Trader Joe's Maple Pecan Shortbread Bar Mix

Welcome to another edition of baking for people who like to bake but not too much. Or for people who like to bake but don't want to wash as many dishes. Or for people wanting to impress people with their baking without having to drown in piles of flour and sugar. Trader Joe's has your back y'all. 

I've been meaning to try some of the TJ's boxed bar mixes. Bars are great alternatives to rolling out dough or scooping batter into individual dough balls or cupcake wells. Just pour, bake, and cut. It's a great way to produce treats with minimum effort for maximum yield. This maple pecan blend is a seasonal product that I haven't seen before. I can definitely see the crowd appeal for this product, so I had to try it for myself.

Note that the first ingredient is sugar. 16 servings y'all...but I'm thinking if you have a sweet tooth four people could devour this easily. :P

I put off making this for a while because it required a little more work than a simple dump into a bowl, mix, pour, and bake. But don't be alarmed by the entire panel of instructions. It was actually quite simple to do. Definitely something you could do with friends or kids. 

An electric mixer is not necessary but it does certainly make things faster and easier. I prepared it according to package instructions. Even with an electric mixer, the batter stayed like this coarse breadcrumbs texture for a while. 

Not to worry - have some patience and keep mixing until it looks a little like this and the dough comes together. Once it starts to hold together, then you can press it into the pan. Just don't overmix.

I tried to make it as even as possible but it doesn't have to be perfect. 

It took about 20 minutes for the shortbread to reach the right golden color. I prepped the maple pecan filling while the shortbread cooled.Then I poured the filling evenly over the cooled shortbread and stuck it back into the oven. 

This freshly baked shortbread bar warmed up my house nicely with that sweet, buttery, pecan-y fragrance. 

My usual disclaimer is that I don't like really sweet desserts. Although A and I both thought this was a little too sweet, the results were quite rich and decadent in a way I think many people will find pleasing. The shortbread was perfectly buttery, held its shape well, and didn't crumble upon contact. The filling had a nice crisp finish with just the right amount of pecan in the right size for a good crunch. Just note that there isn't any maple to be found in the ingredients list, so to call this a maple pecan shortbread bar mix is a little misleading. Perhaps maple makes it sound a little more artisan than molasses. I would have liked to see and taste a little more maple for some added complexity. 

Anyway, my preferences aside, this had overwhelming crowd approval with friends. Anyone who likes pecan pie and sweets will love this. I personally am not that into the final product but was overall pleasantly surprised by how simple this was to bake. Although it required two stages of baking, it really wasn't bad and was involved enough (ie. having to press the dough into the pan) for it to be fun without being burdensome. The price point is reasonable at $3.99 and comparable to other grocery store offerings. Is this something that would replace grandma's pecan pie at Thanksgiving? How scandalous to even suggest that, but it's not bad at all. Definitely good enough to share with your sweet-toothed friends and family. 

TL;DR: Trader Joe's Maple Pecan Shortbread Bar Mix. Pecan pie in shortbread bar form. Anyone can bake this. 8 out of 10 if you like pecan pie. An ambivalent 5.5 out of 10 for me.