By Samantha Coffin, Health Coach and Office Manager
Have you ever reached for one of your favorite recipes and find yourself shocked with the ingredients? My grandmother always made a pecan pie for our large family Thanksgivings yet it always felt like it was just for me. It was the one time of year I had it and let me tell you, I moaned with every bite.
But, when it came time for me to make my own pecan pie, I was SHOCKED at the ingredients. The one ingredient that really stopped me in my tracks was dark corn syrup.
So, I put my apron on and decided to take a whole new twist on this childhood favorite of mine.
Here is what I came up with! I hope you love it as much as I do!
Ingredients
For the crust:
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed (or ground chia seeds) + 4 tablespoons water
1 cup coconut flour
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
For the topping:
1/2 cup chopped dates (packed into the measuring cup, about 6 dates)
1/2 cup maple syrup
6 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons non-dairy milk
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups roughly chopped pecans (I left some whole)
Recipe
The crust:
Combine the 2 tablespoon ground flaxseed (or chia seeds) with 4 tablespoons cold water. Whisk until combined and place in the fridge for at least 5 minutes.
In a bowl mix together the coconut flour, maple syrup, water and coconut oil.
If the mixture is very wet, wait a minute for the coconut flour to absorb the water.
Add the flax egg and mix until a soft, crumbly dough forms. The dough will be crumbly but should stick together when clumped.
Add the dough to your 8x8 pan and press down into the bottom evenly
Bake at 350ºF for 12 minutes or until firm and the sides start to golden just slightly. Remove from the oven and let the crust cool down slightly before adding the topping.
The topping:
Soak dates in 1 cup of hot water for at least 10 minutes. Drain.
In a small pan over low heat, combine the maple syrup, coconut oil, nut milk + sea salt.
Stir until the coconut oil is just melted and then remove from heat.
Strain the dates and place in a blender with everything you just heated up together.
Blend until smooth + pour back into the pan.
Stir in pecans.
Bringing it all together:
Immediately spoon the filling onto the crust
Use a spatula or the back of a spoon to spread the topping out evenly.
Bake at 350ºF for 15 minutes or until the filling has set.
Cool completely before removing the bars from the pan.
Eat up!