Pecan Pie Brownies

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.

Ingredients

• ½

  cup/115 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), plus more for greasing the pan

• 4

  ounces/115 grams unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped or broken up

• 1 ¼

  cups/250 grams granulated sugar

• 2

  large eggs, at room temperature

• 1

  cup/130 grams all-purpose flour

• 2

  tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder

• 2

  teaspoons vanilla extract

• ¾

  teaspoon fine sea salt

• ¼

  cup/45 grams mini or regular chocolate chips (optional)

Preparation

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. 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. 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. 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. 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.