gluten free zen
Taking The Stress Out Of Gluten-Free Grain-Free & Dairy-Free Living
Pecan Pie Bars
I just realized I’m on a bit of a pecan kick today. First the haystacks and now these bars. Kind of funny actually because I didn’t like nuts growing up in my food at all. My Grandma always said “your tastes will change as you get older” and I guess she was right. Although, I seem to remember her telling me that when I would wrinkle my nose because she was making some kind of horrible smelling creamed fish for dinner. Luckily, my tastes haven’t elevated to that level.. But overall, she was right. My tastes have dramatically changed, especially over the past five or so years.
These pecan bars are perfect. Well, perfect in my eyes anyway. I never liked pecan pie growing up because I didn’t like all the filling. I preferred a little filling with a lot of crust. The original recipe for these bars came from Recipezaar and had gluten and dairy (of course). I tweaked it a lot to get it to my liking. Now it has the perfect amount of crust verses filling and comes in the form of a handy little bar and not a mushy pie with too much filling and not enough crust. These bars also freeze very well for use later. They are also quite tasty straight from the freezer. They don’t freeze completely solid so you can grab one whenever you like.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 9×11 baking pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
For the Crust:
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum
2 1/2 Cups Mama’s All Purpose Almond Flour
1 Cup Dairy Free Butter (I use Soy Free Earth Balance)
Place all dry ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk. Add the butter and cut in. (I use my fingers and crumble the mixture through them until it is broken down into large pea size pieces.)
Pour mixture into the greased pan and pat down until it is firm and forms a crust. I use parchment or a plastic bag sprayed lightly with non-stick spray. You can also use your hands but when the butter warms it will stick and be very frustrating.
Bake crust in pre-heated oven for 30 minutes or until edges begin to lightly brown.
While the crust is baking, prepare the topping:
2 Large Eggs plus 1 Egg White
1 teaspoon of Pure Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 Tablespoons Dairy Free Butter
3/4 Cup Sugar
3/4 Cup Dark Karo Syrup
1 1/4 Cups Pecan Halves, roughly chopped
Place all ingredients except the chopped pecans in a large bowl and whisk well until combined. Add nuts, whisk.
When the crust is done, remove from oven and pour pecan mixture over the hot crust.
Bake for 30 minutes. Cool and cut into squares.
17 Comments on “Pecan Pie Bars”
Leave a comment
gluten free zen 
Oh wow, these sound incredible!
LikeLike
These look amazing! My whole family will love these.
LikeLike
They are so easy to make too. We are camping right now and they are even great straight out of the freezer. Enjoy! 🙂
LikeLike
I had the honor of actually eating these awhile back. April made them for a party I attended while visiting her neck of the woods.. I have to tell you, these were sooo delicious that I think about them way more often than is healthy. I finally got around to making them tonight. They turned out really good, except for I cooked the crust a little longer than I would have liked, but they did not burn. I forgot that I need to reduce the temp and time because I am close to sea level. I’ll be taking them to the Gluten Intolerant Group of south and central Texas’ Thanksgiving potluck on Saturday. I am sure they will be a hit. Of course, I’ll keep a few of them at home for me……:) Thanks for another winning recipe April.
LikeLike
You’re very welcome!!
LikeLike
I said mine turned out “really good” because I was basing it on how it looked only. It was finally cool enough to taste and it was out of this world amazing in every way. I was afraid I wouldn’t make it as well as April did, but it’s just as good. She is right when she says that this is easy to make. I feel like a gourmet!
LikeLike
Yay! Now you need to try the Clementine cookie recipe. 🙂
LikeLike
Hey April, the bars were a HUGE hit! I made another triple batch for the party since my family ate the first batch before the party. Every single bar got eaten, people were loading their plates with them and writing down your website address! This recipe is such a big winner! Thanks again for it! I’ll try those clementines next!
LikeLike
Oh good! I’m so happy that people enjoyed them. I can’t wait to get our appliances installed (still several days to wait). I’m going through baking and blogging withdrawal. LOL! Have a good day! 🙂
LikeLike
Pingback: Million Dollar Stuffing « gluten free zen
These sound a lot like a gf/df version of a recipe that used to use from an old Betty Crocker cookbook. Is it possible to use coconut oil instead of Earth Balance? I think I’ll try these for our Christmas gathering.
LikeLike
I’m not sure if coconut oil would work or not. Liquid oils and butters don’t make for a very flaky crust. Can you find coconut oil in solid form similar to Crisco or butter? If so, I would give that a try. If you end up using the liquid coconut oil, I would reduce the amount a bit. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
LikeLike
i haven’t looked for it yet, but where do you suggest I find the almond flour? If I can’t find it, would a gluten free flour like Bob’s Red Mill work?
LikeLike
Bob’s Red Mill would probably work, the only problem with it is that it is made with garbanzo beans and tastes very “beany”. You can order the Mama’s All Purpose Almond Flour online…however, that won’t help you right now. If you use the Bob’s Red Mill, I would halve it with white rice flour. This will give it a more flakey texture and lighten the bean taste. 🙂
LikeLike
Hi, I actually made it once using half Bob’s red Mill all purpose gf flour and Bob’s red mill Almond flour. It turned out very well.
LikeLike
Good to know! 🙂
LikeLike
Pingback: Twenty Nine Gluten Free & Dairy Free ~ Holiday Cookie & Candy Recipes | gluten free zen