Vegan and Gluten Free Pecan Pie Bars

I decided to go back to the basics... Vegan and Gluten Free! I followed the recipe as close as I could but made a few modifications. They still turned out pretty well. They are not the overly sweet dessert that you would expect. They were subtle enough to make you want something to drink, but they were sweet enough to make you feel satisfied. For me they were the perfect topper after dinner. I didn't feel weighed down after eating them.
Don't get me wrong I love me my sweets, but sometimes it is nice to mix it up with something a little less sugar, and a little less overwhelming.

These were a pleasant surprise. I hope you enjoy baking them. They were very easy, and were not at all complicated to prepare.

Pecan Pie Bars:

What you will need for the crust:
2 cups almond flour
4 tbsp melted coconut oil
2 tbsp grapeseed oil
2 tbsp honey (I get mine at our local farmers market)
dash of salt

What you will need for the topping:
1 3/4 cup chopped pecans
1/3 maple syrup
2 tbsp honey
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp flaxseed meal (I just used flaxseed that I had)
1/2 tsp tapioca starch
2 tbsps almond milk (or whatever milk you have)
Dash of salt

Crust:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use an 8" x 8" baking pan. Either line with parchment paper, or coat pan with cooking spray. I used parchment paper, and it was nice to just pull it right out.
Mix all of the crust ingredients in a bowl until combined. Pat in to the pan, and even it out.
Once everything is evenly spread, bake for 15-20 minutes or until the crust starts to turn brown.
Once it is done, pull out of the oven and let it cool.

Topping:
While the crust is cooking and cooling you can prepare the topping. In a medium sized pot mix the vanilla extract, coconut oil, honey, and maple syrup.
Bring these ingredients to a boil, and let simmer for 5 minutes. You will need to constantly stir this. Don't worry if everything doesn't mix perfectly, the milk will help everything combine.
Remove the ingredients from the heat, and let cool to room temperature. Keep a close eye on it, and keep stirring. If it cools to fast it will be tough to work with. You will have to reheat it to combine it with the pecans.
While that is cooling, toast the pecans in a small sauce pan. Heat them at medium high heat until you can smell that they are toasted. Once toasted to your liking top them with a dash of salt. They cook quickly so keep stirring so that you don't burn them. Unless you like burnt. Totally your call.
In a small bowl mix together the milk, tapioca starch, and flaxseed meal. Let them sit for a couple minutes.
When the vanilla extract, coconut oil, honey, and maple syrup have cooled, add the milk mixture. Whisk all ingredients until they are combined.
Once ingredients are combined, mix in the pecans. Once all ingredients are combined pour over your crust. Distribute the mixture evenly.
Put back in the oven and back at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until the topping begins to lose its shine and set.

Once finished, set in the fridge for an hour before serving.

Once they are cool pull out and cut them up on a chopping board. We just cut them in to chunks and let everyone fend for themselves.

They turned out quite well!

Enjoy!

You can always find me on my Beachbody website or Pinterest!