The Sweet Olive bush outside my carport smelled a little sweeter this morning and I held on to that goodbye kiss from my little boy a bit longer. I enjoyed that cool morning breeze through the sunroof on my way to work a bit more. I’m trying my best to take advantage of the little things in life we often overlook. I’ve always thought it was important to make the best of every single day, but last week taught me I could try a little harder and be more attentive to those little things. A few months ago I started having a little chest pain. After enough insistence from my mom and nurse practitioner wife, I decided to get it looked at. Well, chest pain yielded an EKG, an irregular EKG turned into a cardiac stress test, an abnormal stress test and inconclusive heart scan ended in a cardiac catheterization – all within the matter of a week. Everything turned out fine (though we’re still not sure what’s causing the chest pain – we’re working on that). One thing that I encountered during my heart cath was that at each turn during my hospital visit, I was met with someone saying, “You’re too young for this.” And while that procedure has become commonplace and rather routine, that lack of risk didn’t necessarily make me any less aware of my own mortality. Something about them messing with my heart just scared me. I found myself frequently thinking about how I would leave things for my family if something were to happen to me. It made me realize that I needed to take care of a few things.
It also made me painfully aware of the fact that our time here really is numbered and that in the matter of a few days, or a few hours, or even a few seconds we could be taken from this earth. I think it’s important to have these kinds of reminders every now and then. We get so caught up in the monotony of everyday life that we often lose sight of what’s really important. It seems like we’re all always busy getting to the next thing. Sometimes it really is nice to stop and smell the Sweet Olive. 🙂
Y’all this recipe is super easy and pretty dang delicious if I do say so myself. If you love pecan pie like I do, then you’ll surely enjoy this one.
Recipe Card
Chewy Pecan Pie Bars
Ingredients
For Crust:
- 1 (15.25-ounce) boxed yellow cake mix
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
For Filling:
- 1 1/2 cups light corn syrup
- 2/3 cup crust dough (prepared in step 1)
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and lightly spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
For Crust:
- Combine cake mix, 1/2 cup butter, and 1 egg. Mix well. Mixture will be dough-like. Reserve 2/3 cup dough for filling. Turn out remaining dough into the prepared baking dish and spread mixture to cover pan with the back of a greased spoon. Bake for 15 minutes.
For Filling:
- Combine corn syrup, 2/3 cup dough, 3 eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, and nuts. Mix well. Pour on top of hot crust and return to oven. Bake at 325° F for 1 hour.
* If nutritional values are provided, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands used. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, I recommend grabbing your favorite brands and plugging those ingredients into an online nutritional calculator.
julie
been there==done that–result muscle spasms relieved by muscle relaxants. thanks for the recipe but I need to know do you melt the butter for the crust or use at room temp? stay healthy
The butter should be at room temp or slightly softened. Sorry for the confusion!
Dru Lovett
I had some of the same symptoms 2 years ago….I had chest pain that went up into both jaws…..my final diagnosis was a huge Hiatial Hernia….
I’m glad your heart checked out o.k.
Tommajean
Glad to hear you are doing okay. Health scares really put our lives in perspective. Best of luck to you and your lovely family. Take care of yourself, we all need you around for a long time.
Thanks! You are so sweet! I’ll try my best!
Belinda Russell
so glad you listened to your family and everything is in motion to make you better. My husband is a trucker and had chest pains, while driving around Atlanta, ended in going on an ambulance ride in Madison, GA to Athens for a stint placed in his widowmaker artery. He was told, he was a LUCKY man, now for me to make him these pecan bars, when he comes back home, “SMILE”, cause they sound DELICIOUS!!!!! God Bless you everyday and thank you for your gift of cooking!!
Thanks, Belinda! I’m so glad to hear your husband is okay!
Teresa
Please take care of yourself and thank you for the sweet olive reminder. Life has handed me those reminders before. Amazing how, with time, they dim and steal our joy again of the small, but important things. Too much stress and busy days creep in and cloak the sweet olive moments so easily. Thank you once again for the wonderful recipe. Be well, take care and God Bless you!
Thanks, Teresa! You too!
Becky
Glad you are better. What “crust dough” do you use? Thanks.
You simply reserve 2/3 cup of dough that you create in step one that you mix into the filling in step two.
Susan H.
Glad your heart is ok. Pray they find out what is causing your pain. Take good care of yourself.
Kathryne
Am glad everything appears to be OK with you and that they will soon find the cause of your chest pains.
The pecan bars sound yummy. Will need to try soon when i get someone to share it with.
Tina
Stacey, I am so glad to know that you are doing well! You’ve written a wonderful post that will surely have an impact on many! Every moment is truly a special gift! Thank you for the reminder and delicious recipe!