Taking us back to retro HBH today with a recipe that dates all the way back to the very first year of Half Baked Harvest. Honestly, I was not planning on sharing this recipe today. But when I realized that the Kentucky Derby is tomorrow, something inside me flipped a switch. I remembered these cookie pie bars from way back when. I reasoned with myself that the post I had planned to share could easily be saved for next week. And that today was good day for something over the top, extra delicious, and very fitting for the Derby tomorrow. To be upfront, I’ve never actually watched the Kentucky Derby. But I’m all about celebrating it through some good southern inspired food. In year’s past I’ve made oven fried southern hot honey chicken (a tried-n-true reader favorite) and my Nonnie’s pecan pie (my family’s personal favorite). But this year I got so caught up in Cinco de Mayo recipes that I kind of forgot about the Derby.
That is until I remembered these cookie pie bars. The perfect chocolate filled recipe to share today. Yes, they’re decadent, and yes, they might be a little more over the top than the recipes I usually share. But hey, every once in a while it’s fun to switch things up…live a little. When I originally shared this recipe, it had a lot more ingredients. To be super honest, the recipe didn’t actually work all that well. So I was excited to revisit these bars and work out their kinks. I can now say they are so simple, so delicious, and pretty close to perfect. Plus, they look much more delicious now too. It’s crazy to see how far my photography skills have come since that first year of 2012/2013. It’s also crazy that I’ve now been writing, cooking, photographing, and working on HBH for 6 1/2 years. And we have SO much coming up in the next few months, I cannot wait to share it all with you. Kind of loving seeing all the progress over the years. Makes me feel extra grateful. To all you long time readers (and newer readers too), thanks so much for sticking it out with me!
OK, now let me break these bars down for you layer by layer. Layer one: chocolate chip cookie bars. This is your favorite cookie, but in bar form. For the “crust” or bottom layer of the bars, I press my go-to, base cookie recipe, into a baking dish. Layer two: chocolate chip (bourbon) pecan pie. I used my Nonnie’s recipe for this layer, which is foolproof and so good. I like to sweeten it with real maple syrup so that bars don’t become overly sweet. Once you’ve mixed the ingredients together, spoon the pecan layer over the cookie layer and bake them both together. As the cookie layer finishes baking it rises up over the pecan layer, creating an almost swirled like cookie bar with chocolate chips and pecans bursting up on top.
My one tip here is to really allow time for the bars too cool before you cut into them. I know it will be SO tempting to cut into the warm bars, but they need time to cool in order to properly set up. These bars are incredibly fudgy and gooey, so cutting into them warm is just a bit too messy. Let em cool off and they’ll be perfect. The bottom of the bars are doughy and soft. While the middle is very gooey and more pecan pie like. The top has more of a caramelized “crunch” to it from the nuts and the sugar browning in the oven. Like I said, every last crumb is so delicious. Chocolatey? For sure? Filled with gooey pecan pie deliciousness? 100%. Thank God it’s FRIDAY. Friday can be decadent, enjoy it, and bake up some cookie bars for Derby Day tomorrow. PS. scroll past the recipe and you’ll find the very original photo of this recipe. For all your aspiring food photographers out there, this goes to show you that over time, you will improve! That said, I cringe looking at that photo, so it’s kind of crazy that I had the courage to include it in this post.
If you make these Kentucky Derby 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 also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
the original photo…
