Julie Clark
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Toffee Pecan Shortbread Bars
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A shortbread bottom and gooey toffee and pecan layer on top make these one-bowl Toffee Pecan Shortbread Bars so decadent.
It’s often during the holiday season that I learn of new family recipes, just like these Toffee Pecan Shortbread Bars. This recipe comes from our Aunt who is an talented baker. She made these bars at Christmas and I had to have the recipe.
In many ways, they remind me of our millionaire bars. They are a new twist on that classic recipe. If shortbread, pecans and chocolate are your thing, you’ll enjoy these bars too.
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- Thick, buttery, and slightly sweet shortbread crust.
- A mixture of sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, toffee bits and pecans on top of the baked shortbread.
- A drizzle of semi-sweet chocolate to add flavor, but also to make the bars look pretty.
You may also love our toffee cookies!
How to Make Toffee Pecan Shortbread Bars
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray an 8×8″ baking pan with cooking spray, or line it with parchment paper. Using parchment paper will allow you to easily remove the bars from the pan and cut them evenly.
- In a medium size bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and melted butter. Press this mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes.
- In the same bowl, mix together the toffee bits, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and chopped pecans. Pour this mixture onto the crust. Bake for another 20 minutes until the top is bubbling.
- In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips in 15 second intervals, stirring between each interval, until the chocolate is melted.
- Drizzle the chocolate over top the baked bars.
The chocolate is totally optional, but who doesn’t love a drizzle of chocolate?
Recipe Variations
- You can make this in a 13×9 inch pan if you’d like to get more bars. The two layers will just not be as thick. The baking time may need to be reduced just a bit if you choose this option.
- Drizzle with white chocolate or butterscotch for a different flavor.
- Can’t do dairy? Try sweetened condensed coconut milk.
- Add shredded coconut to the filling.
- If you don’t have salted butter, use unsalted and add ½ teaspoon salt.
Storage
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you have leftovers after that, refrigerate or freeze the bars.
Toffee Pecan Shortbread Bars
A shortbread bottom and gooey toffee and pecan layer on top make these Toffee Pecan Shortbread Bars so decadent!
Servings 16 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup salted butter melted
- 8 ounces Heath Bits o’ Brickle Toffee
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk (1 can)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chocolate melting wafers
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray an 8×8" baking pan with cooking spray, or line it with parchment paper. Using parchment paper will allow you to easily remove the bars from the pan and cut them evenly.
- In a medium size bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and melted butter. Press this mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes.
- In the same bowl, mix together the toffee bits, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and chopped pecans. Pour this mixture onto the crust. Bake for another 20 minutes until the top is bubbling.
- In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips in 15 second intervals, stirring between each interval, until the chocolate is melted.
- Drizzle the chocolate over top the baked bars.
- Allow the bars to cool completely, then cut them into squares.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Then refrigerate or freeze.
Notes
You can make this in a 13×9 inch pan if you’d like to get more bars. The two layers will just not be as thick. The baking time may need to be reduced just a bit if you choose this option.
Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.
The calories shown are based on the bars being cut into 16 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 bar. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**
Nutrition
Serving: 79g | Calories: 406kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 153mg | Potassium: 164mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 589IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 1mg
I made these yesterday. I used powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar. I’ve just never used granulated to make shortbread. I used the whole bag of Heath Bar toffee bits. I mean, why leave two ounces in the bag? When I took them out of the oven the last time I dumped a bag of milk chocolate chips on it while it was hot. Let them sit for a couple of minutes and then spread them out. Next time I will sprinkle the pecans over the warm chocolate chips. I had to let them sit overnight. They are THICK! Very… Read more »