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Holiday Cooking & Baking Recipes: Butter Pecan Bars Recipe | 11th Day of Christmas Cookies
Dec 13, 2025
Butter Pecan Bars Recipe | 11th Day of Christmas Cookies - If you're looking for Christmas desserts to make, these 9x13 cookie bars will be perfect for your next cookie swap.
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Butter Pecan Bars Recipe: https://www.pauladeen.com/recipe/butter-pecan-bars/
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#pauladeen #loveandbestdishes
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0:00
- Y'all, I'm looking forward to this day
0:04
because one of my favorite things to do...
0:07
Well, with my work y'all,
0:09
my favorite part of my work is doing book signings.
0:15
I meet so many wonderful people and y'all just fill me up.
0:20
Y'all give me that energy that I need at my age,
0:23
that boost of energy.
0:24
And y'all give it to me.
0:28
And you never know.
0:30
Sometimes we'll get to talking and they'll be telling me
0:33
about stuff they cooked and I'll say,
0:36
"Come to my house and do a show with me."
0:39
Well, the girl that...
0:41
I think I heard her knocking, Eddie.
0:42
Did you hear her?
0:45
Has come from...
0:46
Where did she come from?
0:48
- Indiana. - All the way from Indiana.
0:51
I said, "Girl, would you come to my house
0:52
and cook with me on my YouTube show?"
0:55
She said, "Yes, I will."
0:58
I thought I heard a knock.
1:02
Stacia! - Hello!
1:04
- [Paula] Come on in!
1:05
And you have company with you.
1:07
- I do. - Give me a hug.
1:12
Give me a hug.
1:13
(all laughing)
1:16
Thank you so much for coming.
1:18
Who is this?
1:19
- This is Hayley, my daughter. - Hayley.
1:21
- Yes. - And then my
1:22
baby sister, Ashley.
1:24
- Hello. - Y'all all look alike.
1:28
Well, come on in.
1:29
We are getting everything set up.
1:31
And I was just telling my friends out there,
1:34
my favorite work that I do is book signings.
1:38
- Awesome.
1:39
- 'Cause I never know who I'm gonna meet.
1:42
And I'll get to talking with folks
1:44
and they'll tell me stuff they do or cook.
1:47
And the next thing I know I'm saying,
1:48
"Would you come cook with me?"
1:49
- And here we are. - I bet you thought
1:51
I wouldn't call you. - Ah, it's awesome.
1:53
A dream come true.
1:54
- She gave us her contact and she came.
1:59
So y'all better watch out at my book signings.
2:03
We'll have you on a plane coming to Savannah.
2:06
Well, this is that Ding Dong cake?
2:09
- Yes. - Oh my goodness.
2:11
You were telling me about it.
2:13
- [Stacia] My number one seller.
2:14
- [Paula] Number one seller.
2:17
So tell everybody...
2:21
Okay, can we do it this way?
2:23
- [Stacia] Triple chocolate fudge cake.
2:26
And the center is marshmallow cream
2:29
with buttercream mixed together.
2:30
- No! - And then we cover it
2:32
in chocolate ganache, it's made of milk chocolate
2:35
and heavy whipping cream.
2:37
And then I put little decorations on it
2:39
and there you go.
2:41
Delicious. - I can't do a flower
2:42
to save my soul.
2:43
- Well, I can teach you - I want you to.
2:46
My cakes are not the prettiest, but daggum they taste good.
2:49
- Yeah. - So today we are doing
2:54
the 11th day of the 12 days of Christmas cookies.
2:59
- Awesome. - And so I want you
3:00
to tell everybody about your life.
3:04
And this girl can talk too.
3:05
I remember that.
3:07
- Well, I am from Indiana
3:09
and I have been baking since I was 10 years old.
3:12
And these butter pecan bars that we're gonna make today
3:14
are ones that I won champion with
3:16
at the Carroll County Forage Fair in Indiana
3:18
when I was probably nine or 10 years old.
3:20
- Oh my gosh.
3:21
And so these are your favorites?
3:23
- Yes. - And they're called
3:24
butter pecan bars.
3:26
- Yes. - So this cookie
3:28
sounds wonderful. - It is.
3:30
- Now is it a cookie or is it a bar?
3:31
- It's a bar cookie.
3:33
- Okay. - So, you know,
3:35
in Indiana we say butter pecan.
3:37
- Yeah. - I know.
3:38
So I have to get- - Down here
3:39
I say butter pecan.
3:40
- Butter pecan. Yes, I know.
3:42
- How do you spell it? - The same way.
3:43
- How do you spell it?
3:45
- P-E-C-A-N, pecan.
3:46
- Pecan. - I know.
3:49
It looks like pecan.
3:50
So it's all good.
3:52
- It just depends on where you were raised.
3:54
- Yes, I agree. - How it was pronounced
3:55
in your house. - Yes.
