Butter Pecan Bars - a simple dessert recipe from Buns In My Oven (2024)

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These butter pecan bars are such a simple treat that starts with a box of cake mix and a bunch of tasty pecans!
Butter Pecan Bars - a simple dessert recipe from Buns In My Oven (1)

My husband and I just celebrated our tenth anniversary. I know! Ten years! And I haven’t killed him yet!

Or, maybe it should be: Ten years! And he hasn’t killed me yet!

Or how about: Ten years! And we’re both still alive!

Yeah. I think that last one sounds about right.

How about a little engagement story? Oh, I know, you don’t care how I got engaged, but this is quick and it involves food. Kinda.

Butter Pecan Bars - a simple dessert recipe from Buns In My Oven (2)

You see, my husband and I started dating when I was 16 and, well, I was pregnant not too long after I turned 17. A month or so after our sweet baby boy was born, my husband proposed.

We were driving home from somewhere and he just drove right past our apartment.

“Uh, honey? I think you missed your turn,” I said, ever so politely to him. And, okay, maybe I was irritated. How did he forget where we lived? Also, I was barely 18 with a newborn baby. Everything irritated me.

“I’m just heading to the store for some ice cream,” he replied in a weird tone of voice.

“We don’t have room in the freezer for anymore ice cream! We have lots of ice cream at home!”

“But we don’t have Butter Pecan ice cream! I want Butter Pecan!” he whined. And, okay, so maybe he didn’t whine. Maybe he just stated this in his manly voice.

I proceeded to go on about how Butter Pecan was the worst ice cream flavor ever. In the midst of my rant about ice cream flavors that were not chocolate based, he turned into the parking lot of a golf course that I had worked at the previous summer and parked right where I had told him I loved him for the first time.

“Uh, honey, what the heck are you doing?”

Butter Pecan Bars - a simple dessert recipe from Buns In My Oven (3)

“I think we’ve got a flat tire.” he said in that weird tone of voice that I would one day come to realize was his LYING VOICE.

We both got out, he dropped to one knee, and he proposed.

The end!

I’m sorry. That was long and boring, wasn’t it? Well, let me make it up to you with these amazing Butter Pecan Squares. See? See how I tied it all together?

To see how to make this butter pecan bars recipe, watch the video below!

I have since matured a wee bit (both in terms of food and just in general) and I’ve come to realize that anything with the name Butter Pecan is pretty darn delicious. These bars are no exception. They are so buttery, so rich, so sweet, so full of delicious flavor that they will just blow your mind.

They might even have you running around sharing your engagement story with the internet! They’re powerful, is what I’m sayin’.

The original recipe called for a box of yellow cake mix, but while I was standing in front of hundreds of box mixes, the Golden Butter cake mix jumped right off the shelf and begged me to take it home. I think it knew that it would fit right in at my house full o’ butter.

Enjoy these at room temperature with a fork or eat ’em with your hands right out of the fridge. Either way, they’re amazing.

Check out my homemade brownies, Nutella brownies, and whipped icing for more dessert ideas!

Butter Pecan Bars - a simple dessert recipe from Buns In My Oven (4)

Follow me on social for more recipe ideas & inspiration!

Butter Pecan Bars - a simple dessert recipe from Buns In My Oven (5)

Recipe

Butter Pecan Squares

These butter pecan bars are such a simple treat that starts with a box of cake mix and a bunch of tasty pecans!

3.96 from 47 votes

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Prep10 minutes minutes

Cook45 minutes minutes

Total55 minutes minutes

Serves 16 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 box Butter cake mix 18.25 ounces
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 2 cups chopped pecans
  • 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
  • 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

  • Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, 1 egg, butter, and pecans. Mix well.

  • Press into a greased 9x13 pan.

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese, 2 remaining eggs, and the powdered sugar until well combined. Pour over the crust.

  • Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the center is set. It should be gooey, but not runny.

  • Cool completely before cutting, 1-2 hours. Store in the refrigerator.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 427kcal (21%)| Carbohydrates: 55g (18%)| Protein: 4g (8%)| Fat: 22g (34%)| Saturated Fat: 8g (50%)| Cholesterol: 65mg (22%)| Sodium: 345mg (15%)| Potassium: 103mg (3%)| Fiber: 1g (4%)| Sugar: 40g (44%)| Vitamin A: 425IU (9%)| Vitamin C: 0.2mg| Calcium: 99mg (10%)| Iron: 1.2mg (7%)

Author: Karly Campbell

Course:Dessert

Cuisine:American

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Butter Pecan Bars - a simple dessert recipe from Buns In My Oven (2024)

FAQs

What gives butter pecan its flavor? ›

Roasted pecans, butter, and vanilla flavor are used in butter pecan baked goods. Butter pecan ice cream is smooth vanilla ice cream with a slight buttery flavor, with pecans added. It is manufactured by many major ice cream brands. A variant of the recipe is butter almond, which replaces the pecans with almonds.

Why is butter pecan called butter pecan? ›

So, why is it called butter pecan? A key component to the butter pecan cooking process is actually roasting the pecans in butter before incorporating into your recipe, which is most likely going to be homemade butter pecan ice cream.

What's the difference between butterscotch and butter pecan? ›

Butterscotch Involves Brown Sugar And Butter

This gives butterscotch a richness in common with butter pecan, but the flavor profile is totally different owing to a lack of nuts. Unlike butter pecan, we have a much clearer sense of where butterscotch came from: 19th century England, possibly as early as 1817.

Is butter pecan the same as butterscotch? ›

Is butterscotch the same as butter pecan? No, they are not the same. Butterscotch is a sauce made by mixing brown sugar and melted butter together and cooking until it achieves a caramel-like consistency. It doesn't have any nuts.

What is black people's favorite ice cream flavor? ›

TikToker Goes Viral For Explaining How Butter Pecan Ice Cream Became A Cultural Favorite Among Black People.

What do Southerners call pecans? ›

Here is a list based on popularity: pee-KAHN — most dominant phrasing nationwide. PEE-can — most dominant on the east coast. pick-AHN — popular in areas like Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Mississippi.

What is black people's favorite ice cream? ›

Pecans were native to the South and therefore easily accessible ingredients, which helped butter pecan become a favorite ice cream flavor among Black people.

Why is butter pecan so good? ›

A Favorite Ice Cream Flavor

It combines the nutty flavor of fresh pecans with roasted pecan undertones and the distinct flavor of sweet vanilla. Many butter pecan recipes you find will tell you to roast your pecans with butter and sugar. The sugar is added during the ice cream-making process.

Does boost make butter pecan flavor? ›

Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Boost Nutritional Energy Drink, Butter Pecan, 8 Ounce Bottle (Pack of 24)

What is butter pecan syrup made of? ›

Butter Pecan Syrup. Four simple ingredients; butter, chopped pecans, maple syrup, and salt come together making the perfect waffle or pancake topping.

What is the flavor of ice cream in butter pecan ice cream? ›

No dessert screams summer more than a big bowl of homemade Buttered Pecan Ice Cream! There's just something about that sweet, rich vanilla caramel-y flavor with crunchy sweet buttered pecans that can't be beaten.

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