A customer challenged us to make bars as good as the ones he brought in to the shop — he called his "Ideal Bars" after a neighborhood tavern. If you know the place, you know why the name fits. With a shortbread crust and a gooey chewy filling, these bars are so good that maybe you can hold on and wait until a real chocolate pecan pie comes along! They are not difficult to make and are a great dessert or snack. Use Fortune Favors The Classic or try Fortune Favors The Spicy for a more unusual twist!
Thank you to Jonathan Weerts for the inspiration! Follow him on IG @weertsj
Fortune Favors Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars
Ingredients
Crust
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour1/4 cup granulated sugar1/4 teaspoon salt3/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
Filling
3 eggs1/2 cup granulated sugar3/4 cup light corn syrup1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled1 cup raw pecan halves, coarsely chopped1 cup Fortune Favors The Classic or The Spicy pecans, coarsely chopped1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or coarsely chopped dark chocolate chunks1/2 cup milk chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chunksFor finishing – whole The Classic or The Spicy pecans for the top of bars
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x9-inch square glass baking pan with parchment, and grease well and leave extra at edges to lift bars out of pan.
- In a bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt.
- Cut cold butter into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter until mixture is crumbly.
- With your fingers or the bottom of a spoon, press crust mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Bake the crust until edges are golden colored, about 15-17 minutes.
- Remove crust from the oven and set aside on a cooling rack to cool slightly while making the filling.
- In a large bowl, mix eggs, corn syrup, granulated sugar, and melted butter until well combined. Mixing by hand or with a stand mixer works fine for this, but it should be mixed well.
- Add both chocolates, raw pecans, and The Classic and/or The Spicy pecans; spread filling evenly over crust.
- Cover pan lightly with foil.
- Bake for 30 minutes, then carefully remove foil.
- Bake for an additional 30 minutes or until filling has set.
- Place pan on a wire rack to cool. Press The Classic or The Spicy pecan halves into the top of bars, then cool completely before cutting into 9-12 squares.
Prep time: 20 mins
Crust Par bake: 15-17 mins
Bake time: 60 mins
Total recipe time: 1 hr 40 mins
