The National Pecan Shellers Association has a wealth of knowledge about pecans on its website.
One of the items that interested me the most is that the pecan tree is the only major nut tree native to North America.
I thought that was strange, because I know quite a few nuts who were born here, but what do I know?
Pecans have a long tradition in the region, with Native tribes cultivating wild trees as far back as the 1500s.
Even today, the association states that the United States produces about 80 percent of the world’s pecans.
When I was trying to decide what to make for a recent gathering, I found myself with a real hankering for something nutty, and that’s when I ran into a super easy dessert online.
It comes from the account @debtfreegranny on Instagram. This was simple enough that I didn’t mess with the recipe, but I did decrease the baking time by quite a bit, and that was a good move.
Butter Pecan Bars
Ingredients
- 13.25 ounce butter pecan cake mix
- 8 tablespoons butter softened
- 3 eggs
- 8 tablespoons butter melted
- 16 ounces powdered sugar
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1 cup pecans chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
- Grease a nine-by-13-inch baking dish with butter, and set it aside.
- Add the cake mix, softened butter and one egg to a mixing bowl, and beat until it’s well combined.
- Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Add two eggs, melted butter, sugar and cream cheese to a mixing bowl (you can use the same one), and beat until it is smooth.
- Pour the mixture evenly over the bottom layer, and sprinkle the top with all of the pecans, pressing them lightly into the batter.
- Bake for one hour or until the top is set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only wet crumbs (think cheesecake consistency).
- Let the bars cool completely before cutting.
- Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
This was really simple, and the flavor was out of this world. It had a cake-y bottom with a cheesecake-y middle and lots of great pecan crunchiness on top.
It was perfect to throw on a dessert table to share with friends.
And, it appears, eating pecans is a great North American tradition, so I’m pretty sure these bars are an excellent way of honoring our history.
I just wonder if the Native tribes had cake mixes laying around, too.
This first appeared in print Feb. 19, 2026.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
