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These easy chocolate paleo pecan pie bars have a layer of creamy date caramel! They’re a vegan-friendly, gluten-free, healthier dessert for the holidays!
Heat oven to 375ºF and line the bottom and sides of an 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang to use as a handle once the bars are cooked.
For the topping, place pecans onto a small baking sheet and cook until lightly browned and toasty smelling, about 5–10 minutes. Watch them closely as they burn quickly. Once cooked, chop the pecans and reduce oven temperature to 350ºF.
In a small bowl, whisk flax meal and warm water. Place in refrigerator to gel.
Meanwhile, for the crust, in a large bowl, beat maple syrup and coconut oil together using an electric hand beater until creamy and well-combined. Stir in coconut flour, cocoa powder and salt until it forms a dough.
Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the pan and bake until edges darken and crust appears set, about 9 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. Once it’s out of the oven, cool for 5 minutes.
While crust cools, prepare caramel. Place chopped dates in a medium, microwave-safe bowl and microwave until hot but not burned, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Add the hot dates into a small food processor (mine is 3 cups) and use the “chop” setting until they are broken down into small pieces. Then turn to the “puree” setting until dates are creamy and begin to form a ball.
With the food processor running, stream in the coconut oil and hot almond milk (I just microwaved it for 30 seconds or so) until dates are broken down, sticky and smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary.
Once the crust has finished cooling for 5 minutes, gently and evenly spread the date caramel on top, making sure to not break the crust.
To finish preparing the topping, combine coconut sugar, maple syrup, coconut oil and salt in a small sauce pan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Boil for 30 seconds, stirring constantly and then remove from heat. Let the mixture stand at room temperature for 3 minutes.
Once it has sat, add the chilled flax egg and mix well. Finally, stir in chopped pecans until they are coated in the sugar mixture.
Pour the topping over the caramel, using a spoon to spread out and make sure the sugar mixture and pecans are evenly coating the caramel. Sprinkle with the chocolate chips.
Bake until edges are golden brown and middle appears set and begins to rise a little bit, about 18 minutes. Let cool at room temperature for 1 hour.
Cover the bars and refrigerate for at least 4 hours to overnight. Slice into bars and devour..
Notes:
1. Please weigh your coconut flour! I have tried this crust many times with different brands and, for the most part, 3/4 cup of sifted coconut flour is 66g. But I have found some brands that are a little denser and only require 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons to make 66g. To ensure consistent results, weigh the sifted flour.
2. I could not get the dates to be smooth enough in a large food processor, so definitely use a small one.
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