These Salted Caramel Pecan Pie Bars are probably the one thing that is better than pecan pie. A delicious shortbread base, covered with the most delicious salted caramel pecans, what is not to love?

Salted Caramel Pecan Pie Bars

We are half way through November and I cannot get enough of pecans. I love using them in bakes and they really bring the flavours of autumn, there’s just a comfort to them that I don’t always find in other foods. Anyway, these lovely bars are all about that comfort which you don’t only get from the pecans, you also find in in the delicious salted caramel that covers them, and believe me, this recipe uses a very generous amount of it, which I am so ok with!

So, what’s in these Salted Caramel Pecan Pie Bars?

These bars are super easy to make and don’t require a lot of ingredients, they are also fairly quick, so they are perfect for when you want a quick wholesome snack. All you’ll need is:

• Pencans
• Salted caramel
• Flour
• Butter
• Caster sugar

A few tips for success

• Make the salted caramel ahead – making the salted caramel ahead will save you time and stress. You need the caramel to be liquid, so simply prepare it 60 to 90 minutes ahead of baking, or feel free to make it the day before and pop it in the microwave for a few seconds when you need it.
• Line the tray with parchment paper – with the salted caramel, these can get messy, so make sure you line your baking tray with parchment paper to have a clean tray by the end of it.
• Don’t overcook – nobody wants dry bars! Since we are pre-baking the shortbread and the pecans don’t need much cooking, these are better underbaked than overbaked.

Salted Caramel Pecan Pie Bars

Ingredients:

For the shortbread base:

• 225 gr of plain flour 
• 150 gr of cold butter 
• 75 gr of caster sugar

For the pecan top:

• 280 gr of chopped pecans
• 300 ml of salted caramel

For the salted caramel:

• 120 ml of water
• 200 gr of brown sugar
• 115 gr of butter
• 120 ml of heavy cream
• 2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp of salt (or more to taste)

Method:

1. Start by making the salted caramel. In a pot, add the sugar and the water and whisk. Cook the water over low/medium heat and wait until the sugar dissolves and it starts boiling, mine took about 3-4 minutes. Remember not to whisk! Add in the butter, again, do not whisk, but you can give the pot a little shake to make sure that the butter mixes with the water. Just a little shake should be ok, I only did it once and the butter mixed with everything very easily. Turn the heat up to medium heat and cook for around 10 minutes. The mix will start boiling and it may rise on the pot a little bit, you will easily see that it starts acquiring a creamy consistency. Leave it cooking until the mix browns and has a caramel colour. Once it reaches that stage, take off the heat and pour the double cream straight away, whisk it vigorously until well combined. Add in the salt and the vanilla and whisk again, transfer to a glass container and set aside until it cools down, this will take around an hour, so make sure you make this ahead of time.
2. Once the caramel has cooled down, it’s time to move on to the shortbread base. Preheat the oven at 170 degrees celsius. Line an 8×8 inch square baking tray with parchment paper.
3. In a bowl, mix the flour, cold butter and caster sugar until fully combined, the best way to do this is either with your hands or in a food processor. Once they are mixed, it should have a grainy texture that sticks together when pressed. Press the mixture into the prepared baking tray and bake for 20 minutes until slightly golden.
4. While the shortbread cooks, in a bowl mix together the chopped pecans and salted caramel and set aside.
5. Once the shortbread is ready, take it out of the oven and leave the oven on. Spread the caramel pecans evenly over he shortbread based and put it back in the oven and cook for a further 10 to 15 minutes. Then, remove from the oven and allow the bars to cool down completely before cutting them.