¼cupcold butter, cut into small pieces(half a stick)
Filling
½cupcorn syruplight or dark
⅓cupbrown sugar
¼cupmaple syrup
2large eggs
2tablespoonsflour
1tablespoon bourbon
1teaspoonvanilla
⅔cupchopped pitted dates
½cupchopped pecans
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 9 x 9 baking pan with parchment paper and coat with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
To make the crust, in a bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add in the cubed cold butter and cut it into the dry ingredients using a pastry blender. (Alternately, you could pulse this in the food processor.) Press the crust into the prepared baking pan and bake for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned. Set aside to cool.
Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Prepare the filling for the bars. Whisk together the corn syrup, brown sugar, maple syrup, eggs, 2 tablespoons flour, bourbon, and vanilla in a large bowl. Stir in the chopped dates and pecans. Pour mixture over prepared crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until set.
Let the bars cool in pan for an hour before removing. Slice into squares.
Notes
Use parchment paper, or nonstick foil, to line your baking pan, then coat with nonstick cooking spray.
Note that you pre-bake the crust at a higher temperature. You also need time to let the crust cool slightly before adding the filling.
To make the crust you can either use a food processor or a pastry cutter.
The bourbon adds a deep rich flavor that can't be beat - try not to skip it if you don't have to! (And don't worry, the alcohol cooks off as you bake it.)
Like a chocolatey pecan pie bar? Add in ¼ cup of mini chocolate chips to the filling.
Let bars cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least an hour before removing them.
Make up to three days in advance and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Or freeze in an airtight container for up to a month.