German chocolate cake is one of my childhood loves. My mother used to make it from a cake mix with store-bought frosting. And that was just fine with me.
Having an anti-coconut husband has limited my baking with coconuts over the last several years. In the spirit of “absence makes the heart grow fonder,” I think I enjoy all that German chocolate-y goodness even more because I don’t have it very often.
In this case, those nostalgic flavors are baked into pecan pie bars. If you’ve never made pecan pie bars, imagine those gooey filling and toasty pecans of pie fame filling a simple crust and baked in a big pan instead of a pie plate. Add to that a little cocoa in the crust, some melty chocolate on top of the crust, and stir in some coconut with the pecans. Now, we’re talking!
These are, without a doubt, the best pecan pie bars I’ve ever made. I am usually reluctant to throw out such accolades, but it is completely appropriate in this case. If you are a fan of German chocolate cake, then I think you’ll love them, too. If you don’t like coconut, you can just leave that out and add more pecans or maybe some chocolate chips.
Ingredients
- 3 cups pecan halves
- 1 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
- 3/4 cup cold butter, cubed
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1 & 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup light corn syrup
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°.
Arrange pecans in a single layer of a shallow baking pan. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Stir halfway through baking.
Line bottom and sides of a 9"x 13" baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on two short sides. Grease foil.
Whisk together flour, confectioners' sugar, and cocoa. Add cold butter, and combine with a pastry blender* until mixture resembles coarse meal. Press mixture into bottom and about 3/4-inch up sides of prepared pan.
Bake crust for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over crust. Allow to cool on a wire rack at least 30 minutes.
Place eggs in a large mixing bowl, and beat lightly. Add brown sugar, corn syrup, and melted butter. Whisk together until smooth. Stir in coconut and pecans. Pour evenly over partially baked crust.
Bake 28-34 minutes, or until edges are golden and filling has set. Cool completely on a wire rack. Then, refrigerate for an hour.
Using foil overhang, lift bars from pan and place on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut into bars.
Notes
*You can also mix crust ingredients in a food processor, but I prefer mixing this way.
Recipe adapted from Southern Living, September 2012.
October 31st, 2012 at 11:04 am
Wow, this sounds great! I’ve always been a fan of 7 layer bars, but I like the idea of these better because they have fewer ingredients so you can focus in the nuts, coconut, and chocolate!
October 31st, 2012 at 1:58 pm
Shut the door! These look like they will quickly become an absolute favorite of mine. I love pecan pie and German chocolate cake has always been my favorite. My husband hates coconut too (who ARE these people?!) but maybe I can trick him into eating these.
October 31st, 2012 at 3:14 pm
Oh my goodness! The German Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars are so seductive! The photos are just voluptuous, well done!
October 31st, 2012 at 4:50 pm
These bars sound incredibly perfect for me with all my favorite ingredients.
November 1st, 2012 at 6:07 pm
Delicious bars. Thank you for sharing them on RecipeNewZ! Everyone loved them and now you have one more RecipeNewZ feature: http://www.facebook.com/RecipeNewZ Congrats!
November 1st, 2012 at 9:54 pm
Looks delicious! I would love to try some. I am sure it tastes great.
November 1st, 2012 at 10:43 pm
i’ve never heard of german choclate cake, but i have heard of pecan pie! they look so moist and chewy and delicious.
November 2nd, 2012 at 12:18 pm
I made these bars last night and they were absolutely amazing! Perfect. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
November 4th, 2012 at 10:44 am
These were delicious. Everyone loved them.
November 5th, 2012 at 10:34 am
I just added this to my Mouth Watering Mondays post. I will have to make these they look fantastic. Cheers, Tara
November 5th, 2012 at 12:00 pm
Can these be frozen? Thinking ahead to holiday baking.
November 6th, 2012 at 10:02 am
I’m wondering what size pan you used. Thank you!
November 6th, 2012 at 10:42 am
Michelle, you’ll need a 9″x 13″ pan. It’s in the 3rd step of the directions. Enjoy!
November 6th, 2012 at 10:43 am
Marla, pecan pies freeze well, so I would think that these bars would, too.