3:56
- Now Stacia has asked for some parchment paper.
3:59
- Yes. - I love these
4:01
'cause they fit in my air fryer.
4:03
- Yes. They're the perfect size.
4:04
- So while you're getting your stuff up,
4:06
I'll cut this out to fit your pan for you.
4:10
- Okay. - And you can get to going.
4:13
- Do you want me to go ahead and start?
4:15
- Yeah, go ahead and start.
4:16
- All right, here's our two eggs,
4:18
and we are going to beat these eggs.
4:21
(blender whirring)
4:26
- [Paula] So you use the spray with flour-
4:29
- I like the spray with flour.
4:30
It works great for baking.
4:33
- Well, I do too. - You know what?
4:34
You don't have to.
4:35
Sometimes I just kind of spray it over the parchment paper
4:38
after I put it in there.
4:39
- Yes. - But it's okay.
4:40
All right. So I've got the two eggs in here.
4:42
- [Paula] I can't see where my line is.
4:43
- And we're gonna add a cup of brown sugar.
4:46
- Okay. - These are so yummy.
4:50
Everybody likes them with coffee
4:51
a lot of times for breakfast.
4:52
- Yes. - And such.
4:55
And, yes, last week I made them
4:57
and I hadn't made 'em for a while
4:58
and then you're just like,
4:59
"Oh, I forgot how good these were."
5:00
- Uh-huh.
5:02
I bet they kind of melt in your mouth.
5:04
- Yes. They're yummy.
5:07
- All right, I can't tell where my square is.
5:09
- It doesn't matter.
5:10
It doesn't have to be perfect.
5:12
- Yeah, 'cause we can spray around.
5:14
- Yep.
5:15
- I didn't- - They'll smell delicious.
5:17
Your house will smell really good.
5:19
All right. Then we're gonna add our cup of sugar.
5:21
- Okay. - Okay.
5:24
Put those somewhere.
5:25
- Okay.
5:26
(blender whirring)
5:27
- Do you want an apron? Are you-
5:30
- No. I'm bad.
5:31
I'm just gonna try to-
5:32
- Me too! - Make any messes.
5:33
- [Paula] I said, "I don't look good in an apron."
5:36
- Do you know what?
5:38
I might usually just have an old T-shirt on or something,
5:40
but, yeah, so you're good.
5:42
Okay. So then we are going to mix this well.
5:46
And I always kind of like it scraping around the edges
5:49
to make sure-
5:50
- [Paula] Bring it down. Bring it down.
5:51
- Yes. They're so yummy.
5:54
- So what town are you from in Indiana?
5:57
- I am from Flora, Indiana.
5:58
And we are a half an hour away
6:00
from the Purdue Boilermakers.
6:02
- [Paula] From the Purdue what?
6:03
- From the Purdue Boilermakers.
6:06
You know the Purdue Boilermakers, Purdue University?
6:08
- Oh! Oh, okay!
6:11
One of my kids graduated from Purdue University.
6:14
- Really? - And he actually won
6:17
a contest for Big Man on Campus there.
6:19
- Uh-uh! - He made the most money
6:22
for a Breast Cancer Research thing.
6:25
Anyway, so he got this big award and whatever.
6:28
- Now how many children do you have?
6:29
I know you brought one with you.
6:30
- Well, I have six.
6:31
My husband and I had six all together.
6:33
- Oh, okay. - So we had his,
6:34
hers and ours. - And ours.
6:36
- And so this is Hayley.
6:38
And then I have Kirsten, there's Kirsten and Drake.
6:40
They're oldest two.
6:41
And then I have Hayley and Jared
6:43
and then Elanie and Wilson.
6:45
- Wow. - And Wilson-
6:46
- [Paula] Do they all still live at home?
6:47
- No, they all left me with two dogs.
6:49
(both laughing)
6:51
- You know, I've had that happen to me before.
6:53
- Yeah.
6:55
Okay. So now we're gonna add our flour.
6:57
This is such a simple recipe.
6:59
- [Paula] And is that all-purpose?
7:00
- Yes, it's all-purpose. - Okay.
7:01
- You know what?
7:02
I usually just say flour for, you know, whatever, you know?
7:07
Unless I'm using-
7:08
- I can't wait to taste that Ding Dong cake.
7:10
- Oh, I just hope it's-
7:11
- How did you name it Ding Dong?
7:12
- Well, let me tell you.
7:14
It's named after the Ding Dong cake.
7:15
You know, like the Ding Dongs?
7:16
- No, I don't!
7:17
- You know, like Twinkies and Ding Dongs, like Hostess?
7:20
It's very similar.
7:22
- Now Eddie is from New Hampshire.
7:23
- Okay. - Do you know
7:24
about Ding Dongs?
7:26
- Oh you guys, I should have brought you Ding Dongs.
