Sometimes a baked good just exudes coziness. Oozes curled up evenings under the covers with a good book (or four) or with the projector on and a Harry Potter movie playing out on the canvas of your apartment wall. These pecan pie bars do just that, with a kick of wickedly sweet corn syrup custard and the nutty fall crunch of caramelized pecans held together by the flakiest of shortbread crusts. If this sounds like the perfect Saturday evening, then by all means, read on. And, if you toss them in the oven before dinner, they’ll be done just in time for that movie night, or start them on the first film and they’ll power you through a whole movie marathon!
Pecan pie is one of my all time favorites, and is a required addition to every thanksgiving desserts table in our family. Every fourth Wednesday in November my sister and I (and sometimes our cousin) gather together with our mom and grandma, either in our family home or Grandma’s new one, to don old aprons, whip up pie crust after pie crust, roll out dough, and create pools of nostalgia colored pumpkin, pecan, custard, and apple. A whole autumnal rainbow of flavors that we can’t touch until Thursday afternoon once we’ve had our second plate of potlucked dishes and slumped in our folding chairs at the “kids” table, ready for our long winter’s nap or a jog down to the park with the cousins. It’s an act of pure valor, refraining from digging into each pie dish until everyone has finished the last smudge of cranberry sauce or the final green bean. Once the unspoken dessert table shield is lifted, though, it’s everyone for themselves. Better get at least one slice of every pie or risk missing the signature string of triangular treats that only get the spotlight once a year.
All this to say, pecan pie is spectacular, and it should be eaten far more than just on Thanksgiving day. It’s a bold, dangerously sweet addition to your bar or pie repertoire, and will be hands down one of the easiest to make. These, of course, are gluten free, made so by a thin layer of bottom crust, which leaves plenty of vertical space for corn syrup, brown sugar, butter, and heaps of pecans. Do what tastes good!
Gluten Free Classic Pecan Pie Bars
Equipment
- 9×13 inch pan
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 1/4 Cup gluten free flour 1-1 mix with xanthan gum
- 1/2 Cup arrowroot starch
- 1/4 Cup almond meal
- 1/4 white sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 Cup salted butter cold and cubed
- 1 Tbsp cold water
- 1 large egg
For the filling:
- 4 large eggs
- 1 3/4 Cup light corn syrup
- 1 1/3 Cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 Cup melted salted butter
- 3 Cups pecan halves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Prep a 9×13 inch pan: grease with butter or cooking spray then line with parchment paper, and grease again then set aside. In a large bowl, whisk all dry ingredients for the crust, then add the cold cubed butter and knead into the dry ingredients until crumbly and sandy. Add the egg and water and knead into the dough. Once combined, press crust into the bottom of the pan and set aside.
- In the same large bowl, cleaned, whisk all filling ingredients except pecans until combined and thick. Pour in the pecans and stir with a spatula. Pour filling into the unbaked crust and spread until pecans are evenly distributed. Bake for 45-50 minutes until center is solid but edges aren’t too dark. Let cool before lifting out and slicing.
Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your bars!
Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber
One Comment
Tara
Wow! What’s not to love about these….an even more accessible version of pecan pie, right? These are great!