I've been posting a lot of chocolate treats lately, so it's about time for a cocoa-free treat. Enter: Maple Pecan Bars. Gooey, sweet, and rustic, these simple little bars make a great dessert year-round.

My favorite type of pie is definitely pecan. It's my top choice every year for Thanksgiving or Christmas. These maple pecan bars remind me of a rich pecan pie, but with a thinner gooey center. And even though I'm debuting these bars around Valentine's Day, I could certainly see myself making these for Thanksgiving.

Let's switch gears for a moment. I'm totally pumped for the CrossFit Open this year! This will be my fourth year participating. I've come a long way since last year...although I still have many struggle zones (handstand push-ups, pull-ups, basically anything bodyweight if we're going to be honest). Still, there's a thriving sense of community that gets rekindled every year during the Open. Last year I was the photographer for my box, and going through those pictures again gets me excited for what's to come this year.

I'm excited to cheer on my fellow athletes and workout buddies. I look forward to seeing all the PRs and "oh my gosh, I didn't know I could do that!"s and sweaty, accomplished faces. There are so many new athletes at my gym who signed up for their first Open...and so many repeat athletes who have worked hard to improve over last year.

Back to the recipe. I want to give you fair warning that the crust can be a little finicky. I included in the recipe to add cold water as necessary to get it to come together, but you could also use a little extra coconut oil or ghee.

After making this recipe multiple times, I'm convinced that you'll have to adjust the amount of moisture you add based on the brand/bag of cassava flour or coconut flour you use. The first time I made the crust, I found it only needed 7 or so tablespoons of coconut oil to hold together. But the second time, I opened a fresh bag of cassava flour... suddenly, it seemed like I was going to dump my entire coconut oil stash into the crust! So I simply added a little cold water to get it to come together. Worked like a charm! So if the crust is being difficult for you, don't give up. Add a little extra coconut oil/ghee, add a little water, and see if that helps.

After all, the filling is the star of this recipe. So you'll be forgiven for a crumbly crust. *wink*

Maple Pecan Bars

📖 Recipe

Maple Pecan Bars

Author: Chelsea at Do You Even Paleo
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Yield: 16 bars 1x
Category: Dessert
Method: baked

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Ingredients

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Crust:

1 cup cassava flour
¼ cup coconut flour
8 tablespoons coconut oil or ghee, room temperature or melted, plus more as necessary
1 tablespoon raw honey
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Filling:

1 tablespoon cassava flour
⅓ cup coconut sugar
½ cup maple syrup
1 cup pecans, chopped
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, mix cassava flour, coconut flour, and salt. Add coconut oil, honey, and vanilla extract, stirring until evenly mixed and a dough is formed. If it’s still powdery, add more coconut oil or ghee 1 tablespoon at a time. You should be able to press the dough into the pan, but it won’t form a large uniform ball. Press into the parchment paper lined pan and bake for 15 minutes.
Mix all filling ingredients in a medium bowl. Pour into hot crust. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until filling is bubbly. Let cool for about 2 hours, then cut and serve.