7:28
It was Hostess. - I happen to live with one.
7:31
(both laughing)
7:33
- Yeah, well, good times.
7:35
Okay. We have this all creamed together, all right?
7:39
- Okay. - And then our last thing...
7:41
Oh, we gotta put our vanilla in it.
7:42
We need a little bit of vanilla.
7:43
- How about our butter? - A teaspoon.
7:45
Yes, we gotta add our butter.
7:46
We gotta add our butter.
7:47
Yes. Knew we are missing something.
7:49
We gotta add our butter.
7:52
I think I might have put that.
7:53
- All right, let's see.
7:54
Come on pourer. - We're gonna do that slow
7:55
'cause that's gonna be-
7:56
- All right. You know what?
7:57
I think I'm gonna hold over your-
7:59
- You're fine. I usually just-
8:02
- Look, see, I let it overflow.
8:04
- Okay. I'm just gonna put this butter in
8:05
a little bit at a time.
8:06
- Yes. - I do not wanna mess.
8:08
- Yes.
8:11
Well, if I can help you any way, let me know.
8:13
- We'll get this butter in here, incorporated,
8:15
and it'll be a lot.
8:16
You can just pour that in just a little bit at a time.
8:19
- Okay. - There we go.
8:20
You have to have your butter in there.
8:22
- Yes. - I'm all about butter.
8:24
- Anybody that- - This reminds me
8:26
of something that I make.
8:28
- Probably. I'm sure it's great.
8:30
- You know, it reminds me of my Aunt Glanys' chewys.
8:33
- Oh! - Eddie, do you remember me-
8:37
- [Eddie] We just did just made 'em.
8:38
- We did just make 'em?
8:39
- [Eddie] Mm-hm.
8:40
- So I have funny story to tell you.
8:42
- Tell me? - My youngest daughter Elanie,
8:45
she's the queen.
8:46
She has that "My First Cookbook" of yours.
8:49
- No! - But she's 25 now.
8:50
Okay. So when she was little,
8:52
we had supper and I had this pasta meal
8:55
in a crock pot, you know, for six kids,
8:57
there's eight of us, you know?
8:58
And we go to eat supper that night
9:01
and it tastes like vanilla.
9:03
And I said, "Elanie-"
9:04
- What did you cook? - It was just like a pasta
9:07
and cheese meat dish.
9:08
You know, something Italian. Real simple.
9:10
And we go to eat that.
9:11
I mean, you know, you're feeding six kids,
9:13
and Elanie, I said, "Why does this taste like vanilla?"
9:16
- Oh, excuse me.
9:17
- And you know what she tells me?
9:18
- What? - "Well, I was watching
9:20
Paula Deen today and she put vanilla in her recipes."
9:23
(Paula laughing)
9:25
- [Paula] Oh my gosh!
9:27
- Needless to say- - Well, you tell Lainey,
9:29
I have never put vanilla flavoring-
9:31
- Well, she was probably five years old.
9:34
- Oh. - Let me tell you.
9:36
We had to throw it out and get a pizza that night.
9:38
- No? - Yes.
9:39
So I'm ready for the pecans.
9:40
The pecans. - Okay. The pecans.
9:42
Do you stir 'em or?
9:43
- Just gently put 'em in a little bit.
9:45
You know what? I can stir 'em in.
9:47
Let's just stir 'em.
9:48
- Let's just stir 'em in.
9:49
- In case you might wanna-
9:51
- There you go. - Might get kind of messy.
9:52
- Okay. - No. Uh-uh.
9:53
I'll take those from you.
9:56
So you won't have that mess.
9:58
- So, yeah, I always wanted to tell you
9:59
that story about my daughter that-
10:00
- [Paula] Well, that is so funny.
10:02
"Well, Paula Deen puts vanilla in her dishes."
10:04
- She told me that.
10:05
And I said, "You're not Paula Deen."
10:07
(Paula laughing)
10:09
Anyways, this is what they're supposed to look like.
10:11
And they're just yummy.
10:14
So we're gonna put 'em in the dish
10:16
- Oh gosh, I did mess.
10:18
- You're fine. - But I'm just
10:20
going to spray around it.
10:21
(spray hissing)
10:23
The edges.
10:26
- Yeah. - Where I got it
10:27
a little short.
10:31
There you go. - Okay.
10:32
- How about that?
10:33
Come on over here and let me get that butter up.
10:35
I don't want you to get it on your clothes.
10:37
- [Stacia] Okay.
10:39
That made a little bit of a mess.
10:43
- [Paula] You know, I meet some of the most wonderful people
10:46
at my book signings.
10:48
I just love all of y'all so much.
10:51
- Well, I have something to show you at some point in time.
10:54
- Okay. - You did a cameo for my son
10:56
that was in the Marines.
10:57
- Did I? - Did you know this?
