Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie Bar

By: Christy

One word for this dessert: SINFUL! It is this amazing ooey gooey bar filled with pecans, coconut, chocolate, and bourbon on top of a dense brown sugar shortbread cookie. Is your mouth watering yet? Even though this treat is super rich, the flavors combined make a very finger licking good dessert that you just want more of. The bourbon really does complete the dessert and actually really compliments the sweetness of the filling.  I had a piece of pie bar this morning with a big cup of hot coffee and I think the quote "eat dessert first" finally made complete sense to me. Amazing!



Big Cat and I at the Jim Beam Bourbon Distillery



Ingredients:

Crust:

1 and 1/2 sticks butter, softened

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon of salt (leave out if you used salted butter)

Filling:

1/3 to 1/2 cup of semisweet chocolate

1 tablespoon butter

4 large eggs

3 cups packed light brown sugar

1/8 cup bourbon

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 tablespoon vanilla extract or paste

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt (leave out if you use salted butter)

1/2 - 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. This will be a messy dessert once finished, so I recommend lining your pan with parchment paper sprayed with cooking spray. Also this recipe calls for a 10 inch square pan.

Start by making the crust. Using a mixer (I recommend the paddle attachment), beat the softened butter until nicely whipped. Add the sugar and beat until well combined. Add the flour and salt and mix on low speed until evenly incorporated but still crumbly. Press the mixture evenly over the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake the crust until it has turned golden brown (about 20 minutes)

While the crust bakes and cools, start on the filling. Place the chocolate and 1 tablespoon of butter in a bowl and melt in the microwave. Start with 30 seconds, then stir, and follow with 10 second increments until the chocolate has fully melted and is creamy. Let this mixture cool slightly while you mix together the eggs and brown sugar in a separate large bowl.  In the egg/sugar mixture, stir in the chocolate mixture, bourbon, butter, vanilla, flour and salt. When the mixture is well combined, add the chopped pecans and coconut.

Pour the filling over the cooled crust and bake until set (about 30 minutes). Cool bars, and then refrigerate them before slicing (if not the filling will run everywhere!). Keep bars stored in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Recipe adapted from The Pastry Queen