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 hostess gift, office snack, or potluck dessert for the holidays. And the best part? They’re easy to make!
What You’ll Need To Make Pecan Squares
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.
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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: 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.
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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These were delicious! I came across too many pecans in my pantry and made a double batch. Thankful I did, these were amazing! Thank you for sharing the recipe. I was nervous about them setting because I never have heavy cream (only FLife nonfat milk on-hand). This was a great recipe that can easily be made from items I always have- no corn syrup!
I am not seeing the pan size used in this recipe?? Please.
Hi Colleen, You’ll need a 9-inch/23-cm square baking pan. Hope you enjoy!
I had half a bag of chopped pecans that was wasting away in my cupboard when I went looking for a recipe. Thus, I found this lovely site. First thing’s first, thank you for not overembellishing this recipe. When I look for recipes, I want the instructions, the ingredients, and the process. (Not the chef’s life story, I’d read a cooking/chef blog for that, but I want the recipe and the recipe only)
This site gave me everything I wanted without having to skim through twenty paragraphs of nonsense and made it simple to follow along to boot. Big ol’ thank you for that one.
Secondly- These are also outright delicious. I messed up and used granulated sugar instead of confectioner’s sugar because my reading comprehension isn’t that great these days. They still turned out great. I don’t have a food processor, but I will be buying one as soon as I can out of propriety’s sake. Although it was easy enough to smash the shortbread dough to the right consistency with my hands.
I didn’t have enough pecans for the full recipe, but it still turned out perfectly fine. Even my mother, a woman of few words- went back for seconds. She also said more than once. “These smell amazing!’, so I applaud you for that, for it’s not an easy feat.
These were super easy and super quick to make. I will be scouring this website for more recipes in the near future.
Thank you so much for bringing me back to my love for baking. And for being awesome!
I just made them with the assistance of my wife who is not a big fan of nuts. Well “not a big fan” no more. she loved them and needless to say, they were disappearing before I got them in the fridge. A five star ***** recipe. thank you for your contribution.
Made this pecan squares twice recently! Recipe is so easy to follow, not time consuming, results are always yummy, so scrumptious! Thank you!!
Used maple syrup instead of honey.
Very very delicious. Everything was perfect BUT the pecan filling is really hard to break apart. Do I need to microwave before serving to soften up the carmel filling? I will make again as they are really good. Didn’t change anything and the crust was delish! Thank you.
Glad you liked them but sorry that they were hard to cut. It sounds like the filling was a bit overcooked. If you really can’t cut through them, you could try to microwave them for a short period to heat/soften the filling up.
Followed the recipe exactly. Did put in quite a healthy pinch of salt to balance the sweetness. These are sinfully delicious! Turned out perfectly. Thank you for the recipe. Will definitely make again.
Simply perfection! Nutty, rich caramel and buttery. I made mine in an 8″ pan and it worked out wonderfully.
Thanks! I was looking for this answer because I don’t have a 9” 😊
I made these pecan shortbread squares and they are delicious. Everyone loved them. Will definitely make them again.
Thanks so much
Sandy