Pecan pie bars with a cake-mix crust
The crust? Cake mix. Pecan pie bars with a crust made from a box of yellow cake mix; the reserved ⅔ cup thickens the filling.
Why it works: The same box does two jobs: most of it bakes into a soft, sturdy crust, and the ⅔ cup kept back thickens the pecan filling.
Ingredients
- 1 package (regular size) yellow cake mix (⅔ cup reserved for the filling)
- ¼ cup (57 g) butter, softened (crust)
- 1 large egg, room temperature (crust)
- 1½ cups (468 g) corn syrup (dark per the source's FAQ; light also works)
- ½ cup (106 g) packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs, room temperature (filling)
- 1 cup (113 g) chopped pecans
Method
- Heat the oven to 350°F / 175°C and grease a 13 × 9-inch baking dish. Set aside ⅔ cup of the cake mix.
- Beat the rest of the cake mix with the softened butter and 1 egg on low until blended. Press it onto the bottom of the dish.
- Bake the crust 15 minutes, then cool it on a wire rack.
- Beat the corn syrup, brown sugar, vanilla and the reserved ⅔ cup cake mix until blended. Add the 3 eggs and beat on low just until combined.
- Pour the filling over the crust and sprinkle with the pecans. Bake until the center is set, 25–30 minutes.
- Cool in the pan on a wire rack, then refrigerate at least 15 minutes before cutting into bars.
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June's tip: The ⅔ cup of reserved cake mix thickens the filling and gives it structure.
Good to know: Any boxed mix works; the source suggests spice or butter pecan cake mix too.
Storage: Airtight in the fridge up to 1 week; freeze up to 3 months between parchment, thaw overnight in the fridge (source).
Adapted from Pecan Pie Bars with Cake Mix, Taste of Home. Amounts, temperatures and times follow the source; the steps are in our own words, and metric and °C conversions are ours. We check every amount against the source line by line. How we make our recipes.
