksgiving, they’ve got me so excited. I’m not jumping ahead by any means, just excited for all that’s to come in the next couple of months. The world has had a tough year, everyone can agree on that. But in my eyes, at least the holidays will end the year on a bright and happy note, you know? That means that this year I’m trying to make them even more special. I’ve already begun my planning, prep, and recipes…so excited! Or at least I’m attempting to plan and prep. My organization skills these days are very poor, but I’m trying! In all honesty, this recipe was pretty unplanned and happened at the last minute. And as often happens with last-minute recipes, it’s already one of my favorites. These sweet, nutty, chocolate bars combine two of my favorite desserts. They’re easy. And they’re delicious!
The Inspiration.
As I said above, these were unplanned. I was working on another recipe, one that I hope to share soon, but it just was not turning out how I had envisioned it in my head. As I was testing one recipe, I had this recipe brewing in my head. I thought back to these glazed brown sugar maple cookies from a few weeks ago. Remembering just how much we all loved them, I thought…I’d love to use the recipe again in some way. And then, I thought about Thanksgiving, and pie, and all the pies my family truly enjoys. Everyone’s favorite is my mom’s chocolate chip cookie pie. But for my mom, dad, and me, it’s a tie between chocolate chip cookie pie and pecan pie. We love them both dearly. So I began to think of marrying the two and suddenly I had a whole new recipe to test. I pretty much stopped what I was doing and started working on these. It was a good decision.
These bars are pretty easy, here are the steps.
Start with the base cookie layer. Instead of just a plain pie crust, I wanted to use a crust that actually enhanced the pecan pie filling. Enter the maple brown sugar cookie crust. Once baked, it’s soft, buttery, and hinted with just the right amount of maple. And they’re simple. I’m talking really simple. Just beat the butter with sugar, add maple syrup, add an egg, add in the dry ingredients, press the dough into the pan, and bake. There is absolutely nothing fancy here and you don’t have to roll out any pie dough. Easy. Easy.
It’s important to pre-bake the crust before adding the pecan pie layer. So while the cookie crust bakes, make the filling. And the filling is easy too. Mix everything together, add plenty of pecans and chocolate chips, then pour it over the pre-baked cookie crust. That’s it, simple as can be and turns out the gooiest, sweetest bars. The key is all in the use of maple syrup. It keeps the bars sweet (with autumn flavor) and really gooey too. The chocolate chips end up melting into the maple syrup. The outcome is soft on the bottom, gooey on top…and so DELICIOUS!
Once the bars are out of the oven, let them cool a bit, then just slice and serve. Or if you’re like me…and have no patience at all, wait just a little bit, then cut while warm. They’re going to be a little messier, but that warm and gooey chocolate is so worth it. I really shouldn’t recommend cutting the bars warm because it’s not the right thing to do…but I’m recommending it anyway. I’m also going to put it out there that a little flaky sea salt on top is not a bad idea either.
Buttery, sweet, hinted with brown sugar and maple, heavy on the pecans and chocolate. And extra gooey. Pretty close to perfect. Also…if you bake these up this weekend, your house is going to smell a little bit like Thanksgiving. Yep, just a little teaser to get you excited for what’s to come.
Looking for other autumn pecan recipes? Here are a few ideas: Slice n’ Bake Salted Chocolate Butter Pecan Cookies Extra Sticky Maple Pecan Sticky Buns Pecan Pie Cookies with Butter Pecan Frosting Browned Butter Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies Butter Pecan Frosted Fudge Brownies Lastly, if you make this Brown Sugar Maple Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
