Pecan Pie Bars

There’s just something comforting about having pies at a holiday table.  Miss Yunks doesn’t love pie, but she does love pie filling.  It’s the crust that gets in the way.  She’d rather have a bowl of cinnamon sugared apples than a slice of apple pie.  But if you’re talking about pecan pie, pecan pie filling needs a crust.  The filling is so sweet that it requires something sturdy to balance it.  And today, we’re talking about pecan pie.

Almost.  We’re actually talking about pecan pie bars.  To avoid overcrowding my Thanksgiving table with pies and to aid in my favorite dessert approach (a little bite of everything) I decided to make pecan pie bars.  I actually decided to make chocolate pecan pie bars, but I purchased the wrong kind of chocolate so I made pecan pie bars.  And maybe I snacked on the “wrong” chocolate chips while I threw the bars together.  I was bringing these bars to my parents’ house for Thanksgiving so they needed to be pareve, or have no dairy.  The dark chocolate chips I bought had dairy in them, so I’ve been finding other uses for them besides these bars.  Sometimes a handful of chocolate of chips is very useful.

I followed the recipe on Glorious Eats for Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars.  Because I was making pareve bars, I substituted margarine for butter in the crust.  I couldn’t tell a difference in the finished product – the margarine worked just fine!  These pecan pie bars were a big hit at Thanksgiving.  The sweet pecan squares were so decadent on their own that no one missed the chocolate either.  Because my dessert was small, everyone could enjoy a square plus a slice of apple pie, and pumpkin pie, and chocolate brownie.  I believe it’s important to eat a well balanced dessert.

What’s a favorite dessert from your holiday table?