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Pecan Squares

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By Jenn Segal
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Like pecan pie in bar form, these indulgent pecan squares with a buttery shortbread crust and rich caramel-pecan topping are an irresistible (and easy!) holiday favorite.

Pecan squares on a counter top.

If you’re a fan of my bourbon pecan pie and candied pecans, you’ll love these pecan squares. With a buttery shortbread crust and rich caramel-pecan topping, they’re an indulgent treat—the perfect office snack, potluck dessert, or hostess gift for the holidays. And the best part? They’re easy to make!

Table of Contents

“I made these for the first time about 2 months ago. My family has not stopped requesting them since. Today will be the 4th time in 8 weeks. Soo good!”

Amy

What You’ll Need To Make Pecan Squares

Pecan square ingredients including corn starch, honey, and butter.
  • All-Purpose Flour: Forms the base of the crust, providing structure and stability to support the rich filling. To ensure accuracy, measure the flour by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling it off.
  • Cornstarch: Blended with the flour, cornstarch gives the crust a crisper texture.
  • Confectioners’ Sugar: Sweetens the crust and helps achieve a shortbread-like consistency.
  • Unsalted Butter: Creates a flaky, buttery crust by incorporating small pockets of fat that melt during baking. The butter in the filling adds richness and helps create the gooey, caramel-like consistency that holds the pecans together.
  • Light Brown Sugar: Sweetens the filling with a deep, molasses-like flavor, complementing the pecans. When measuring brown sugar, always pack it tightly to eliminate air pockets.
  • Honey: Adds sweetness and a touch of warmth, enhancing the overall flavor of the filling.
  • Vanilla Extract: Enhances the flavor of the caramel with its aromatic richness.
  • Heavy Whipping Cream: Adds creaminess and helps achieve the silky, smooth texture of the filling.
  • Chopped Pecans: Provide crunch and a rich, nutty flavor that’s the star of these bars, adding texture to every bite.
  • Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements

Step-By-Step Instructions

Begin with the shortbread crust (which, by the way, is much easier than making a homemade pie crust). Combine the flour, cornstarch, confectioners sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times until combined.

Dry ingredients in a food processor.

Toss in the pieces of butter.

Butter in a food processor with dry ingredients.

Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal with pea-size clumps of butter within.

Coarse butter and flour mixture in a food processor.

Dump the mixture into a foil-lined pan.

Flour and butter mixture in a foil-lined baking pan.

Then press firmly with your fingers into an even layer.

Pressed layer of flour and butter mixture in a foil-lined pan.

Bake until set but not browned, about 17 minutes.

Foil-lined pan with baked crust.

In the meantime, make the topping. Combine the butter, brown sugar, honey, vanilla and salt in a saucepan.

Sauce pan of butter, sugar, and flavorings.

Boil gently for a few minutes.

Sauce pan of boiling sugar mixture.

Then stir in the heavy cream and chopped pecans.

Pecans in a sauce pan with a butter mixture.

Spread the pecan mixture onto the baked crust.

Pecan mixture in a foil-lined baking sheet with a crust.

Bake until bubbling and caramel-colored.

Caramel-colored pecan mixture in a foil-lined baking sheet.

Cool completely, then transfer baked bar to cutting board.

large pecan square on foil.

Cut into squares with a sharp knife.

Cut pecan squares on foil.

Serve and enjoy!

Make-Ahead Instructions

The pecan squares will keep nicely, covered and stored at room temperature, for 3 to 4 days.

Freezer-Friendly Instructions

These can be frozen for up to 3 months. After they are completely cooled, double-wrap them securely with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap with the layers separated by wax or parchment paper. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.


Pecan squares on a counter top.

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Print

Pecan Shortbread Squares

Metric Cup Measures
By Jenn Segal

Like pecan pie in bar form, these indulgent pecan squares with a buttery shortbread crust and rich caramel-pecan topping are an irresistible (and easy!) holiday favorite.

Servings: 16 (2-inch) squares
Total Time: 1 Hour

Ingredients

For the Crust

  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • ½ cup Confectioners' sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

For the Filling

  • 12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter
  • ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Generous pinch salt
  • 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
  • 3 cups coarsely chopped pecans

Instructions

For the Crust

  1. Cover a 9-inch square baking pan with heavy duty aluminum foil. Push foil neatly into corners and up sides of the pan, using two pieces if necessary to ensure it overlaps all edges (the overhang will help removal from pan). Spray foiled pan with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. Place the flour, cornstarch, confectioners sugar and salt in a bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal with pea-size clumps of butter within. It will seem dry; that's okay. Transfer mixture to the prepared pan and press firmly with your fingers into an even layer over the bottom. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. While the crust is in the refrigerator, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350° F. Bake the crust until crust is set but not browned, about 17 minutes. Set on rack to cool. Leave oven on.

