Pumpkin Spice Paleo Vegan Pecan Pie Bars

Heat oven to 350ºF and line the bottom of an 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang to use as a handle to get the bars out of the pan once chilled.

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

Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the pan and bake until edges are a deep golden brown and the middle is lightly golden, about 14–15 minutes. Your crust will probably have risen and cracked a little bit when it comes out of the oven; use the back of a small 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 flax meal with warm water and refrigerate, so the flax egg can gel up for the hour that the crust is cooling.

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

Once crust has cooled for 1 hour, combine coconut sugar, maple syrup, coconut oil, pumpkin pie extract 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 chilled flax egg and mix well. Finally, stir in chopped pecans until they are coated in the sugar mixture.

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

Dollop the canned pumpkin over top of the pecan mixture and use a sharp knife to swirl it around.
Bake until 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. As with all gluten-free baking, please weigh your flour as different brands can weigh differently for the same cup measurement.
2. Make sure the crust is nice and golden. You want it be really firm, or the topping will cause it to go soggy.
3. 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.
4. 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!