Easy Pecan Pie Recipe Bars + Bites (2024)

Welcome to the holidays! There is just something about Pecan Pie that declares loudly and proudly that it is the holiday season and I'm delighted to say that I have finally perfected my pecan pie recipe and I'm sharing my Easy Pecan Pie Recipe with you today! No matter if you need an easy Thanksgiving recipe or a delicious Christmas Dessert recipe, this recipe is built to please PLUS I'm sharing some creative ways to prepare it to make your holiday baking easier than ever. This recipe makes a slightly more dense (less gooey) pie and converts to bars and bite sized pecan pie treats so easily! Today I made it as bars and individual “pies” in wonton wrappers, but you could make the mix and just pour it into a pie shell and bake. So, you decide how you want to use this recipe and enjoy!

Taking a moment to gather your ingredients will help make the mixing part go quickly and smoothly. There is nothing worse than getting half-way through a recipe only to realize you are missing a key ingredient. So I recommend gathering them first.

Tip for AMAZING Pecan Pie – TOAST THOSE NUTS!

Nothing brings out the flavor of a pecan better or faster than quickly toasting them. You can do this in the oven or in a dry frying pan – the thing I like about doing it in a pan on the stove top like this is you have so much control. It really only takes a moment, once they are toasted the amount you want empty them onto a cool plate. Remember they will keep toasting while on the plate so pull them off the stove a minute or so before they are where you want them to end up. Make sense? I hope so!

Mix up your ingredients. Your butter needs to be soft but it doesn't have to be completely melted, besides if you are not an experienced baker this way is easier – hot melted butter can begin to cook your eggs in the mixing bowl which is one more element of stress/confusion that you just don't need when baking for the holidays or a special occasion.

This is how the ingredients (without the chips and pecans look).

Chop your toasted pecans a little more, I personally do not enjoy biting into pecan pie and ending up with a big chunk of nut in my mouth… that's just personal preference but I get lots of compliments on this version, so I encourage you to give it a try!

Now from here you have a few choices:
1) Pour it all into a pie crust in a traditional pie pan. Bake at 350° until set in the middle roughly 25 minutes +/-.
2) Pour them into a pan that lends itself to bars like a rectangular tart pan (affilliate link) PLUS you'll have enough to ALSO make delicious Pecan Pie Wonton Bites (see more about those below).

Here I simply took a store-bought pie crust and pulled it apart and pieced it together in the tart pan. Remember the bottom of the crust is going to be covered up by deliciousness so it doesn't have to look pretty 🙂

Here it is ready to go in the oven, but first, remember the wonton wrapped Pecan Pie bites I mentioned? Well, let's talk about those for a moment!

These Pecan Pie Wonton Bites are so easy and diet friendly. Yep, you read that right, thanks to the wonton wrapper this is a lighter version of this classic dessert. It's easy to have just one of these and feel decadent but you've not had anywhere near the number of calories in a whole slice of pie. Now the challenge is to have just one, but I'll leave you to that dilemma…

To make the Pecan Pie Wonton Cups version, I greased a mini muffin pan and placed a wonton wrapper in the “cup” then gently pressed it in using a mini tart shaper/tamper (affiliate link).

Place a small scoop of mix into each cup (I kept mine at about the height of the pan – not the wonton wrapper height.

Now everyone is ready to go in the oven. Again, I love that this one recipe makes enough to make all these desserts – something for everyone at a party!

Bake everything at the same temperature: 350° BUT the wonton wrappers will bake in less than 10 minutes so don't walk away. Place them on a wire rack to cool immediately. The sides of the wrapper will be hard so you can gently lift them right out of the pan. Allow the bars to bake an additional 10 – 15 minutes or until the set as you desire. Some folks like a more gooey center and if that's you, just pull it out sooner.

A dollop of whipped cream and a single pecan make a lovely garnish on these little cups.

But they are lovely on their own with just a light dusting of powdered sugar if you'd prefer!

The bar slices up so easily and you can get a lot of servings out of this one pan.

I hope you will give this recipe a try. Happy Holiday Baking, and of course…

Happy Celebrating!