Pecan Pie Brownies

By Melissa Clark

Updated Nov. 20, 2024

Pecan Pie Brownies
Yossy Arefi for The New York Times (Photography and Styling)
Total Time
1¼ hours
Rating
4(1,044)
Comments
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Topping a panful of brownie batter with honey-spiked pecan pie filling adds a gooey sweetness and crunch to the fudgy bars beneath. You can substitute any other nut for the pecans: Walnuts, almonds, pistachios, cashews or a combination will all work perfectly. This recipe calls for an 8-inch square pan, but, if you only have a 9-inch square pan, shave a few minutes off the baking time.

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Ingredients

Yield:16 brownies

    For the Brownies

    • ½cup/115 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), plus more for greasing the pan
    • 4ounces/115 grams unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped or broken up
    • 1¼cups/250 grams granulated sugar
    • 2large eggs, at room temperature
    • 1cup/130 grams all-purpose flour
    • 2tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder
    • 2teaspoons vanilla extract
    • ¾teaspoon fine sea salt
    • ¼cup/45 grams mini or regular chocolate chips (optional)

    For the Pecan Layer

    • 6tablespoons/85 grams unsalted butter (¾ stick), melted
    • ¼cup/60 milliliters honey
    • ¼cup/55 grams light or dark brown sugar
    • 2tablespoons heavy cream
    • ¼teaspoon fine sea salt
    • 2cups/200 grams toasted pecan halves, coarsely chopped
    • Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (16 servings)

372 calories; 25 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 36 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 26 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 178 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter an 8-inch square metal baking pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches of excess on each side to help you lift the cooked brownies out of the pan.

  2. Step 2

    Make the brownies: Put butter and chocolate into a medium pot and place it over low heat. Melt the mixture, taking care not to let the chocolate burn and stirring constantly with a rubber spatula until smooth. Scrape chocolate mixture into a large bowl and mix in the sugar. Let mixture cool until it’s just warm to the touch, about 5 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Whisk eggs into cooled chocolate mixture. Whisk in flour, cocoa powder, vanilla and salt. Mix in chocolate chips, if using. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth it into an even layer. Set aside.

  4. Step 4

    Make the pecan layer: In a medium bowl, whisk together butter, honey, brown sugar, heavy cream and fine sea salt. Fold in pecans until well coated.

  5. Step 5

    Pour pecan mixture in an even layer on top of the brownie batter. Sprinkle the top lightly with flaky sea salt. Bake until the top is set and firm to touch, especially in the center, 45 to 55 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely before cutting into 16 squares.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
1,044 user ratings
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Comments

Pocahontas

Melissa - do you think the topping could be simply poured over a boxed mix such as Trader Joes excellent Truffle brownies? thanks!

Iowa Ron

Bless Melissa Clark for all the good she does!

SharonATX

These were good! Solid Melissa. The pecan layer felt a bit too thick in proportion to the brownie layer but we liked the different textures and flavors. Ours needed to bake closer to 55 minutes and you definitely want to let it cool COMPLETELY before lifting because you really want that pecan layer to set.

Erin

Somehow, this missed the mark for me. I like the pecan topping and appreciate the use of honey instead of corn syrup. I do like darker, more bitter chocolate in general. This was too bitter for me, though. I used weight measures and followed the recipe exactly. I like a more fudgy brownie, too. This is thicker and cakier, probably to support the weight of the pecan topping. It just feels like two different desserts to me. I’ll stick to Katharine Hepburn’s brownies.

MarshaB

I found the unsweetened chocolate to be too bitter. I'll try semisweet next time. I didn't have a metal pan available and had to use an 8 x 8 glass dish instead. It took over an hour to bake. With that long in the oven, the pecans were a bit overdone, so I wouldn't toast the pecans next time. I wonder whether that's necessary anyway.

Stephanie C

I made this with just a bit less salt in the batter and none on the top, and omitted the chocolate chips. I have a glass pan so tweaked the time and temperature. The edges still got a bit hard so I trimmed about 1/2" all around and cut them into little "sticks" which made perfect "dunkers." The rest I cut into squares about 1-1/2 x 1-1/2. I think this might have been the best brownie I have ever eaten.

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