Pecan Squares
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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.
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!”
What You’ll Need To Make Pecan Squares
- 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.
Toss in the pieces of butter.
Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal with pea-size clumps of butter within.
Dump the mixture into a foil-lined pan.
Then press firmly with your fingers into an even layer.
Bake until set but not browned, about 17 minutes.
In the meantime, make the topping. Combine the butter, brown sugar, honey, vanilla and salt in a saucepan.
Boil gently for a few minutes.
Then stir in the heavy cream and chopped pecans.
Spread the pecan mixture onto the baked crust.
Bake until bubbling and caramel-colored.
Cool completely, then transfer baked bar to cutting board.
Cut into squares with a sharp knife.
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.
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Pecan Shortbread Squares
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.
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
- 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.
- 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
- 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
- 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.
- 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
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- 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
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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Wow, wow, wow!
Perfect as is. Easy to make. Don’t change a thing.
Can I use parchment paper instead of foil? Also, can I add chocolate chips to the recipe?
Thank you.
Yes and yes 🙂
This recipe made me look good.
Delicious
Awsome
I made this recipe for a group event. They look and smell wonderful! I haven’t tasted one yet; I’m looking forward to eating some in a few hours at our event. I plan to try more of your recipes. Thank you for sharing!
My husband loves when I bake this! He says it’s better than any other pecan dessert he’s ever had 🙂
Can I sub half & half for the heavy cream? Will it be 1:1 ratio?
Sure, that should work. Hope you enjoy!
Oh no – I just made a critical mistake I fear. I added to cream BEFORE I started melting the butter and sugars and boiled them. Will this ruin it?
I’m probably weighing in too late to help, but I think it should’ve been okay. How did they turn out?
Do you think it would be ok to mix light brown & dark brown sugar in this recipe? I don’t have enough of either to make 3/4 cups, but together I might.
Yep – hope you enjoy!
Ok, going to try out this recipe right now!
Really delicious and lighter tasting than some other recipes which is a nice change. I’m also really happy to see this dessert with honey instead of corn syrup, which I hate to use. I would love to also find a similar recipe for pecan pie that uses honey. The recipes that use molasses instead of corn syrup don’t work, molasses is too strong and cloying a flavor for the delicate pecans. But this one does it. I only have an 8 inch square pan and used that with no issues. I will definitely make this again.
Hi! I love this recipe and have made it a couple times. My concern is that every time I have made it, the shortbread part comes out very flat, oily and does not have enough substance to it. Is there a way I can fix this? It definitely still tastes amazing though!
Hi Priscilla, Sorry you’ve had a bit of a problem with these. When putting the crust in the pan, you want to press it down firmly but don’t apply so much pressure that it gets too compact as that may be causing the flatness. Also, I think you may benefit from cutting the butter back a bit. Next time you make these, reduce the butter in the crust by 2 tablespoons. Hope that helps!