Pecan Pie Bar Recipe

Begin by preparing the homemade salted caramel sauce. In a medium saucepan, heat the sugar and water over medium heat. Place the lid on the pan and remove it every 2-3 minutes to swirl (NOT stir) the sugar.
200 grams granulated sugar, 60 mL water
Once the sugar changes to an amber color, remove it from heat (it will continue cooking because the pan is hot so do this immediately). Stir in the butter and whisk continuously. Once that's combined, stir in the heavy cream and then the salt.
56 grams salted butter room temperature, 120 mL heavy whipping cream room temperature
Once it's all mixed, pour it into a heat safe bowl and stir in the salt. Set it aside and allow it to cool at room temperature for about an hour. It doesn't have to cool fully, just enough not to cook the eggs in the filling.
1/2 tsp fine sea salt

If the butter is cold, cut it into cubes and place it into a light colored, medium size saucepan, over medium-low heat.
283 grams salted butter brown to 233 grams
Use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to stir the butter occasionally. It will begin to bubble, continue stirring intermittently.
Once it begins to foam, you won’t be able to see what’s happening so stir continuously, making sure to scrape the solids off the bottom of the pan. The milk solids will begin to settle on the bottom of the pan and darken in color.
Remove from the heat and continue stirring for another minute or so, until the butter darkens into an amber color.
Pour the butter, with all the little solid bits, into a heat safe jar and allow it to cool.

Preheat the oven to 350F (177C) and grease and line an 8x8 baking pan with baking spray and parchment paper.
Measure out the brown butter and allow it to cool for a few minutes before using.
186 grams browned butter melted
Add in the brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon and mix until they're well combined.
100 grams light brown sugar, 2 tsp vanilla bean paste, 1/4 tsp cinnamon
Fold in the flour, just until the last streak of flour is mixed in, and press into the prepared pan.
240 grams all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
Bake for about 15 minutes, just until the edges are starting to brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool while you prepare the filling.

In a medium bowl, combine the cooled caramel sauce, brown sugar, eggs, brown butter and vanilla until they're smooth. Add the pecans and toss until they're fully coated.
150 grams salted caramel sauce*, 66 grams light brown sugar lightly packed, 2 large eggs room temperature, 47 grams browned butter melted, 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract, 150 grams roughly chopped pecans
Pour the filling over the crust and return to the oven for about 30 minutes, until the filling no longer looks wet or liquid-y. It should be sightly puffed around the edges and have slight wobble in the center when you jiggle it.
Remove from the oven and cool completely before slicing. I like to refrigerate it before slicing so I can get cleaner slices.
Top with extra salted caramel sauce and a pinch of sea salt flakes.
pinch of sea salt flakes