Grandma Bev’s Easy Holiday Crescent Pecan Pie Bars
My grandma was the queen of Thanksgiving. She always made the most amazing desserts & loved baking pies for everyone. One of the recipes I found when I was sifting through her recipe clippings was for easy Crescent Pecan Pie Bars.
I know she normally made her own pie crust from scratch, so the fact that she approved of this store bought hack made me pretty excited to try them out. Whether you’re a veteran baker or a little scared of the oven, these pecan pie bars are such a great holiday dessert addition.
How to Make Crescent Pecan Pie Bars
My grandma didn’t come up with this recipe, she cut it out of a magazine. In my mind, I can see her tearing it out of a magazine in a waiting room somewhere.
But she did make a bunch of notes on it – which I love. It just shows she made them a few times & perfected it on her own! They’re the easiest pecan pie bars & no one will ever know the crust was store bought!
Here’s what you’ll need:
+ 1 package of crescent dough
+ 1 cup of chopped pecans
+ 1/2 cup of light brown sugar
+ 1/2 cup of light corn syrup
+ 1 teaspoon vanilla
+ 1 egg
+ 2 tablespoons of butter
Directions
Line a 9×13 baking pan with tinfoil (as G’ma notes, this is important). Unroll your crescent roll dough & press into the pan, closing the seams. Bake at 350F for 9 minutes (there was an * here so I assume it’s important).
While your dough is baking, whisk the egg & mix in each ingredient. Pull the partially baked crust out & pour the mixture on top. Bake for 22 minutes.
Let the bars cool completely for at least an hour before cutting. Remove from the pan / foil and slice into bars. I cut them before removing the foil and found it easier to remove the foil from the bottom afterwards.
A few notes
I love that the measurements are all pretty easy and the recipe doesn’t call for anything crazy. I appreciate that she made a note to measure the brown sugar before measuring the corn syrup – that way you don’t make a mess or have to rinse in between measurements.
She also specified that it’s important to line your baking she with tin foil. After making them, I realize it would have been a pain to clean up without it! It also made it a lot easier to cut the bars into clean squares.
You can make them a day or two before Thanksgiving to make life easier – just store them in an air tight container at room temperature.
These easy pecan pie bars are an amazing pie alternative for the holidays and are great on their own or with a little vanilla ice cream!
More easy holiday recipes