November 9th, 2012 at 10:16 am
Lovely article, you should write more often. I recently started a little blog myself about cakes and recipes, if you feel like it why not take a look.Cheers
November 11th, 2012 at 10:48 am
Yum…combines two of my husband’s favorites AND involves several things I am allergic to, so perfect for spoiling him & getting credit for using coconut, pecans AND real butter (all of which I love, but do not love me!). Looks pretty easy, too!
November 12th, 2012 at 12:51 pm
I’m wondering if using the foil could be omitted? Perhaps grease the pan with some butter, coconut oil or the like? I’m just not a fan of the foil, due to the warnings of the use of aluminum & alzhiemer’s disease.
November 12th, 2012 at 2:32 pm
How long do these keep for? In the fridge or the press?
November 12th, 2012 at 4:44 pm
Gonna try!!!
November 13th, 2012 at 1:37 pm
These look amazing!! My mom loves German Chocolate Cake and Pecan Pie…these would totally be her heaven!
November 13th, 2012 at 3:16 pm
Jodie, I would keep these for 3-4 days in a tightly sealed container.
November 13th, 2012 at 3:17 pm
Lou Ann, you don’t have to use the foil. It just makes it so much simpler to remove the bars. You can generously grease the pan or use parchment paper.
November 17th, 2012 at 1:20 pm
The cold butter used in the crust is that the same one used melted?
November 17th, 2012 at 2:32 pm
Nisha, the cold butter is to be cut into the crust. The melted butter goes into the filling.
November 21st, 2012 at 4:49 pm
How many pecans do you toast in the beginning, and how many do you use in the mix?
November 21st, 2012 at 5:06 pm
I’m making these now and my house smells so yummie!! Can’t wait to get my families feedback on them… So easy too!!
November 21st, 2012 at 6:59 pm
Toast all of the pecans. I just made these for Thanksgiving tomorrow and sampled the edges as I was cutting them. Delicious, although I may have slightly overbaked them. One thing that didnt turn out I think the way it was supposed to was the crust. As I used my pastry cutter to combine the butter into the dry ingredients I don’t think it got moist enough….anyone else know what I’m talking about?
November 21st, 2012 at 7:02 pm
Katie, you’ll need to toast all 3 cups of the pecans and then stir them into the filling.
Jessica, I used a pastry blender for the crust and didn’t have any problem. It’s a crumbly dough, but it should hold together well when pressed into the pan.
November 21st, 2012 at 9:52 pm
These were amazing! I am very picky, always looking for the BEST recipe for something. I have made good pecan pies before, but these bars are so, so good that this will be my go-to recipe for pecan pie from now on. They do taste a little like a 7 layer cookie bar. The crust is really good too.
November 22nd, 2012 at 8:43 pm
My mouth had an orgasam when I ate these not one not two but three I tell you three of these and each time I felt like my whole world was being rocked. This is one recipe I will be making again.
November 24th, 2012 at 12:22 am
Salivating, these look amazing. Can I substitute anything for corn syrup?
November 24th, 2012 at 9:45 am
Irene, you can try golden syrup.
January 15th, 2013 at 7:20 pm
Made according to the recipe, and the topping was delicious, but I agree with one previous comment, the bottom lay was dry. Would do again with brownie bottom crust.
February 6th, 2013 at 11:57 am
Divine, just divine. I used white whole wheat flour in the crust and only had 2 cups of pecans so I added 1 cup walnuts as well…totally yummy. I find the crust on the not too sweet dry side is the perfect compliment for the sticky sweet ooey gooey topping.
Thanks for the recipe…it’s a keeper!
March 23rd, 2013 at 9:09 pm
These look really good. If you liked mix German chocolate cake homemade will knock your socks off! My Mom always made it as long as I could recall and now I make it and it is SO much better than the mixes. You can find the recipe on the package of German’s Sweet Chocolate bars in the baking section. I make it in a sheet pan, cut into pieces and freeze. It is wonderful to have on hand in the freezer and tastes freshly baked. I just had to let you know because if your hubby doesn’t like cocoanut you could have it all to yourself!
April 2nd, 2013 at 8:59 pm
These were awesome will be making again real soon.It’s not very often that my husband says I should have made a double batch of something but he sure did for these lol.