Paleo Pecan Pie Bars

Heat oven to 350ºF and line the bottom of an 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Generously rub the sides of the pan with coconut oil.

In a large bowl, beat the maple syrup and coconut oil together using an electric hand beater until creamy and well combined. Stir in the coconut flour and salt until it forms a dough.

Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the pan and bake until the edges are a deep golden brown, and the middle is lightly golden, about 14–15 minutes (see note). Your crust will probably have risen and cracked a little bit when it comes out of the oven, use the pack of a large spoon to pack it down so it’s flat and crack-free. Let cool for 1 hour before starting the topping.

As soon as the crust comes out of the oven, whisk the flax meal with the warm water and refrigerate, so the egg can gel up for the hour that the crust is cooling.

In the meantime, place the pecans onto a cookie sheet in a single layer and bake them into the oven until they darken and smell nutty, about 8–10 minutes. Let cool and then roughly chop and set aside.

Once the crust has cooled for 1 hours, combine the remaining coconut oil, maple syrup, coconut sugar and salt in a large sauce pan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring frequently and then remove from heat. Let the mixture stand at room temperature for 5 minutes.

Once it has sat, add the chilled flax eggs and mix well. Finally, stir in the chopped pecans until they are coated in the sugar mixture.

Pour the topping over the crust, using a spoon to spread out and make sure the sugar mixture and pecans are evenly coating the crust. Press the pecans lightly so they lay flat.

Bake until the filling looks set, about 20 minutes. Let stand until it comes down to room temperature. Then, refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or up to overnight. Once chilled, slice and devour.

Notes:
1. Make sure the crust is nice and golden. You want it be really firm, or the topping will cause it to go soggy.
2. Make sure you give these bars the full amount of time to chill, as this is what hardens the crust. And serve these bars cold, not at room temperature or warmed up.
3. Since the topping is so sticky, it’s a lot easier to slice these if you a run a sharp knife around the outsides of the pan first, before slicing into bars!