Made with brown butter, pure maple syrup, and plenty of toasty pecans, these salted brown butter pecan pie bars deliver that irresistible sweet-and-salty flavor in every bite without the fuss of baking a full pie.
I first published this recipe back in 2016, and it’s since gotten a little makeover. You’ll find the updated version below and in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101 (page 77!). The photos are new, the instructions are even easier, and a few small tweaks make the texture better than ever.
While I’ll always have a soft spot for traditional pecan pie in a flaky pie crust, I also believe there’s plenty of room for a twist… like today’s salted brown butter pecan pie bars.
Why You’ll Love These Pecan Pie Bars
- Rich flavor from brown butter, brown sugar, and a pinch of flaky sea salt
- Maple syrup replaces corn syrup—adding deeper, more complex flavor
- Soft, buttery shortbread crust (no rolling or chilling!)
- Wonderfully crunchy, gooey texture in every bite
- Portable and shareable—perfect for holiday trays, bake sales, or potlucks
Key Ingredients (Overview)
- Butter: Browned to enhance the flavor in the crust. For the filling, you’ll simply melt the butter.
- Water: To add moisture back to the crust mixture. You could use milk instead if desired.
- Sugar & Brown Sugar: To sweeten, tenderize, and flavor.
- Flour & Cornstarch: The base of the soft-yet-sturdy crust.
- Pure Maple Syrup: Flavor-packed substitute for corn syrup.
- Eggs: Bind the filling together.
- Pecans: The star of the show! (You can always grab extra and make homemade candied pecans, too.)
- Flaky Sea Salt: Balances the sweetness.
Start with the Brown Butter Shortbread Crust
If you’ve ever made my Salted Caramel Apple Pie Bars, this crust will look familiar. It’s simply doubled for a 9×13-inch pan and made with brown butter for extra flavor.
To brown the butter: melt it on the stovetop until golden and nutty (see my step-by-step how to brown butter tutorial), then mix with the remaining crust ingredients. Press into a parchment-lined 9×13-inch pan and give it a quick pre-bake while you prepare the filling.
This buttery base holds up beautifully under the gooey pecan topping. If you love the brown butter + pecan combo, try it in my dark chocolate pecan cookies, too!
Pecan Pie Filling Without Corn Syrup
These bars skip the corn syrup completely. Maple syrup steps in as the sweetener and binder, lending natural flavor and a smoother texture. It works like a dream here (and if you’re curious, I have a full maple pecan pie recipe, too!).
When finalizing this recipe for Sally’s Baking 101, my team and I made a few small improvements:
- Added 2 Tablespoons of water to the crust to replace moisture lost when browning butter.
- Stirred in a bit of cornstarch to make the crust softer and less crumbly.
- Simplified the filling method—no more tempering the eggs! Just cool the filling slightly before adding them.
- Added a touch more cream for extra smoothness.
All updates are reflected in the printable recipe below and in the cookbook.
How to Make Pecan Pie Bars
In the same saucepan you used to brown the butter (no need to wash it!), heat the maple syrup, brown sugar, butter, and cream mixture. Cool for 5 minutes, then whisk in the eggs and fold in the pecans.
Pour over the crust, top with sea salt, and bake. Don’t worry if the filling looks syrupy when you pour it over the crust—it’ll set up perfectly.
If it’s browning too quickly, tent with foil. Cool completely before cutting into squares.
The Final Result
Each bite is the perfect balance of buttery shortbread, toasted pecans, and gooey maple filling—with just a hint of salt to keep things interesting. These bars are soft in the middle, crunchy on top, and packed with flavor.
They might not be traditional pie, but trust me: they’ll steal the show on any dessert table. Top with a dollop of homemade whipped cream for an extra treat!
If you love these, try my cranberry crumble pie bars, blueberry pie bars, cherry pie bars, or apple pie bars next. They’re all easier than pie and make wonderful additions to your favorite Thanksgiving pie recipes!
Print
Brown Butter Pecan Pie Bars
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours (includes cooling)
- Yield: 18-24 bars
- Category: Pie
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These ultra flavorful brown butter pecan pie bars made with maple syrup are so much easier than baking an entire pie. This recipe is also in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101, on page 77.
Ingredients
Brown Butter Crust
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
Pecan Pie Topping
- 1/2 cup (170g/120ml) pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar (I prefer dark here)
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup (60g/ml) heavy cream
- 2 large eggs, beaten, at room temperature
- 3 cups (360g) chopped pecans
- optional: flaky sea salt or coarse sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and line a 9×13-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a few inches of overhang on 2 opposite sides.
- Make the crust: Place the sliced butter in a light-colored skillet or saucepan over medium heat. (Light-colored helps you determine when the butter begins browning.) Stir or whisk the butter constantly as it melts. Once melted, the butter will begin to foam. Keep stirring. After 5–8 minutes, the butter will begin browning—you’ll notice lightly browned specks begin to form at the bottom of the pan and it will have a nutty aroma. As soon as the butter has browned, immediately remove from heat and pour it into a large heat-safe glass bowl. Scrape up the browned solids at the bottom of the skillet and add them as well. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Do not rinse out the pan.
- Add the sugar, water, vanilla, and salt to the slightly cooled brown butter and stir until combined. Add the flour and cornstarch and mix until the flour disappears. The mixture should be slick. Press the crust evenly into the prepared baking pan.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges. Place the baking pan on a cooling rack while you make the topping.
- Make the topping: Return the skillet/saucepan to medium heat and add the maple syrup, brown sugar, butter, and cream. Melt the butter, whisking constantly to combine the ingredients. When the butter has melted, remove the pan from heat and pour the mixture into a large heat-safe bowl. Cool for 5 minutes. Whisk in the beaten eggs, then fold in the pecans. Pour the topping over the warm crust and spread it into an even layer. Lightly sprinkle with sea salt.
- Bake for 25 to 28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. If the top is browning too quickly, loosely tent aluminum foil over the pan. Cool the bars completely in the pan set on a cooling rack.
- Lift the cooled bars out of the pan by gripping the parchment paper overhang; transfer to a cutting board and use a sharp knife to cut into squares. Store leftover bars covered tightly at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Bars freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator then bring to room temperature before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×13-inch Metal Baking Pan | Light-Colored Skillet or Stainless Steel Skillet (for browning butter) | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Cooling Rack | Flaky Sea Salt or Coarse Sea Salt
- Updated in 2025: When finalizing this recipe for Sally’s Baking 101, my team and I made a few small updates so the crust holds together better and the filling process is simpler. The revised version is reflected here. To make the original 2016 version, omit the cornstarch and water from the crust. For the topping, reduce heavy cream to 2 Tablespoons and follow these steps: Combine the butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, and cream in the same pan used to brown the butter. Whisk until the sugar dissolves, then bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. Carefully spoon out ½ cup of the mixture and slowly drizzle it into the beaten eggs, whisking constantly to prevent scrambling. Gradually whisk this tempered egg mixture back into the pot, remove from heat, stir in the pecans, and pour evenly over the crust. Sprinkle with sea salt and continue with step 6.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Per usual for Sally’s recipes, this came out amazing! I wish I would have kept it in the oven longer bc the crust was pretty soft and crumbly. And looking back, I should have poured the nuts on the crust before topping it with the remaining liquid, but instead I just poured it all in, and liquid went first. So that’s probably why it was softer. But it tasted 10/10! 100% going to make again, probably soon. Thanks Sally!
Thank you for the suggestion! My liquid also went first which I didn’t love for a few reasons. Scooping the pecans in before the remaining liquid will hopefully help!
These are AMAZING!! This is my family’s favorite fall dessert. They always ask for me to make it. You don’t have to be an advanced baker to make it either.
apolgies if this has been asked previously. Can this be frozen well ?
Hi Diane, absolutely. Bars freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator then bring to room temperature before serving.
Could milk be used instead of heavy cream?
Hi Ashley, heavy cream is required for the filling to set properly and take on the correct consistency. We don’t recommend swapping with milk.
These blew me away!! Had a slight issue with not having maple syrup and by the time I got that the crust was cool. Popped in oven to warm slightly and oh my goodness did they come out beautifully. I may eat them all!
I made this recipe exactly as written and it was 5 stars.
In case anyone is interested, I also made it using grain free flour (bob’s red mill) and subbed Lakanto’s monk fruit with allulose blend for the white sugar, and the golden version for the brown sugar — and it was fabulous! Thank you Sally (and team) for another fool proof recipe! I can’t wait to make it again!
I made these tonight for a Sunday school class tomorrow. I may have caused my own problem by NOT completely cooling them in the pan like YOU said. I wanted to taste test them (lol). I cut them in strips but realized the crust was not holding up. I just stuck a portion of them in the fridge to see if the crust will firm up a little bit so I can cut them without ruining the rest. I had to sacrifice one, so my husband was the taste tester. Delicious.
Hi Veronica, I just made these today and the same thing happened to me. I thought maybe my dough had not baked enough so I put them back in the oven, I hope I didn’t ruin them. Did the refrigerator trick work?
Thanks in advance!
Delicious – loved this with the browned butter and maple syrup and SO much easier than making pecan pie!
Can these be made in 2 8×8 pans instead of a 9×13?
Hi Abby, sure! The bake time will be similar, maybe a couple minutes shorter. Same oven temp.
Just made these last night for Halloween, to try them out as a possible replacement for pecan pie for Thanksgiving, as we will be traveling for Thanksgiving. These were amazing!! I tried out your pecan pie the week before, so it was pretty fresh in the mind for the taste-testers. Both a delicious, but these bars with the browned butter in the shortbread crust, the maple syrup with the pecans and the flaky salt on top, these won everyone’s votes! Thank you Sally for curating these recipes for us! And I also love that I can take your cookbook with me on vacation to make these bars and any other desserts!!
