These Sugar Pie Squares are buttery, gooey, caramelly and absolutely DIVINE!
Each year, I make something that totally blows me away and this year, these Sugar Pie Squares may have knocked the socks clear off my feet. Lemme tell you, they are very humble looking but the flavor will send you into another orbit. Seriously mind-blowing.
When a recipe is kind of basic and straightforward like this (aka, doesn’t have a ton of bells and whistles like candy and sprinkles and blah blah blah) I recommend using the highest quality ingredients you can find. That means high quality butter, pure vanilla extract. Splurge for the good stuff because you can really tell the difference!
Sugar Pie Squares
I tore this recipe out of a magazine but I cannot remember what magazine it came from. All I know is it was delicious and will definitely go in our family’s rotation year after year!
First, we’ll begin with the crust. The crust has a few simple pantry ingredients, including:
- Flour
- Sugar
- Salt
- Cold, cubed butter
- Pure vanilla extract
We’ll pulse it all together in a food processor to make things really easy and then pat it into the bottom of a parchment-lined baking pan. Bake it off for a few and then work on the filling.
The filling is equally as easy as the crust. We’ll simply whisk together some brown sugar, heavy whipping cream (adds so much delicious richness), eggs, butter, cornstarch (to thicken the filling and maintain structure during and after baking), pure vanilla extract, and salt. Pour it over the crust and return the pan to the oven to finish baking.
The center may still jiggle a little, and that’s okay – but it shouldn’t be sloshing in the pan. The bars will be bubbly and caramelly brown and smell like HEAVEN on Earth. But you absolutely must *sad face* wait for them to cool and chill at least 6 hours. I promise, they are worth their wait and then some.
The result is a bar with a shortbread like crust and a gooey, caramelly, brown sugary, absolutely divine filling that will make you roll your eyes back into your head. It’s that good.
Enjoy!
Sugar Pie Squares
These Sugar Pie Squares look humble, but are absolutely mind-blowing in the flavor department! Buttery, gooey, caramelly squares of total heaven on a shortbread crust. A must make!
Servings: 16 squares
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp granulated white sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
For the Filling:
- 1½ cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° degrees F. Line an 8-inch square light metal baking pan with parchment paper, extending the sides of the parchment paper over the edges of the pan. Spray the parchment lightly with cooking spray; set aside.
For the crust: In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, and salt and pulse until just combined. Add in the cold, cubed butter and vanilla extract and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and press into an even layer. Bake for 10 minutes and remove from oven, but leave oven on.
Meanwhile, make the filling while the crust bakes. In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, eggs, heavy whipping cream, melted butter, cornstarch, vanilla extract and salt until well combined. Pour over the crust.
Bake until the top is set but only slightly jiggly in the center, about 25-30 minutes. It should not be sloshing around in the pan but if it jiggles a little bit, that’s okay. Bubbling around the edges and deep coloring are normal. Let cool completely at room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate for at LEAST 4-6 hours or until set before cutting into bars.
Notes
Because this recipe is so simple and doesn’t use any fancy extra add-ins like candies or sprinkles, I like to splurge for higher quality ingredients like creamery butter and pure vanilla extract to really let those flavors shine.
These Sugar Pie Squares are going to be a HIT with your family as well, I just know it!
Craving more sugar? Check out this recipe!
Chocolate Peppermint Chess Pie
Have a super sweet day!
xo, Hayley
