Pecan Chewies
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Pecan chewies are a classic Southern treat that are so quick and easy to make. They’re bursting with pecan toffee flavor, like your favorite pecan pie in soft chewy bar form.
Hey folks! It’s me again! Stacey Little from Southern Bite. Isn’t it awesome that I got asked to post again? It’s like hosting Saturday Night Live… I feel like I’m important or something for being asked back! It is such a pleasure and an honor to be able to share another one of my favorite recipes with y’all.
Have you ever heard of pecan chewies (also known as Charleston chewies)? They’re a traditional Southern treat with a soft texture like blondies, a slight chew, and a toffee flavor that is made for the pecan lover in your life. If you know someone who can’t get enough of Southern pecan pie, this is the recipe for them. Pecan chewy bars are made with simple baking essentials you probably already have in your kitchen: butter, white sugar, brown sugar, eggs, self-rising flour, vanilla, and pecans.
They’re also so quick and easy to make. All you need to do is slowly combine the ingredients in a mixing bowl, pour the batter into a baking dish, and bake them for about 45 minutes. The melted butter combined with the brown sugar gives the pecan chewy bar its butterscotch/toffee flavor, like a pecan pie. One chewy bite and you’ll be addicted!
Southern pecan chewies are a great bar to make ahead and take to your next potluck, tailgating party, or picnic. Ready to give this recipe a go?
If you need some other yummy bar recipes check out some of these: Chewy Pear Bars, Turtle Bars, Carrot Cake Bars, Cranberry Cheesecake Bars, Peanut Butter Cheesecake Cookie Bars, and Tropical Dream Bars.
Recipe Ingredients
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Light brown sugar (if you only have dark, it’ll work just fine)
- Eggs
- Self-rising flour
- Chopped pecans
- Vanilla extract
Helpful Kitchen Tools
How to Make Pecan Chewies
First, line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper and grease it with cooking spray.
Then melt the butter and place it in a large bowl with…
Your granulated sugar and brown sugar.
Give that a good stir.
Next, beat your eggs…
And add the beaten eggs to the mixing bowl.
Add the flour and stir well.
Then add the pecans and vanilla and combine.
The batter is going to be rather thick and hard to stir, but keep going.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.
Spread to cover the bottom of the dish with fingers or a spatula dipped in water.
Bake for approximately 40 to 50 minutes, being cautious not to overcook.
You want them to remain chewy, hence the name!
Allow them to cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then lift them out of the baking dish using the overlapping parchment paper edges.
Let them cool completely on a wire rack or a similar surface before cutting them into bars.
Look at all these pecan chewies you have to enjoy. Or, you know, share with friends and family!
Oops, I couldn’t help myself! Pecan chewies are just too good, y’all!
Storage
- Store your pecan bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. They don’t need to be refrigerated.
- Alternatively, freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
Recipe Notes
- Feel free to substitute the pecans for walnuts. I know how much cheaper they can be!
- You want to use your sharpest knife to cut the bars for the cleanest edges.
- For chocolate pecan chewies, fold 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips of your choice into the batter when you add the pecans. Semi-sweet chocolate chips are my preference.
- If you like, add a dusting of powdered sugar before serving.
- To enhance the nutty flavor, use 1 teaspoon of almond extract and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract instead of vanilla only.
Here are more pecan treats to enjoy:
Butter Pecan Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 sticks unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 2 beaten eggs
- 2 cups self-rising flour
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Melt butter, add sugars, and blend well by hand (no mixer). Add beaten eggs and stir well.2 sticks unsalted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar, 2 beaten eggs
- Add flour and stir until all lumps are gone. Add pecans and vanilla and combine. Turn out into a greased and floured 9x13 baking dish.2 cups self-rising flour, 1 cup chopped pecans, 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Spread so the batter covers the dish, with either your fingers or a spatula dipped in water.
- Bake for approximately 40 to 50 minutes, being cautious not to overcook.
Nutrition
Treasure each other in the recognition that we do not know how long we shall have each other.
~Joshua Liebman
Love the cookie recipe, but I just gotta say, Brady, dude, YOU ROCK! Thanks for making me smile at work and I was singing right along with ya (much to the horror of my fellow office mates!)
ohhh…. shame, shame – that recipe is entirely too easy!! Dont even have to go to the store for the ingredients. Just walk to the kitchen and whip up a batch. I bet the only hard part would knowing when to stop eating!! Look delicious!
Christy I talked with Our mutual friend Betty Lincoln this morning. I just want to say when you come to visit Betty I want to meet you too we live maybe 10 miles apart. We have been in several bible studies together.
Betty is planning to go back to work next week.
ooooh!! thanks so much for sharing this one! i rushed to the kitchen and put them in the oven. forgot to flour the bowl, so i might need to eat them with a spoon straight from the dish. yours look thicker than mine, but i did use half margarine and reeeally melted it. looooved the whole portioned ingredients, and the anything with butter and pecans must be awesome. can’t wait for these to come out of the oven. thanks, again! now, gotta go find that ham and cheese bread recipe someone mentioned… 🙂
I’m so glad you’re testing them out. I hope they turn out great for you! Here’s the link to the Top to Bottom Ham and Cheese Bread: https://www.southernplate.com/2011/02/top-to-bottom-ham-and-cheese-bread.html
Thanks so much for the link! And, fresh from the oven, these smell incredible. First bite proved it. These are AWESOME!! The hubs agrees, and the kids are hoping there might be just a crumb for them 🙂 I will definitely be making these again and again!
I am so glad you enjoyed them! They are certainly a favorite at our house!
Chewies look amazing!! But, sorry, Brady STOLE THE SHOW! LOL He looks So very much like you, Christy!! My boy, Seth, & I watched and laughed, and laughed, and laughed !! He’s just so adorable, that Brady! (Plus, the little hand waver from the door was hilarious, too!) LOVED it! So, tell Brady a big Texas hello from me & Seth!
I grew up making these with chopped walnuts and calling them Chew Bread. They last about 4.2 seconds in my house. Thanks for resurrecting a recipe I’d kinda forgotten about!
Is the 300 degree hot enough?
Yes. Low and slow makes for a chewy bar.