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If there was ever a nutty bar that screamed fall, it’s these ooey-gooey Brown Sugar Maple Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars. Made with brown sugar and sweet maple syrup, this sugar cookie base is soft, buttery, and has just the right amount of sweet maple flavor. But then, there’s the pecan pie topping. The topping is made sweet with maple syrup and a little brown sugar, plus eggs to keep everything extra gooey. There’s also a generous amount of nutty pecans, and of course, plenty of chocolate chips too. There’s really nothing not to love about these brown sugar maple pecan pie bars. Perfect for the weekend or even the upcoming Thanksgiving dinner. Or really…whenever you’re in need of a deliciously sweet and nutty chocolate pecan bar.
Not sure there’s a better way to welcome in the weekend than with these bars. These remind me so much of Thanksgiving, they’ve got me so excited. I’m not jumping ahead by any means, just excited for all that’s to come in the next couple of months.
The world has had a tough year, everyone can agree on that. But in my eyes, at least the holidays will end the year on a bright and happy note, you know? That means that this year I’m trying to make them even more special. I’ve already begun my planning, prep, and recipes…so excited!
Or at least I’m attempting to plan and prep. My organization skills these days are very poor, but I’m trying!
In all honesty, this recipe was pretty unplanned and happened at the last minute. And as often happens with last-minute recipes, it’s already one of my favorites. These sweet, nutty, chocolate bars combine two of my favorite desserts. They’re easy. And they’re delicious!
The Inspiration.
As I said above, these were unplanned. I was working on another recipe, one that I hope to share soon, but it just was not turning out how I had envisioned it in my head. As I was testing one recipe, I had this recipe brewing in my head.
I thought back to these glazed brown sugar maple cookies from a few weeks ago. Remembering just how much we all loved them, I thought…I’d love to use the recipe again in some way.
And then, I thought about Thanksgiving, and pie, and all the pies my family truly enjoys. Everyone’s favorite is my mom’s chocolate chip cookie pie. But for my mom, dad, and me, it’s a tie between chocolate chip cookie pie and pecan pie.
We love them both dearly.
So I began to think of marrying the two and suddenly I had a whole new recipe to test. I pretty much stopped what I was doing and started working on these. It was a good decision.
These bars are pretty easy, here are the steps.
Start with the base cookie layer. Instead of just a plain pie crust, I wanted to use a crust that actually enhanced the pecan pie filling. Enter the maple brown sugar cookie crust. Once baked, it’s soft, buttery, and hinted with just the right amount of maple.
And they’re simple. I’m talking really simple. Just beat the butter with sugar, add maple syrup, add an egg, add in the dry ingredients, press the dough into the pan, and bake. There is absolutely nothing fancy here and you don’t have to roll out any pie dough. Easy. Easy.
It’s important to pre-bake the crust before adding the pecan pie layer. So while the cookie crust bakes, make the filling.
And the filling is easy too. Mix everything together, add plenty of pecans and chocolate chips, then pour it over the pre-baked cookie crust. That’s it, simple as can be and turns out the gooiest, sweetest bars.
The key is all in the use of maple syrup. It keeps the bars sweet (with autumn flavor) and really gooey too. The chocolate chips end up melting into the maple syrup. The outcome is soft on the bottom, gooey on top…and so DELICIOUS!
Once the bars are out of the oven, let them cool a bit, then just slice and serve. Or if you’re like me…and have no patience at all, wait just a little bit, then cut while warm. They’re going to be a little messier, but that warm and gooey chocolate is so worth it.
I really shouldn’t recommend cutting the bars warm because it’s not the right thing to do…but I’m recommending it anyway. I’m also going to put it out there that a little flaky sea salt on top is not a bad idea either.
Buttery, sweet, hinted with brown sugar and maple, heavy on the pecans and chocolate. And extra gooey.
Pretty close to perfect. Also…if you bake these up this weekend, your house is going to smell a little bit like Thanksgiving. Yep, just a little teaser to get you excited for what’s to come.
Looking for other autumn pecan recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Slice n’ Bake Salted Chocolate Butter Pecan Cookies
Extra Sticky Maple Pecan Sticky Buns
Pecan Pie Cookies with Butter Pecan Frosting
Browned Butter Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Butter Pecan Frosted Fudge Brownies
Lastly, if you make this Brown Sugar Maple Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Brown Sugar Maple Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars
Servings: 24 bars
Calories Per Serving: 183 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 sticks (1/2 cup) salted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Pecan Filling
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup real maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)
- 2 cups roughly chopped pecans
- 1 - 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9x13 inch baking dish with parchment paper.2 In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add the maple syrup and vanilla, beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix until combined. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt, beat until combined and the dough forms a ball. If the dough feels too wet, add 2-4 tablespoons additional flour. Spread the dough out into the prepared dish. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until lightly golden on top. 3. Meanwhile, make the pecan filling. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add the maple syrup, vanilla, and bourbon (if using) beat until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined. Stir in the pecans and chocolate chips. 4. Gently pour the pecan filling over the cookie crust, spreading the filling in an even layer. It will be thin. Return to the oven and bake another 20-25 minutes, until the bars are golden brown and just set in the center. They should wiggle a bit. Let cool, then cut into bars and enjoy!
Notes
To Make Gluten Free: Use an equal amount of your favorite gluten free flour blend in place of the all-purpose flour. I recommend Cup4Cup gluten free flour.
Storing: these bars keep well for up to 1 week at room temperature or in the fridge.
