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Gooey Salted Brown Sugar Maple Pecan Cookie Pie Bars — these are a little bit of everything delicious. Made with a buttery, salty shortbread crust, maple-candied pecans, brown sugar, maple syrup, eggs, and melty chocolate chips. Everything bakes together until golden on top, yet gooey and rich in the center. Each bar has the perfect mix of salty-sweet brown sugar, bourbon, and maple-toasted pecans, with swirls of melted chocolate throughout. They’re just so good — especially with a drizzle of chocolate and a sprinkle of sea salt before serving.
When I first started testing this recipe, I had so many directions in mind — shortbread cookies, cookie bars, cookie pies, caramel-layered bars… I couldn’t decide! But once I landed on this version, I knew it was the one. It’s a little decadent, a little nostalgic, and a lot delicious.
Think buttery shortbread crust, gooey maple-pecan cookie pie filling, and just enough chocolate to make them feel extra special. They’re perfect for Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, or any holiday party — gooey and rich but not messy, and so fun for gifting too.
My mom’s been away for a few days and asked me to save her some — I already have a stash wrapped up and waiting for her!
These are the details
Our Ingredients
- pecans
- maple syrup
- bourbon (optional)
- brown sugar, my favorite is a dark organic brown sugar
- flaky sea salt
- flour
- salted butter
- eggs
- sugar
- heavy cream
- vanilla extract
- chocolate chips
Specials Tools
Nothing crazy here, you just need a mixing bowl, skillet, and your favorite baking dish! Plus, parchment paper.
Steps
Step 1: the pecans
When I made my pecan latte, I fell in love with soaking pecans in maple syrup. The maple adds such delicious flavor, and once you toast the pecans with brown sugar, they become even yummier—sweet, toasty, and perfectly caramelized.
In a small pot, mix the maple syrup and pecans. Simmer until the syrup is steamy and fragrant with that cozy maple aroma. This step infuses the syrup with the flavor of the pecans.
Remove from the heat, strain out the pecans using a fork, and stir the vanilla into the warm syrup.
Step 2: the shortbread
In a bowl, mix together the flour and brown sugar. Grab the cold butter from the fridge and shred it using a box grater—just like cheese. Mix the butter into the flour, then beat in a few splashes of water until the dough comes together and clings lightly to the bowl.
Cold, salted butter is the secret here. Cold butter keeps the crust flaky, while the salt brings out that rich, caramel flavor. Press the dough firmly into your baking dish, then pop it into the freezer to chill while you make the filling.
Step 3: the filling
Whisk together the brown sugar, eggs, maple syrup (the syrup from soaking the pecans), and the cream until smooth. Stir in the melted butter and vanilla, then fold in the pecans and chocolate chips. I love using large dark chocolate chips for big, melty puddles of chocolate in every bite.
Bake and enjoy!
Bake for about 25–30 minutes, until the top is golden and the center is just set. The longer you bake, the less gooey they’ll be—so I like to pull mine out on the earlier side for that perfect soft, rich center.
Let the bars cool before slicing. Once cool, they’ll cut cleanly into perfect, chewy, chocolatey squares.
Looking for other Thanksgiving desserts? Here are my favorites:
Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookie Pumpkin Pie
Chewy Brown Sugar Maple Cookies
Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie
Lastly, if you make these Gooey Salted Brown Sugar Pecan Cookie Bars, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Gooey Salted Brown Sugar Pecan Cookie Bars
Servings: 24 cookies
Calories Per Serving: 239 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw pecans
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup bourbon (optional)
- 2 tablespoons + 1/4 cup brown sugar
- flaky sea salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) cold salted butter, shredded
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted and browned
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×13 inch baking dish with parchment paper. 2. In a pot, combine the pecans, maple syrup, and bourbon (if using). Simmer over medium heat, 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Strain the pecans away from the syrup and place in the baking dish. Set the syrup aside for the pie.3. Toss the pecans with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with sea salt. Let cool, then scoop the pecans out of the dish, leaving a handful of nuts in the dish.4. Chop the pecans and set aside.5. In a bowl using an electric mixer, beat together the flour, sugar, and butter. Beat, adding 1-3 tablespoons water as needed until the dough is in small crumbs and packs together. Press firmly over the pecans. Freeze. 6. Whisk together 1 cup brown sugar, 2 eggs, and 1 egg yolk until well combined. Add the 1/3 cup of the reserved maple syrup and the cream. Whisk in the butter and vanilla. Fold in the pecans and chocolate. Pour into the crust.7. Bake for 25-30 minutes until puffed on top but still wiggly in the center. The longer you bake, the more set the bars will be. Remove from the oven and let cool. Slice into bars, drizzle with chocolate and sea salt. Let set.