11:01
It was for Mother's Day
11:02
and it was when he was first out of the Marines,
11:05
or first in the Marines,
11:06
and he couldn't come home, you know?
11:08
And it was over COVID, I believe.
11:11
And he had you do a cameo.
11:13
- Here, let me help you hold that bowl up.
11:16
Those glass bowls are so heavy.
11:19
- Anyways, I'll have to show it to you.
11:21
- Oh yeah. - 'Cause every Mother's Day
11:23
that comes up on my Facebook
11:24
and I would cry every time.
11:26
But you know what's funny?
11:27
'Cause on that video he made the comment
11:28
about he won't be home this year for Mother's Day,
11:31
but maybe he'll be home next year for Mother's Day.
11:33
And he was.
11:35
So it was awesome.
11:37
So I was like, "Oh, you were right."
11:40
So, anyways, here's our butter pecan bars.
11:43
- [Paula] Okay. Now we are gonna bake that what?
11:45
350, maybe?
11:47
- Yes. We are going to bake 'em about 35 minutes.
11:51
There we go.
11:52
Here's our butter pecan bars.
11:55
Butter pecan bars.
11:56
- Butter pecan or pecan.
11:59
I don't care what you call it,
12:01
just make sure you call me when it's done.
12:03
- [Stacia] And we're gonna call it 'cause they're good.
12:04
- [Paula] So do you need a knife?
12:06
- [Stacia] Yeah, we're gonna just kind of take a knife
12:07
around the edges here.
12:08
- [Paula] All right, now do you wait for these to cool?
12:10
- Yes, we do. - Okay.
12:11
And they're delicious with any kinds of, you know,
12:15
a lot of people tell me they're great
12:16
with coffee in the morning.
12:18
- Yeah. - Wonderful.
12:19
- [Stacia] And I think they're a little bit...
12:23
Oh, you wanna brown the edge,
12:25
but they're soft on the inside.
12:27
- [Paula] Well, I set the timer for 33 minutes.
12:30
Did it go off?
12:32
- I'm not sure. - The timer didn't go off?
12:34
- [Speaker] It was at about 27.
12:38
- My oven cooks much faster-
12:40
- Yes. - Than like this
12:41
home oven back here.
12:42
- Well, they should be.
12:44
- And, you know...
12:45
Oh, you cut perfect squares.
12:47
You can tell you've been doing that.
12:49
- Yeah, they're delicious.
12:50
Hopefully they're delicious.
12:53
- All right, Stacia. - They are hard
12:54
to get out of there.
12:55
- No, it's easy.
12:58
Look how beautiful.
13:00
I'm gonna cut it in half, okay?
13:03
Half for you.
13:05
They're beautiful.
13:07
Do you want a corner or a center?
13:10
- I'll have a center.
13:11
- There's your center.
13:12
- Okay. - And we are sinning.
13:14
- Yep.
13:17
Oh, they taste like they're supposed to.
13:19
(both laughing)
13:21
- Of course they do!
13:22
- They're good.
13:24
- Mm. - Mm-hm.
13:26
Champion cookies at the Carroll County Forage Fair.
13:29
Numerous times.
13:30
(both laughing)
13:33
- Delicious.
13:35
- Yep. Those butter pecan bars are wonderful. (laughs)
13:40
- By Stacia.
13:42
What's your last name?
13:43
- Harper. - Harper.
13:44
- Mm-hm. - Stacia Harper.
13:47
- Yep. - I love that.
13:49
- Easy. - That's pretty, yes.
13:51
- Stacia Marie. - Mm.
13:54
- Aren't they good?
13:55
They're good. - Yes!
13:57
- And they're good and buttery.
13:59
You can taste the butter in them.
14:00
- Mm. - Mm.
14:02
- So delicious.
14:04
You know, with me cooking in a commercial oven,
14:11
I have a tendency to overcook.
14:13
- Yes. - And Theresa really helps me
14:16
because Theresa will say,
14:19
"Paula, no, I really think it's done."
14:22
And so it's nice to have her kind of monitor me.
14:27
- Yeah, 'cause they're so fast.
14:28
- Uh-huh. - Like these bars.
14:32
- Well, listen, I hope you and your family
14:36
have a very, very merry Christmas.
14:39
- Oh, we will have a very-
14:40
- And I thank you so much-
14:42
- You're very welcome. - Accepting the invitation.
14:45
- It was wonderful.
14:47
- Bon appetit. - Bon appetit.
14:50
- You're good, girl. - Delicious.
14:52
Made with love.
14:53
- Uh-huh.
14:57
Hey, y'all, it's Paula Deen.
14:59
Now, if you enjoyed this video, be sure to like it
15:02
and click the subscribe button as well as the notification
15:06
bell to be alerted when I post a video.
15:10
Love and Best Dishes Y'all.
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