The bars are sweet, a bit crunchy, salty and very ooey gooey with chocolate. Definitely recommend making if you’re pumpkin-ed out this season! Heat up on the microwave and add flakey salt on top for pure perfection.
Hi Nikki! I am so happy you loved these bars! Thank you so much for trying them! xTieghan
when you make the bottom, it’s SUPER tacky and difficult to spread out. we ended up adding 10min baking time bc it was getting golden in 10-12min. in the end, we also added another 20min to the baking time for the topper bc we weren’t sure if it was really cooked through or not—the bottom tasted too soft, almost raw. we didn’t know if the bottom was undercooked or just soaked with the juice from the topper. after the extra baking time, we decided to let it cool overnight and try again in the morning, and it was just fine. it’s definitely a cookie texture (not pie crust) on bottom, and gooey, sweet, and nutty on top. VERY RICH. will definitely share with family and friends, with a glass a milk!
Hi Emily! I am really glad this recipe turned out well for you! Please let me know if there is anything that I can help with! Thank you for trying it! xTieghan
Can’t wait to make this! Should I use roasted and salted pecans? Or raw? Thanks!
Hey Lauren,
I like to use raw pecans for this recipe. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I had the same issue as another commenter… my topi g mixture curdled and separated after I added the maple syrup to the creamed sugar/butter. Everything had been sitting at room temp for a couple hours, so I’m not sure what I did wrong there. Would love a suggestion for next time because your picture looks delicious!
Hey Brittany,
So sorry you had issues with the top layer. Did you adjust the recipe at all? Adjust the cooking method? A mixer should really beat this altogether nicely. Let me know if this helps for next time! xTieghan
This recipe looks very similar to the Kentucky Derby Pie Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars. If you were choosing between those two to make only one, which would you choose? Or is there another bar cookie with chocolate that is your favorite?
Hey Sue,
I am currently loving this recipe! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hi! Do you think you could sub light brown sugar instead of the dark brown sugar?
Hey Sarah,
Yes that would be fine to do. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I also ran into the same issues as other bakers – really sticky bottom “cookie” layer and the splitting of my topping when I added the maple syrup. I endes up adding 6 extra tablespoons of flour, and didn’t want to add anymore. I was able press them into the pan. As far as the maple syrup, I took mine out of the fridge when I got the eggs and butter out, anticipating that cold syrup would cause a problem. It still split though. I used it anyway but it wasn’t quite right.
Hi Laurel! I am sorry about that.. Was there any changes while making this? I will look into the recipe again! xTieghan
These cookie bars are so good and so easy to make. They are of course so yummy while warm, but they are also hold up really well for a few days (not that they last very long!). I made them last weekend and will be making them again tomorrow. These will most likely replace pecan pie at Thanksgiving this year! Yet another fantastic recipe!
Hi Patrice! I am so happy these bars turned out so amazing for you! Thank you for trying this one! xTieghan
Agree with stickiness and wet crust, I couldn’t even spread it. I put the correct ingredients in, even double checked. I see in the ingredients it’s “1 sticks (1/2 cup)” which would lend me to think it might have meant 2?
Hey Renee,
When did you try the recipe? I originally had the incorrect amount of maple syrup which would lead to a sticky dough. It has now been corrected and the recipe is good to go. I apologize for the inconvenience! xTieghan
I’ve seen a few comments about the crust being very sticky. Has there been any resolution? I experienced the same thing and added much more flour which results in a cake like consistency of the crust. Any suggestions would be helpful!
Hey Janace,
So sorry for the confusion, but I originally had the wrong amount of maple syrup listed in the recipe. It has now been fixed so you should be good to follow the recipe as is! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
These were ok. The cookie layer dough was very sticky and never came in to a ball. After baking, it was more cake-like than cookie-like. The topping was decent, so they were overall fine. I would not make again, though.
Hi Bree! I am sorry these did not turn out as well as expected! If there is anything I can help with, please let me know! xTieghan
Hi! These look amazing. What is the difference between the two maples syrups? I clicked on the links and the ingredients are the same in each? Just wondering why two different ones?
Hey Jenny,
Sorry for the confusion, either one is good to use! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
These remind me of a Betty Crocker magic bar recipe I made often as a child. Recipe oven temp and times as written are way off, but I read in another comment that you are at altitude, which explains the discrepancy. The bottom layer was sticky and difficult to spread on the parchment, I recommend giving it a quick spritz with cooking spray and using a small offset knife to ensure it’s even rather than using more flour. Baked mine for 25 minutes and it was still gooey. Next time I will cool the bottom later a bit longer before adding the topping. Like another user, the filling split immediately upon adding the syrup + vanilla + bourbon mixture and it took awhile to fix (my syrup was room temp). Next time I’ll reduce egg in filling to one to offset additional moisture from bourbon and increase heat for the second bake to get better browning. The flaky salt on top was a necessity!
Hi Anna! I am sorry these did not turn out as expected for you! Please let me know if there is anything I can help with, otherwise, I hope these turn out better next time! xTieghan
I made these and was just told by a serious sweet lover that it was by far the best bar cookie they have ever eaten. Thank you for an easy to follow, delicious recipe.
Thank you so much Deanna! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
The bottom layer seemed super wet and sticky..I never got a dough ball so I threw it out because it was sticking so bad to the parchment paper. I added the additonal flour, but worried it would be too dry. Any suggestions?
Hey Haley,
So sorry you had issues with the dough, did you adjust the recipe at all? I would just use a little extra flour as directed and then bake. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan