Bourbon Pecan Pie Bars taste like the favorite holiday pie... elevated. With a buttery homemade crust, these sweet, decadent bars are the perfect dessert for any fall or winter gathering and are made without corn syrup!
0 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9"x9" square cake pan with nonstick baking spray, then line with parchment paper. Set aside.
Make the Butter Crust
2 Combine the softened [wprm-ingredient text="½ cup unsalted butter" uid="1"], [wprm-ingredient text="¼ cup unsweetened applesauce" uid="2"] and [wprm-ingredient text="½ cup brown sugar" uid="3"] in a large bowl. Use a hand mixer or a rubber spatula to mix together until smooth.
3 Measure in [wprm-ingredient text="1 cup all-purpose flour" uid="4"], [wprm-ingredient text="1 cup rolled oats" uid="5"] and [wprm-ingredient text="½ teaspoon kosher salt" uid="6"]. Stir until combined.
4 Spread the crust mixture onto the bottom of the prepared baking dish using a rubber spatula or your hands. (If you use your hands, spray them with nonstick baking spray so that the mixture doesn't stick to you.)
5 When the crust is evenly spread out across the bottom of the baking dish, pop it in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. You don't want the crust to brown, but you do want it to firm up.
6 When the crust has pre-baked, remove from the oven and set aside.
Make the Bourbon Pecan Pie Filling
8 Break the [wprm-ingredient text="3 eggs" uid="8"] and measure [wprm-ingredient text="⅓ cup granulated sugar" uid="9"] into a large bowl. Use a hand mixer or a metal whisk to mix until the ingredients are light yellow and creamy.
9 Measure in [wprm-ingredient text="¼ teaspoon kosher salt" uid="10"], [wprm-ingredient text="¾ cup pure maple syrup" uid="11"], [wprm-ingredient text="⅓ cup honey" uid="12"], [wprm-ingredient text="2 oz. bourbon" uid="13"], [wprm-ingredient text="1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract" uid="14"] and melted [wprm-ingredient text="3 tablespoons unsalted butter" uid="15"]. Stir the ingredients until incorporated.
10 Add [wprm-ingredient text="1 ⅓ cup pecan halves" uid="16"] to the mixture, and use a rubber spatula to stir them into the batter.
11 Pour the filling on top of the baked crust, and transfer to the oven.
12 Bake the bars for 45-60 minutes, or until the bars are set. (They'll have browned on top, and when you move the cake pan, they will not appear to be liquidy anymore.)
13 When they are baked through, remove the bars from the oven.
14 Let the bars cool for 30-45 minutes, then slice into even bars and serve.
