German Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars put a fresh spin on a traditional dessert. You’ll love the rich chocolate flavor in the layers of these easy pecan pie bars. The top is a traditional rich and buttery pecan pie filling. This recipe is perfect for holiday celebrations.
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I love taking traditional recipes and putting a new spin on them.
And it’s even better when it’s two classics that I love.
Pecan pie is one of my favorite desserts around the holidays.
And German Chocolate Cake(Opens in a new browser tab) is next in line with its luscious frosting.
Let’s combine the two into our new favorite dessert.
Disclosure – I may get a small commission for purchases made through affiliate links in this post.
🔑 Key to Success #1 – Make a Chocolate Crust
The crust of these delicious German Chocolate Pecan Pie bars is made from a simple mix of sugar, butter, cocoa powder, and flour.
Think of it almost like a chocolate sugar cookie crust.
To mix up the crust, start with cold butter and cut it into cubes.
Throw the butter, sugar, flour, and cocoa powder into the bowl of a food processor.
I have a Ninja food processor that doubles as a blender that I got from Amazon several years ago.
It works great for making simple dough mixtures like this.
Use a pulse feature to combine the ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
You don’t want to continue mixing the ingredients.
Overmixing can cause the crust to become too tough and chewy.
The most tender and flaky crusts need cold butter and minimal mixing.
🔑 Key to Success #2 – Double Down With Some Extra Chocolate
Put the chocolate crust into the oven for just about 15 minutes to allow it to prebake before adding the rest of the toppings.
Prebaking will help the crust remain its own distinct layer instead of getting muddled with all the rest of the ingredients.
When the crust comes out of the oven, sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the top.
Set the crust and chocolate aside to cool for about 30 minutes.
This will allow time for the chocolate chips to melt over the chocolate crust.
The extra layer of melted chocolate adds more flavor to our German Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars.
You can take the extra step of spreading the melted chocolate over the crust if you would like.
But it is not required.
🔑 Key to Success #3 – Add Coconut to the Pecan Pie Filling
To bring the Pecan Pie Bars together with the German Chocolate Cake, we’re adding sweetened coconut flakes to the pecan pie filling.
You could substitute unsweetened coconut flakes if you would prefer, but I always use sweetened coconut flakes.
Stir in the coconut flakes at the same time that you stir in the toasted pecans.
You can chop the pecans if you would prefer, but I like to leave the pecan halves whole.
It’s okay if some of the pecans are broken.
Just use what you have on hand.
Pour the pecan pie filling on top of the melted chocolate and spread it to cover the top completely.
Bake the German Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars uncovered for 25-30 minutes until the topping is completely set.
If your topping is still jiggly after 30 minutes, you’ll need to continue cooking the bars longer.
I recommend covering the top with foil after 30 minutes so that the top doesn’t brown too much before the filling is set.
When the filling is set, remove the bars from the oven and allow them to cool completely.
📌 Get the Printable Recipe for German Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars
Save this German Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars recipe to your favorite Brownies and Bars board or your Thanksgiving Desserts board.
German Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars
Ingredients
- 3 cups pecan halves
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup cold butter cubed
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup light corn syrup
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Set aside.
- Arrange the pecans In a single layer on a shallow baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake uncovered for 8-10 minutes until pecans are lightly toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through cooking. Cool completely.
- Place flour, sugar, butter, and cocoa powder into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press the mixture into the bottom of the 9×13-inch baking dish to form a crust.
- Bake the crust for 15 minutes then remove from the oven and evenly sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Cool for 30 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Stir in the coconut and toasted pecans. Pour into the prepared crust.
- Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes until the filling Is golden and fully set. Cool completely then chill for at least 1 hour before cutting into bars.
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Nutrition
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Mary
Sunday 5th of November 2023
This is good but instead of light corn syrup, use maple syrup, the real stuff. It makes a huge difference.
Chris Brownlee
Monday 16th of October 2023
Hi,Jennifer I have a question do you use salted butter or unsalted butter? For this recipe
Jennifer
Monday 16th of October 2023
Hi! I always use salted butter in this recipe. On the rare occasion that I use unsalted butter, I’ve noted it in the recipe.