White Chocolate Pecan Cookie Bars
White Chocolate Pecan Cookie bars are like deep dish cookies ~ nice and thick with a crispy edges and soft insides. Why bake cookies any other way?
Servings: 16 servings
Equipment
- 9x9 baking dish
- parchment paper (optional)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup golden brown sugar, packed
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
- 1/2 tsp coarse salt
- 1 egg (large or extra large) at room temperature if possible
- 1 2/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup (heaped) white chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F
- Butter a 9x9 baking pan and line with parchment (parchment is optional, but helps to remove bars for even slicing.)
- Cream butter and sugar with the vanilla paste and salt until fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times. I use my stand mixer but you can use electric beaters if you prefer.
- Beat in the room temperature egg and scrape down bowl again to get everything evenly combined.
- Whisk the flour and baking powder together and slowly add to the bowl with the mixer on low.
- Add the chips and nuts (mixer still on low) and mix just until distributed. Do a final stir with a large silicone spoonula just to make sure everything is up from the bottom of the bowl, etc.
- Turn the batter into your prepared pan and pat out evenly. It helps to flour your fingers for this job. I take the time to smooth the surface with an offset spatula because this will bake up prettier than a rough surface.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes. The bars will just be starting to turn golden around the edges and the center will be slightly puffed. Note: ovens vary greatly, so check them at 30 minutes.
- Let the pan cool for about 15 minutes and then, if you've used parchment paper, you can lift the bars out to a cooling rack.
- These cookie bars can be sliced while still warm, or you can wait for them to cool. I slice them into 16 squares.
Notes
*I toast my pecan halves on a piece of parchment paper in the microwave (full power) for 2 minutes. Let them cool for a minute, then chop. You can also toast them on a baking sheet in a 350F oven for 10-15 minutes. In either case check them toward the end so they don't burn.
Nutrition
Calories: 206 kcal · Carbohydrates: 27 g · Protein: 2 g · Fat: 10 g · Saturated Fat: 5 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g · Trans Fat: 0.2 g · Cholesterol: 27 mg · Sodium: 87 mg · Potassium: 92 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 17 g · Vitamin A: 196 IU · Vitamin C: 0.1 mg · Calcium: 41 mg · Iron: 1 mg
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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