Sticky Chocolate Pecan Bars with Chocolate Crust (Vegan & GF)
These chocolate pecan bars are a gooey and decadent dream! I exploit maple syrup and a little bit of brown sugar as an alternative of corn syrup to sweeten and bulk out the filling. After working a number of checks with every kind of egg replacements, a mix of arrowroot starch and floor flax proved to be the winner. The lovers of pecan pie, butter tarts, and simply crowd-pleasing vegan desserts generally will flip for this one. And with chocolate within the combine? Onerous to beat!
That is my final fantasy bar! I really like pecan pie/bars, however I needed to get chocolate concerned in each the filling and crust. The gluten-free chocolate crust with almond and oat flour is so tasty by itself. It has a pleasant snap and deep cocoa taste. You simply combine it up in a pair minutes within the meals processor.
Toasting the pecans actually makes these vegan pecan squares further particular. Simply further roast-y, crisp, and satisfying. As soon as they’re chopped up, you simply need to whisk the opposite chocolate pecan bar filling components in a bowl.
I do know that apple cider vinegar looks as if a curve ball, but it surely does assist to raise the flavour of every little thing else and provides the filling some dimension. The character of this recipe could be very candy and wealthy, however the vinegar retains every little thing in stability. Variations I examined with out it had been noticeably one observe.
Those that observe me on Instagram know what an effort this recipe was to deliver to the end line. The tip result’s value it! These are fairly simple to make and so good as a part of a bit of unfold of blended sweets. In the event you’re on the lookout for one other traditional bar recipe, I like to recommend these Creamy Vegan Lemon Bars.
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Chocolate Pecan Bars with Chocolate Crust (Vegan & GF)
Vegan chocolate pecan bars are gooey and completely loaded with toasty pecans. Additionally gluten-free with an almond and oat-based crust.
Servings 12 bars
Components
Chocolate Crust
- 1 cup (96 grams) almond flour
- ⅓ cup (31 grams) oat flour
- ¼ cup (53 grams) darkish brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons (14 grams) arrowroot starch
- 2 tablespoons (10 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons (70 grams) chilly vegan butter, cubed
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Pecan Filling
- 1 ¼ cups (131 grams) pecan halves
- 2 tablespoons (12 grams) floor flax
- 6 tablespoons (89 mL) water
- ½ cup (106 grams) darkish brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup (118 mL) maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons (14 grams) arrowroot starch
- 3 tablespoons (42 grams) vegan butter, melted and cooled
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (85 grams) vegan chocolate chips
- flaky sea salt, elective
Notes
- You completely want to chill these utterly earlier than chopping.
- A steel pan with straight sides is good! It simply provides the crust that further snappy high quality.
- You’ll get a little bit of liquid filling seeping into the crust alongside the perimeters—it’s simply the character of the recipe! I attempted excessively lining the pan with nonstick foil and this did appear to assist, however the foil actually beloved to get into the crust creases and sticky bits (regardless of being nonstick!!). I used to be peeling out little items from the bars by hand with that batch.
Directions
Make the crust
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Line an 8×8 sq. baking dish with two parchment “slings”, guaranteeing that there’s a little bit of overhang. I wish to spritz a little bit of oil on the dish and in between the paper layers. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
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In a meals processor fitted with the “S” blade, mix the almond flour, oat flour, brown sugar, arrowroot, cocoa powder, and salt. Pulse a couple of instances to mix. Place the chilly vegan butter cubes on prime of the flour combination and drizzle the vanilla. Pulse the combination till it begins coming collectively, about 12 instances.
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Dump the crust combination into the ready baking dish and unfold it out. Then, press it in evenly along with your fingers till it’s protecting all the base. It should all even out because it bakes, so don’t fear if it would not look excellent
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Bake the crust for 20-25 minutes, or till barely dried and darkened. Whereas it’s nonetheless heat, use the again of a spoon to press the crust down. Let the crust cool.
Make the filling
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Unfold the pecans out on a baking sheet and pop them within the oven to toast for 8-10 minutes. As quickly as they’re cool sufficient to deal with, chop them roughly and put aside.
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In a big bowl, mix the bottom flax and water. Stir them collectively and put aside for five minutes to gel.
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As soon as the flax has gelled and thickened, add the brown sugar, maple syrup, arrowroot, vegan butter, vanilla, apple cider vinegar, and salt. Whisk this combination collectively till easy.
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Put aside about ¼ cup of the chopped pecans. Fold the remaining pecans into the brown sugar maple combination together with the chocolate chips. Stir the combination up a bit and switch to the baking dish, spreading it out evenly over the cooked crust.
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Place the baking dish within the oven. Bake till solely the very middle of the bars is barely jiggly, about 1 hour. After they’re recent out of the oven and nonetheless molten, sprinkle the reserved chopped pecans and flaky sea salt (if utilizing) excessive. Let the bars cool within the pan utterly.
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Utilizing the parchment “slings”, pull the absolutely cooled bars out of the pan onto a chopping board. Gently take away the parchment and, utilizing a pointy chef’s knife, minimize 3 equal columns. Then minimize every of these columns into 4 equal items.
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Retailer the completed bars in an hermetic container for as much as per week.
