Vermont Maple Pecan Bar Cookies, a chewy and dense bar cookie, rich with autumnal maple pecan flavoring.

It began with Dunkin’ Donuts and their belief that maple could possibly replace pumpkin spice. And so they added menu items to entice people like you and me.

And then Starbucks began promoting their new Maple Pecan Latte. Everywhere.

Every time I went to the market, I saw that delicious looking latte, calling my name. It was impossible to resist.

Because for me… fall is all about maple-y kinds of flavors. Along with pumpkin spice, for sure. In fact, the Chicago Tribune says this year Starbucks, “maple is ‘sharing the spotlight’ with pumpkin.”

A delightful and delicious combination. It’s not mutually exclusive. An either… or. It’s a both.

And so I began thinking about such things as maple bars and wanted to make an easy but delicious bar cookie to share with family and friends this season.

This is that cookie. And it does make me think about maple bar donuts.

When I first began developing and testing the recipe, I tried to make them without the maple extract. While good, the maple flavor wasn’t pungent enough for me. The addition of the maple extract added that little something extra, reminiscent of maple-y deliciousness.

Happy fall — enjoy both your maple… and your pumpkin!

Vermont Maple Pecan Bar Cookies Vermont Maple Pecan Bar Cookies, a chewy and dense bar cookie, rich with autumnal maple and pecan flavoring. Author: Stephanie Wilson Scale 1x 2x 3x Ingredients 1/2 cup butter ( 1 stick)

butter ( stick) 1 – 1/4 cups packed brown sugar

– cups packed brown sugar 1/2 cup maple syrup

maple syrup 1 egg

egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

vanilla extract 1 teaspoon maple extract

maple extract 2 – 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

– cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda

baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt

salt 1 cup chopped pecans, divided Instructions Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease or line with parchment paper a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Set aside. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add brown sugar and still until completely dissolved. Stir in the maple syrup. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature (I use refrigerated maple syrup which cools it immediately). Once cool, add the egg, vanilla, and maple extracts, combine thoroughly. To the saucepan, stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Fold in 1/2 cup chopped pecans. Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 chopped pecans over the top. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and set. Loosen edges with a knife and cool on a metal rack. Cut into bars or squares.

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