If you love a chewy, sweet bar–loaded with chocolate and pecans–this is the recipe for you! In this post I’m going to show you how I made these delicious and simple Crescent Layer Bars!
I’ve been baking with crescent rolls for some time now. I have several of those recipes listed at the bottom of this post. They make a delicious and practical base for many of my cookie bars.
That’s kind of how I settled on this recipe today. I wanted to use up a canister of crescent rolls as well as some other ingredients in my kitchen that were taking up space.
When I found this recipe at Pillsbury, I knew at once that I would have to tweak it. I didn’t have cashews or almonds on hand. And I hand an exorbitant amount of milk chocolate chips. I also had something else that needed to be used. . .
Baking with Coconut Pecan Frosting
If you’ve been following me for a while you know that I love to add this frosting to all sorts of recipes. I used it in my Brown Butter Pecan Bars. And my Easy Coconut Pecan Bars. And my German Chocolate Pound Cake.
I even baked it into my Simple Coconut Pecan Pound Cake.
This little can of coconut pecan goodness is a true wonder. It adds flavor and texture to a variety of baked goods. So, I figured it would be a good option for this recipe, as well.
I decided to punt and make this my own and I’m very happy with the outcome. I hope you enjoy them, as well.
Easy Crescent Layer Bars Ingredients
These are simple ingredients and they’re versatile, too! You’ll find the measurements in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post but here’s a look at what you’ll need:
- crescent rolls
- coconut pecan frosting
- milk chocolate chips
- chopped pecans (plus more for topping)
- sweetened condensed milk
How to Make these Decadent Crescent Layer Bars
These were so simple! They reminded me a little of my Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars, which are also made with crescent rolls. But these were honestly even simpler than those!
Here’s how you’re going to do it.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Spray 9×13-inch pan with nonstick spray
Place chocolate chips and nuts in a common bowl and mix well.
Place crescent rolls in bottom of pan
Press down until bottom is covered.
Bake in preheated 375 oven for 10 minutes.
Soften coconut pecan frosting in microwave (being careful to remove foil liner first).
Spoon frosting over partially baked crust. Gently spread. (It will begin to melt, which is perfect.
Sprinkle on nuts and chocolate.
Gently spoon sweetened condensed milk over the top. Spread with the back of a spoon being ever-so-careful not to pull up the sweet treats below.
Place back in oven and bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until golden brown. I took mine out near the end of the bake to gently stir the condensed milk, which was browning too soon for my liking.
Remove and place on wire rack to cool.
At this point you’re probably going to think it’s too wet. (It will still be gooey and bubbling, which is fine.) It really will come together as it cools, but you have to be patient.
Add a few more pecans to the top, pressing lightly to make sure they stick.
Cool at room temperature for an hour.
Place in refrigerator for another hour or longer.
Run a knife along the edges to loosen the bars from the pan then cut and serve! (Yum!)
These are so rich, you can make them into smaller pieces. (A little goes a long way.)
You can store in the refrigerator if you like but they’re fine at room temperature, too
You can freeze these bars and serve later. Just place in an airtight container in the freezer.
What to Expect from this Chocolate Pecan Bars Recipe:
If I could give a recipe added points for ease of use, I would do so. As I said above, this one came together so easily. At one point I thought, “Really? This is all I have to do?” (To put this in perspective, just yesterday I baked my Sparkling Cranberry cupcakes, which is a four-component process.)
I knew already that I would love these because I’m a fan of all of the flavors inside. And I figured it would resemble (ever so slightly) my crescent roll pecan pie bars. But y’all. . .the addition of all of that chocolate with those crunch pecans? It just sent this one over the top!
These are gooey bars. Sticky bars. Rich bars. Loaded bars. They’re yummy cold, for sure, especially with the crunch of those pecans and the creaminess of the milk chocolate. And that crust took me by surprise. It’s not a shortbread. It’s not a piecrust. It’s something else altogether—a lovely neutral base for the good stuff on top.
Other Bars from Out of the Box Baking
If you like this bar, you’re going to love some of my others. Here are my top contenders.
- Simple Pecan Pie Bars
- Easy Blackberry Crumble Bars
- Easy Seven-Layer Bars
- Luscious Lemon Blueberry Bars
- Delicious Lemon Coconut Bars
- Easy Cappuccino Cheesecake Bars
- Easy Almond Joy Bars
- Easy Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars
Whew! I’ve got a lot more, but I’ll stop there. You get the idea. If you love bars, we’ve got bars!
That’s it for this post, friends!
I hope you enjoyed this delicious recipe.
If you make this recipe and love it, don’t forget to leave a review and a comment below. And while you’re at it, go ahead and pin some photos to your Pinterest boards!
See this recipe at
About the Author
Janice Thompson is an author, baker, and all-around mischief maker! She has overcome a host of baking catastrophes, including a toppled wedding cake, to learn more about the baking process. Janice has published over 165 books for the Christian market but particularly enjoys writing recipes and baking devotions. To learn more about Janice or to drop her a note, visit her About the Author page.
Decadent Crescent Layer Bars
If you love a chewy, sweet bar--loaded with chocolate and pecans--this is the recipe for you! In this post I'm going to show you how I made these delicious and simple Crescent Layer Bars!
Ingredients
- 1 can crescent rolls
- 1 canister coconut pecan frosting
- 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (plus a half cup more for topping)
- 1 14- ounce can sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Spray 9x13-inch pan with nonstick spray.
- Place chocolate chips and nuts in a common bowl and mix well.
- Place crescent rolls in bottom of pan.
- Press down until bottom is covered.
- Bake in preheated 375 oven for 10 minutes.
- Soften coconut pecan frosting in microwave (being careful to remove foil liner first).
- Spoon frosting over partially baked crust.
- Gently spread. (It will begin to melt, which is perfect.
- Sprinkle on nuts and chocolate.
- Gently spoon sweetened condensed milk over the top.
- Spread with the back of a spoon being ever-so-careful not to pull up the sweet treats below.
- Place back in oven and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown. I took mine out about halfway into that bake to gently stir the condensed milk, which was browning too soon for my liking.
- Remove and place on wire rack to cool.
- At this point you’re probably going to think it’s too wet. (It will still be gooey and bubbling, which is fine.) It really will come together as it cools, but you have to be patient.
- Add a few more pecans to the top, pressing lightly to make sure they stick.
- Cool at room temperature for an hour.
- Place in refrigerator for another hour or longer.
- Run a knife along the edges to loosen the bars from the pan then cut and serve! (Yum!)
- These are so rich, you can make them into smaller pieces. (A little goes a long way.)
- You can store in the refrigerator if you like but they’re fine at room temperature, too.
- You can freeze these bars and serve later. Just place in an airtight container in the freezer.