Pecan Pie Bar Recipe

I’m going to break away from the rules and post the recipe first, then the tips and/or story behind the recipe. You’re welcome!

Crust
1 3/4 cup unbleached, organic bread flour
3/4 cup Kerrygold salted butter softened
1/3 cup granulated fructose

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a medium sized mixing bowl combine dry ingredients. With a pastry cutter, cut in the butter. Do not knead! Gently press into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Freeze crust for about 30 minutes. With a fork, poke holes in the crust and then bake for 18-22 minutes. 

Filling
4 large free range brown eggs
1 1/2 cups light corn syrup
1 1/2 cups granulated fructose
3 TBSP melted Kerrygold salted butter
1 1/2 tsp. Dutch Mill Vanilla flavor (can swap out for 1 tsp rum flavor)
1 TBSP tapioca flour
2 1/2 cups chopped pecans

While crust is baking, combine the eggs, corn syrup, fructose, melted butter, vanilla, tapioca flour in a large mixing bowl. Mix well. Add pecans and pour into baked pie crust.

Bake for 30-40 minutes. The bars will be done when the center is no longer jiggly. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before cutting.

(NOTE: I live at sea level in a humid climate. You may need adapt the recipe if you live at a higher elevation or more dry climate.)

Tips & Backstory

Me, pie crust and pecan pie filling have struggled to get along for many years. I have never been able to get my pecan pies to set well without having to first burn them a bit. It doesn’t help either that fructose behaves a bit differently that sucrose (table sugar, cane sugar).

Fructose tends to liquify and cause batters to be more soupy. It is a bit sweeter than sucrose. It tends to brown more quickly at lower temperatures, yet requires a higher temperature to reach the desired viscosity: syrup, softball, hardball, etc.. I often find I have reduce the fructose to sugar substitution, add a little more dry ingredients, reduce oven temperatures and lengthen bake-time to avoid browning, yet get things to cook properly. Stovetop is a totally different ballgame with fructose. Such has been my ten-year struggle with pecan pie.

I’ve tried everything to get my 9inch pecan pies to bake and set, all to no avail. So I decided to try a different approach. I decided to try reducing the thickness of the pie by putting it into a 9×13 rather than a 9inch pie pan. That was the trick and I finally got the finished product I’ve been working on for ten years. Flakey crust, perfectly balanced custard-to-pecan ratio, and a fully and evenly cooked pecan pie! The recipe was such a success that we ate 3, yes THREE 9×13 pans of pecan pie bars. Each pan disappeared too quickly to take pictures – it was that good!

Don’t give up! Keep trying, keep adapting.

Give the recipe a try and comment below how it turned out!