Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie Bars

This recipe starts with the creation of a shortbread crust. I did this all in my food processor, but I’ve made this dough before in my mixer. Both work fine, so don’t worry if you don’t have a food processor. I have included directions below for making with either.

* NOTES:
A. These bars are pecan-pie sweet. If you want to dial down the sweetness a little, you can use all light corn syrup. You can also use all white sugar and not add the brown, although I would recommend against this, as brown sugar adds a special taste to the filling.
B. Don’t be afraid to leave out the bourbon, or adjust the amount up or down according to your personal preference. For me, because I love the bourbon flavor, 2 Tablespoons is just right, but bourbon can easily overwhelm the flavors, so I would start with 1 Tablespoon the first time you make them, and see if you like how they taste. You an always add more the next time you make them if you approve of the bourbon flavor. It is a distinctive flavor, it is definitely not for everyone. These bars will be delicious even without a single drop of bourbon, so don’t hesitate to leave it out if you think the bourbon taste is not for you.

For the shortbread:

1. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks and vanilla together, set aside.

2. Combine the flour and granulated sugar in a mixer with the paddle attachment or in a food processor/mixer and process just to blend.
– 2A. If using a mixer: Sprinkle the butter onto the flour/sugar mixture and mix on medium until the mixture looks crumbly, this won’t take long. Add in the egg mixture and mix until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
– 2B. If using a food processor: With the machine running, add the butter into the flour/sugar mixture, 2-3 pieces at a time and process until the mixture looks crumbly. With the machine still running, add the egg mixture and process until blended and the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

3. Pat dough down into a 9″x13″ sprayed pan, making a slight lip around the edges

4. Bake in a 350F oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden. While it’s baking, make the filling. And once the crust is done, remove from oven and set aside.

-For the filling and assembling the bars-

1. In a bowl, combine the sugars, corn syrups, melted butter, vanilla, beaten eggs, and bourbon, and mix well to combine

2. Stir in the pecans and chocolate chips, coating well
Pour the filling over the shortbread crust when the shortbread crust comes out of the oven.

3. Bake the assembled bars at 350F for 20-30 minutes (my oven took about 23), until filling sets.

4. Cool completely.

5. Slice and serve.

Even better the next day! Check out my related blog post for some additional details! Happy baking!