Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars
Gooey caramel, dark chocolate, and pecans on top of a shortbread crust. These are also gluten free, dairy free, and refined sugar free, though you would never know it! Everyone goes nuts for them!
Servings: 20 bars
Ingredients
For the caramel:
- 1 400ml can full fat coconut milk or 1 1/2 cups heavy cream if you aren't dairy-free
- 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp coconut oil or butter if not dairy-free
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
For the crust:
- 2 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup coconut oil (not melted) or sub cold cubed butter if not dairy-free
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Toppings:
- 2 cups pecan halves
- 1 cup dark chocolate chunks
- 2 eggs, whisked for the caramel
Instructions
For the Caramel:
- Begin the caramel first as it takes the longest. Add the coconut milk, honey, and salt to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low and simmer for about 30 minutes, until thickened and reduced so the mixture falls in drops from a spoon. It should have taken on a light caramel colour. Stir occasionaly with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.
- Add the coconut oil/butter and vanilla (be careful, it will bubble up initially) and cook for another minute or two, stirring constantly until you get a nice deep caramel colour. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Do not attempt to taste the sauce until it has fully cooled or you will be badly burned! This makes about 1 cup of caramel sauce if you wanted to sub in a storebought sauce or another recipe you like to use.
For the Crust:
- Preaheat your oven to 350F. Add the crust ingredients to a food processor and pulse until mixutre comes together in a sandy dough form. You can also combine in a bowl with a pastry cutter.
- Dump dough into prepared pan and press into an even layer.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned. Set aside to cool.
Toppings, to finish:
- Reduce oven temperature to 325F.
- Taste the cooled caramel and adjust seasoning if necessary. I will often add a pinch more sea salt at this stage because I love a salted caramel flavour. Slowly add the eggs to the cooled caramel (make sure it is no hotter than warm room temperature or you'll end up with a scrambled egg situation), whisking constantly.
- Scatter the pecans and dark chocolate evenly over the crust and pour caramel overtop in an even layer.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until filling is bubbling and set.
- For best results, cool completely in the fridge before slicing and serving and keep stored in the fridge.