Please, could I use plain Karo, as I do with pecan pie, in place of the maple syrup?
Absolutely! Same amount.
I made these yesterday, not hard and turned out well. Except they had not much flavor, not gooey either. My son tried one and didn’t seem too happy with them. Later I tried one and same…not great. I covered the top with a jar of carmel ice cream topping and added some super fine salt and the next morning they were excellent.
Do walnuts also work in this recipe?
Absolutely!
I’ve made the original version and the new recipe.
My boss loved the original so much I was curious to see if he noticed the difference.
He didn’t!
Thank you so much for retesting an already fabulous recipe. Now I can make it more often!!!
What can you sub for maple syrup (for low carb)?
Hi Gerry, we wish we could help more, but aren’t experts at low carb baking. We would search for a low carb pecan pie bar recipe to use instead!
Can you add some chocolate to the Pecan Bars?
Hi Sylvia! You can add chocolate chips. I suggest around 1/2 cup, or 90g.
Oh yes you certainly can, and I did! I coarsely chopped up about 90g of bittersweet chocolate bar I like, and then folded the chocolate into the pecan topping just before pouring it onto the crust. Delicious! And a nicd range of big and little pockets of chocolate in there.
I’m not a fan of maple. Could raw honey be substituted for the maple syrup?
These look irresistible!
Hi Jackie! Thank you! I have not tested these with raw honey, so I can’t be certain. Let me know if you try it. I do, however, know that light corn syrup works instead of maple syrup, 1:1 ratio.
I love your blog and your recipes! I have been making your recipes for many years now and I know that when i need a recipe, I always turn to yours. They always turn out and they are easy to follow
Hi, while I love almost all of your recipes I’ve made can I respectfully request the original pecan bar recipe? I had the recipe but it was destroyed. It is absolutely my favorite and I don’t like maple syrup. Thank you
Hi Lori! Yes, the original recipe is in the notes and I can absolutely send it to you instead if you’d like. sally(at)sallysbakingaddiction.com The original recipe did have maple syrup in it; that did not change. The filling uses a bit more heavy cream now, and you do not need to temper the eggs. Those are the changes.
Hi,
As everyone else says, your recipes & directions are the best, & I thank you very much for them.
With that said… I am with Lori. Can we leave the maple sugar out of both the new recipe & the old one? I see the old one also has the maple sugar.
Thank you very much.
Hi Elsa, not a problem! You can replace the maple syrup with corn syrup.
I saw where it mentioned browned pecans, but I don’t see in the recipe how to do that. Can unbrowned pecans be used?
Hi Marianne, you do not need to brown or toast the pecans before using in the recipe. You will brown the butter for the crust, though, and those are instructions are step 2.
No corn syrup!! I’m in!
I should have also mentioned that like some others, I no longer use corn syrup after reading it’s not good for you. Thanks.
These look great. Do you think I could make these gluten and dairy free? I need to for my all allergies. I could use coconut cream and gluten free flour.
Hi Kathy, we haven’t tested these bars with gluten and dairy free alternatives but let us know if you give anything a try!
Can this be baked with a glass pan? Any changes to temperature or time?
Hi Liz! You could bake these bars in a glass pan if needed. The bake time may be slightly longer in a glass pan.
can I use a glass oan instead?
Hi Tammy, you could bake these bars in a glass pan if needed. The bake time may be a little longer in a glass pan.
Would This work if you substitute the maple syrup for corn syrup?
Hi Carolyn, Yes, you can use corn syrup instead of maple syrup. Same amount. Enjoy!
I’ve made this fabulous recipe and love it .. I have a surplus of walnuts any reason thy wouldn’t wok ?
Hi Vicki, we can’t see why not. Let us know what you try!
I made these fir Thanksgiving in lieu of pecan pie. Oh goodness, they turned out amazing! In fact,another batch will be heading to my office holiday lunch next week.
Would like to take this to a Halloween party this month, but our house is under renovation and my only over is a countertop. Can someone tell me how to convert to bake in an 8×8 dish?
Thanks
Hi Roberta, You could halve the recipe and bake in an 8×8 pan. The bake time will be similar, maybe a couple minutes shorter. Same oven temp.
My husband’s favourite!
Hi! Lactose intolerant pecan pie lover here. Can I substitute anything for the cream? Will margarine work here rather than butter? Thank you!
Hi Julia, I wish I had more advice for dairy free desserts. You can try canned full fat coconut milk for the heavy cream and coconut oil for the butter. I haven’t tested the recipe this way though.
if you have access to whole foods or Trader Joe I’ve found a non dairy version of heavy cream and have used it with success.