Description
These bars combine warm brown butter with crunchy pecans and rich maple syrup, offering a comforting dessert perfect for any occasion, from casual snacks to festive potlucks.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
- 1/2 tsp flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C) and line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- Brown the butter in a skillet over medium heat until nutty and golden, then cool slightly.
- Combine brown butter with sugar, water, vanilla, and salt in a bowl, stirring until glossy.
- Sift in flour and cornstarch; mix until no dry flour remains. Press into the prepared pan.
- Bake crust for 15 minutes until lightly browned.
- In the same skillet, mix maple syrup, brown sugar, butter, and cream; whisk until bubbling then cool.
- Whisk in eggs and fold in pecans; pour over the baked crust.
- Bake for 25-28 minutes until set; use a toothpick test.
- Cool completely before slicing into squares.
Notes
Use a light-colored pan to easily monitor the browning of butter.
Let the topping mixture rest a few minutes to thicken before pouring over the crust.
For a different flavor, consider adding chocolate chips or citrus zest.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 square
- Calories: 250
- Sugar: 18g
- Sodium: 150mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 30g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 50mg