For the Filling

  1. In a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine butter, brown sugar, honey, vanilla and salt. Stir with a wooden spoon until sugar dissolves. Turn up the heat and boil gently for 3 minutes. Stir in heavy cream and chopped pecans.

To Assemble and Bake

  1. Pour pecan mixture over crust (it's fine if the crust is still warm). Bake until filling is bubbling and caramel in color, about 20 minutes. Cool completely on rack. To cut, use the foil overhang to lift baked square out of pan and onto cutting board. Loosen the foil from the edges, then cut with a sharp knife into 2-inch squares. Store finished pecan squares in air-tight container and serve at room temperature.
  2. Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The pecan squares will keep nicely covered and stored at room temperature for 3 to 4 days. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months. After they are completely cooled, double-wrap them securely with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap with the layers separated by wax or parchment paper. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.

Nutrition Information

Powered by Edamam

  • Per serving (16 servings)
  • Calories: 357
  • Fat: 29 g
  • Saturated fat: 11 g
  • Carbohydrates: 26 g
  • Sugar: 18 g
  • Fiber: 2 g
  • Protein: 3 g
  • Sodium: 88 mg
  • Cholesterol: 41 mg
Nutritional Data Disclaimer

This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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Comments

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  • Hi Jenn, thank you for another wonderful recipe. I made this as one of our desserts during our thanksgiving dinner, every one loved it, particularly my stepmom and my dad, sadly they’re both diabetic, if I lessen the amount of sugar used in this recipe, would I have to alter the rest of the ingredients as well? Thank you.

  • I made these last minute as an addition to our thanksgiving menu! They were OUTSTANDING! The only thing I did differently was I used only 2 cups of pecan because that was all I had. They still turned out amazing! This is a recipe that I will be copying down on a recipe card to go in my box. 5 stars!! Thanks for sharing!!

  • Thanks for your immediate reply. I did venture out the day before Thanksgiving to get the Heavy Cream. I hit it at the exact perfect time. No lines, no shoppers and was in and out in 15 min. The bars were just as I remembered them from the party. Really wonderful. A southern bell at the dinner thought they were better than her pecan pie recipe that was handed down from her grandmother. She complemented me numerous times. I used “Non Stick Reynolds Wrap”. I really love that product. Your web sight is the best sight I have ever seen. Very easy to get recipes and the pictures are great. Then to have you answer questions is really above and beyond. Very exceptional and thanks.

    • You’re so welcome, Diane – glad they were a hit!

  • I made these today–for Thanksgiving tomorrow–and half of them are already gone! Oh no! They are too fantastic; we just couldn’t resist! These bars are better than the traditional pecan pie in that the ratio has much more pecans than “goo”, and the filling/binder is not as sweet and mushy. The bars are easier to serve than pie slices, too. Thank you for another outstanding recipe. Wishing you (and all your readers) a fabulous holiday season!

  • Love these!

  • I HAD THESE LAST YEAR AT A FLOWER ARRANGING AND LUNCHEON EVENT. THEY WERE WONDERFUL. I WILL MAKE THEM THIS YEAR TO TAKE TO THANKSGIVING DINNER. I HAVE EVERYTHING EXCEPT THE HEAVY WHIPPING CREAM. SINCE IT IS ONLY 2 TB. IS THERE A SUBSTITUTE I COULD USE? DON’T WANT TO GO TO A STORE TOMORROW!

    • Glad you like these! The cream helps bind the topping together. I’ve never omitted it, but my guess is that it should be fine. Please LMK how they turn out!

  • Hi Jenn, I will make this for Thanksgiving. Can I refrigerate the crust more than 15 mins (overnight) and bake next day? I want to do as much as possible the day before and want to bake the fresh one on Thanksgiving day. Thanks!

  • These were super easy and super delicious! If you love pecan pie consider baking these instead! Holy moly delicious! On to the perfect pumpkin pie!

  • Hi ~

    Can I line the pan with parchment instead? I don’t like cooking with foil.
    Can’t wait to try!
    Thank you-

    • Sure, Linda – that’ll work well. 🙂

  • Hi Jenn
    Can this recipe be made in a 8 inch square glass Pyrex dish lined with heavy duty foil.
    Thanks
    Lynn

    • Yes, that should work. Enjoy!

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