• Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter a 9- x 13-inch baking pan; set aside.

For the Crust:

• In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.
• Add the butter to the flour mixture. With a pastry blender, cut in cold butter thoroughly until mixture resembles very fine crumbs.
• Press mixture evenly into prepared baking pan. Bake at 350° F for 17 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
• While crust is baking, prepare the filling.

For the Filling

• In a small bowl, beat eggs lightly. Set aside.
• Combine brown sugar, white sugar, corn syrup, and 1/2 cup butter in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring gently. Once the filling is brought to a boil, turn off burner and remove saucepan from hot burner.
• While stirring eggs briskly, temper the eggs by slowly pouring about one cup of hot sugar mixture into beaten eggs.
• Stir the tempered egg mixture into the remaining hot filling mixture. Stir in pecans and vanilla.
• Pour filling over crust. Bake at 350° for approximately 35 minutes or until set. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cut into 1- x 1-inch squares.

For the whipped cream:

• Whip together the cream and the sugar until desired thickness. Serve on top of the pecan pie bars if desired.