I absolutely love pecans. Especially our sprouted ones. The sprouting amplifies the flavour in the best way.

These pecan chocolate bars are adapted from the Minimalist Baker. Again, like many of our recipes, it comes together relatively quickly. While the crust is doing a bit of a pre-bake, the filling gets whipped up. I used a dairy free butter for the crust, which I honestly don't love. As our teen says, it tastes faintly of mushrooms, which is true! So if you use butter, go for it, if you have a fave butter substitute, use that.

Ingredients
Crust
• 1 1/2 cups almond flour, about 150g
• 1 cup tapioca starch (also called tapioca flour), 110g
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 6 Tbsp vegan butter, cold and cubed (I used Miyoko’s, which as mentioned I don't love.)
• 5-6 Tbsp maple syrup

Filling
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup brown sugar 
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp plain unsweetened dairy-free milk(I used oat milk)
• 2 Tbsp tapioca starch (also called tapioca flour)
• 2 cups sprouted or lightly toasted raw pecans, roughly chopped 250g
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips, 55g

Instructions 

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line an 8 x 8-inch baking dish with parchment paper.


Crust:

  1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine almond flour, tapioca starch, and salt. Whisk to combine and break up any clumps. Add cold butter to the flours, and use clean hands, a pastry cutter, a food processor, or a fork to cut the butter and mix it with the flours until the mixture looks like wet sand. It should hold together when squeezed, and there should be no clumps of butter larger than a pea. Add the maple syrup (starting with the lesser amount) and stir well until the dough comes together.

  2. Transfer mixture to the parchment-lined baking dish and spread evenly to distribute. If you are struggling to get it even, place parchment paper on top and use a flat-bottomed object, like a drinking glass, to press down firmly until it’s evenly distributed and well packed. Place crust into the oven and bake for 15 minutes until it looks pale and dry in the centre and the edges just start to look golden.


Filling:

  1. While the crust bakes, make the filling. To a medium mixing bowl, add melted coconut oil, maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, dairy-free milk, and tapioca starch. Whisk to thoroughly combine, making sure to break up any clumps of tapioca starch. Add in the chopped pecans and chocolate and give it a stir to evenly distribute.
  2. Remove the crust from the oven and let it cool for 5-10 minutes.
  3. After the crust has cooled, add the filling to the crust, spreading it evenly and making sure the pecans and chocolate are distributed throughout.
  4. Bake for 35-40 minutes. The edges should be bubbly and the filling slightly darkened in colour. The middle should still be slightly wiggly when it’s done, so don’t worry! It firms up quite a bit when it cools.

  5. Let the bars cool completely before slicing. Once cooled, cut into 16 equal squares and serve!
  6. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.