• Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. Line a 8x8 square pan with foil.
• Spread the pecans into an even layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 7-10 minutes until fragrant and browned.

Shortbread Crust

• In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, brown sugar and salt. Pulse to combine.
  1 cup all purpose flour, 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed, ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
• Scatter in the cubed butter and pulse to combine. The dough should start to form clumps with no pockets of dry flour remaining.
  6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed
• Evenly press the crust into the foil lined pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the center looks set and the edges start to turn golden brown.
• Let the crust cool while preparing the filling.

Pecan Pie Filling

• In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, combine the light brown sugar, corn syrup, heavy cream and unsalted butter.
  ⅔ cup light brown sugar, packed, ¼ cup light corn syrup, ¼ cup heavy cream, 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Once the butter has melted, cook the mixture until simmering. Simmer for 1-2 minutes.
• Stir in the pecans and bourbon.
  1 ¾ cups pecans, coarsely chopped, 2 teaspoons bourbon (or vanilla extract)
• Pour the pecan filling evenly over the crust. Bake for 18-20 minutes until the edges start to bubble and the filling looks just set. It's ok if the center jiggles a bit.
• Cool the bars for at least 30 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.