Pecan Squares

Pecan Squares are one of the many sweets that my family serves at our annual Christmas Eve party. These pecan squares were the inspiration behind my pecan pie recipe, and have been a Christmas Eve tradition for as long as I can remember. We serve lots of sweets at the Christmas Eve party, which is why we cut these squares into little two or three bite bars. It is important to serve little bites of the desserts so our guests can try a little of everything.

The crust of these squares is similar to shortbread. The middle layer is a sweet rich gooey amazingness. And the top is a layer of pecans. You will notice that the recipe below only includes directions for two layers, and this is because the pecans naturally rise of the top, creating a three layer bar.

If you want to mix things up a little, you could add a thin layer of chocolate on to of the crust, before you pour the filling. Otherwise, this is a great non-chocolate dessert.

For the crust:
2 ½ cups Flour
1 cup Butter, cut into pieces
½ cup Powdered Sugar
½ teaspoon Salt

For the Filling:
4 eggs
1 ½ cups Karo Light OR Dark Corn Syrup
1 ½ cups Sugar
3 tablespoons Butter, melted
1 ½ teaspoons Vanilla
2 ½ cups coarsely chopped Pecans

Step 1:
Make the crust. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, butter, powdered sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an mixer until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press into a 9 x 11 inch pan, and bake for 20 minutes.

Step 2:
Make the filling. Beat eggs, corn syrup, sugar, butter and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended. Stir in pecans.

Step 3:
Pour filling evenly over hot crust.

Step 4:
Bake for 25 minutes at 350°F until filling is firm around the edges and slightly firm in center. Let cool before serving.