Sticky Pecan Pie Bars

Yield: 2 dozen bars

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 (18.25 ounce) box yellow cake mix*
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted
• 1 egg

Filling

• 3/4 cup dark corn syrup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup chopped pecans or pecans halves

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Crust

1. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, melted butter and 1 egg. With an electric mixer on low speed, beat for 2 minutes, or until blended. The batter should come together in a thick dough.
2. With your fingertips, pat the dough evenly over the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a 9 x 13-inch baking pan to form a crust, smoothing the surface.
3. Bake the crust for 20 minutes, or until it just begins to brown.
4. Remove the pan from the oven and set it aside while you prepare the filling. Leave the oven on.

Filling

1. In the same large bowl used for the crust with the same beaters (no need to clean either), combine the corn syrup, brown sugar, 2 eggs and vanilla extract. With mixer on medium speed, beat ingredients 1 minute, or until well combined.
2. With a rubber spatula, scrape the sides of the bowl and fold in the pecans until well distributed.
3. Pour the filling over the baked crust and spread it with the rubber spatula to cover the entire surface.
4. Bake the cake for 22-25 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the filling just starts to set.
5. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes.
6. To serve, cut the cake into bars.

Notes

* 18.25 ounce boxes of cake mix have been replaced by 16.5 ounce and 15.25 ounce boxes. To compensate for the volume loss in a 16 ounce box, whisk 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour into the dry cake mix before proceeding with the recipe. To compensate for the volume loss in a 15.25 ounce box, add 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour and 1/4 teaspoon baking powder.