This post was originally published on November 14, 2025
Made this with the help of the sugar advice from Teaghan attached to a comment- consistency was perfect. They are good, not great in my opinion. Much better the next day after cooled. I thought just a bit too much chocolate (and I LOVE chocolate) would add 1/2 c- 3/4 cup chips because I feel like it hid the mapple pecan flavor. Think chocolate pecan pie bar, that is what these are.
Hey Julie,
Thanks so much! Love to hear you enjoyed this recipe, I appreciate you making it! Have a great day!
I was really hoping these would be worth it after I had to throw my first batch of shortbread dough out because I added the full cup of brown sugar. Sadly, these were disappointing, and I won’t be making them again. They were difficult to follow with the multiple calls for sugar and butter—these could be separated more to avoid the mistake I and many others made. They also took 45 minutes for the filling to set and still be jiggly. In terms of the texture and flavor, I was expecting the shortbread to be a little firmer, but it was crumbly, and the bars didn’t cut very cleanly. The filling was gooey, but the overall flavor fell flat. Like it needed more sugar or chocolate? I’d search for a different pecan and chocolate recipe if you’re looking to add one to your cookie box!
The cookies were decent. Like others stated, the directions are not entirely clear. I had to dump my initial dough attempt when I realized it wanted the 1/4 cup sugar, not 1 cup on that step.
If the instructions could be updated slightly, I think this recipe would be solid.
Hi Laura,
I appreciate you trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, sorry for any confusion with the brown sugar.
The directions are confusing — multiple mentions of sugar and butter without clear amounts until later — so I wasn’t even sure if I was adding the right ingredients at the right time. The crust ended up too crumbly and uneven, and the filling never got that gooey texture I expected despite baking it as long as it said. For a recipe that’s supposed to be “gooey and rich,” the instructions felt vague and hard to follow, especially around mixing and oven steps. A baking recipe really shouldn’t leave you guessing how much of key ingredients like brown sugar go where
Hi Amy,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear it was not enjoyed.
The recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of brown sugar in step 3, 1/4 cup of brown sugar in step 5, and 1 cup of brown sugar in step 6.
Please let me know if I can help in any other way!
How much brown sugar do you use all together?
Hi Susan,
You are going to use 2 tablespoons of brown sugar in step 3, 1/4 cup of brown sugar in step 5, and then 1 cup in step 6.
Please let me know if you have any other questions!
I like the end result, but the process was really hard to follow. The recipe lists two instances of sugar and butter. For the sugar, the first mention is just “add sugar” and the second is “add one cup of sugar” so you only know by the second one which amount you were supposed to use on the previous step. I was only able to guess which butter to use when because it says “whisk in the butter” at one point and one part of the butter is supposed to be molten, but that is again only at the second mention of adding butter. There are multiple points where things go in the oven but the temperature is only given once – it worked out with the same temperature twice but again, I had to guess and interpret the recipe, when especially baking recipes should be clear instructions. And I still don’t know if I froze the dough long enough. I put it in the freezer for an hour until it felt hard, but that’s also something I’d expect a recipe to state.
Delicious!! Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!! My husband loved them! Hope the ladies at my Bible study coffee event love them as much as we do.
Blessings to you Tieghan!
Hey Kathy,
Fantastic! I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment! So glad it was enjoyed:)
Happy Holidays!
I made these with gluten free flour (I had to add 4 T water) and completely forgot to drizzle and salt at the end. They were still really delicious. We loved them.
Hey Jeri,
Happy Holidays! Thank you so much for making this recipe and your comment, love to hear it turned out well for you!
This looks delicious!! Can I make and freeze the dough and pecans days in advance? I am making cookie boxes and want to make the doughs in advance so I don’t have to do everything in a matter of two days and still give my loved ones fresh cookies!
Hey Maddie,
You bet, that will work nicely for you! I hope you love this recipe!
These did not turn out at all!!!
Hi Sara,
Very sorry to hear this! Is there anything that I can help with? Please let me know! Happy Thanksgiving!
These are amazing!!! My family loved them! I also added the 1 cup of brown sugar to the dough but they were delicious!
I’m making them a second time to take to my family’s thanksgiving! Our new favorite!
Hey Emily,
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try and sharing your thoughts, so happy it worked for you!
Have a great Thanksgiving!
Just finished making these for my thanksgiving prep- they turned out perfect despite slightly over-baking on accident (timer didn’t start!!!)
I do think those commenting that they had issues added 1 C of brown sugar to the crust instead of the 1/4 cup listed earlier in the ingredient list. My crust is slightly browned on the bottom and sturdy!
Thanks for another great recipe, Teighan! You have always been my go-to and so many of your recipes are staples in my home. Happy Thanksgiving!!
Thanks so much, Sabrina! I appreciate you making this recipe and your feedback! Have a great Thanksgiving!