These Gluten Free Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars are right out of my mom's recipe book. They are rich, sweet and deliciously sticky. They can easily be made ahead of time and popped into the freezer.
This post was sponsored by Bob's Red Mill but all opinions are my own.
What are your fondest memories of the holidays?
I have so many but my favorite is baking cookies for the neighbors with my mom. I would stand on a stool at the counter and help her make all of our favorites: cut out sugar cookies with sprinkles, gingerbread, buckeyes, magic bars and these pecan pie bars.
Every cookie was mixed by hand since we didn't have a fancy stand mixer. Our kitchen was tiny so we struggled to have enough room for all the goodies. We used these cheap little plastic cookie cutters and the cookies would sometimes stick but we didn't care. We had fun and we did it together. We wrapped them in plastic wrap and delivered them door to door. When Christmas rolled around we had a house full of goodies; some we made and lots from our neighbors.
Traditions are so important to me now that I'm a mom. Traditions are rituals you perform again and again that are out of the ordinary day to day life. They can lend a certain magic to life, provide comfort and strengthen the family bond. Some of our favorite rituals are family movie night, bacon on Sundays and dinner together every night. These all help my kids to develop a pool of happy memories. They often look back on these times with nostalgia and talk about them.
Another family tradition is baking Christmas cookies for the neighbors like I did as a kid. One of my favorites is my mom's pecan pie bars. I modified them a bit to make them Gluten Free Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars. Hers were not gluten free and did not have chocolate.
They are so much better with chocolate. Isn't everything better with chocolate?
The crust is made from my favorite flours from Bob's Red Mill. You guys know how much I like Bob's right? You see it here in my Gluten-Free Apple Cider Doughnuts and in my Gluten Free Sweet Potato Casserole.
I have spent years baking gluten free and it was so tricky but now with Bob's Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, it's a no-brainer. It is a one to one replacement with no additional ingredients needed. If you saw how many different types of weird flours I have in my pantry right now you wouldn't believe it. It's a discarded flour wasteland! Do you know that weird gluten free texture and graininess? You will not find that with Bob's.
I love Bob's Red Mill Almond Flour because it is ground superfine from whole, blanched sweet almonds. This added into the crust imparts such a delicious background flavor and it's naturally gluten-free.
These Gluten Free Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars are ...
- sticky sweet
- salty
- full of chocolatey goodness
- irresistible
- gluten free
If you haven't given Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Flour a try, it's time you did. It will not disappoint.
Ingredients
- Crust:
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 ½ cup Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour
- 1 cup Bob's Red Mill Almond Flour
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Filling:
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup light corn syrup
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups unsalted pecans chopped coarsely
- 1 cup gluten free chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F. Line a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray. I like to spray the pan too before I put the parchment in. This makes it stick.
- First, make the crust. Put the butter, both flours, brown sugar and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer and stir until coarse crumbs form. Press into prepared baking pan.
- Bake for 11-15 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Next, make the filling. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, corn syrup, brown sugar and vanilla until well-mixed Fold in the pecans and chocolate chips. Pour the filling over the cooked crust and bake for 25-35 minutes or until set.
- Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting. Cut into triangles.
Suzy | The Mediterranean Dish says
These bars look and sound perfect!
Karen Kelly says
Thanks Suzy!
Swayam says
This is just delicious!! I have never made a GF cake before. Can't wait to try
Karen @ Seasonal Cravings says
Thanks Swayam!
Mary Ann @ thebeachhousekitchen says
OMG Karen! I could eat the whole tray! Pecan pie is my favorite holiday dessert and add some chocolate and WOW! I'm going to have a real hard time sharing! Have an awesome weekend!
Karen Kelly says
No one said you had to share Mary Ann!
Stephanie@ApplesforCJ says
These look really good and great for the holidays. I also have fond memories of making Christmas cookies as a child..And I agree everything is better with chocolate 🙂
Karen Kelly says
Right on Stephanie!
Lisa Huff says
My kind of dessert! I love chocolate and pecans together!
Karen Kelly says
Me too Lisa!
Kim @ Three Olives Branch says
Pecan pie is one of my favorite desserts this time of year! This looks amazing and I love the addition of chocolate!
Karen Kelly says
Thanks so much Kim!
seasonssuppers says
Such a delicious treat to enjoy for the holidays and love the addition of chocolate!
Karen Kelly says
Thanks Jennifer!
laughingspatula says
What a fabulous holiday recipe...gluten or not! My favorite memory of Christmas is the baking...spritz cookies with an old crank handle!
Karen Kelly says
I've never heard of Spritz cookies. Will have to look them up!
Tara says
Such beautiful memories! I love that these bars are gluten free! They sound amazing and are so perfect for the holidays.
Karen Kelly says
Thanks Tara!
Veena says
Pecan Pie is one of my favorites! And this makes me wanna go into the kitchen to make some. Love the recipe.
John @PreppyKitchen says
Honestly I used to think gluten free automatically meant something wouldnt taste good but I think its impossible for this to taste anything other than amazing! Wow those pecans and chocolate chips look so good!
Karen Kelly says
Thanks John!
Robyn @ Simply Fresh Dinners says
Such a lovely post to read, Karen. I agree, traditions are so important to unify a family and create wonderful memories.
Isn't it amazing how easy it is to substitute healthy flours now? I love that this is one to one and I am a huge fan of pecan pie!
Sharing 🙂 Hope your weekend is fabulous!
Karen @ Seasonal Cravings says
Yes, I love all these new flours! Thanks Robyn!
Cindy says
Awesome! I am totally crushing on this bar. Love this flavor combination with the pecans and chocolate. I will be licking my fingers for sure (before - during - and after). Thanks for sharing.
Karen @ Seasonal Cravings says
Finger licking good! Thanks Cindy!
Brandi says
Brown sugar listed in filling. But not in filling instructions. Help 🙂
Karen Kelly says
Thanks for pointing that out! I fixed it!
Brandi says
Called my mom and asked if she had sugar in her non GF choc pecan pie. She said yes and to use the brown sugar in these GF bars. They look and smell awesome!! Currently cooling. Wish I could post a picture. Thank you!! We have GF family that I know are going to absoloutely love them!!
Brandi says
They cooled and I cut them into bars and packaged them up for tomorrow's Thanksgiving. And I ate one about 10 min ago.
And now I want to eat like 4 more.
Karen Kelly says
Brandi, thanks so much for letting me know how they turned out! Glad you liked them. Happy Thanksgiving!
Dawn says
I'd like to use agave vs corn syrup -or sorghum or rice syrup if possible. Let me know if you have tried these
Karen Kelly says
Hi Dawn - I think the agave syrup would work best. I did a bit of research and it looks like that is the best substitute with equal sweetness. Thanks for your question!
Dawn says
Thank you!
Dawn says
Made these yesterday with agave and oh my!! I think I have to hide them! Delicious
Karen Kelly says
Thanks so much for letting me know Dawn! Glad they worked for you with the agave.
Sue Dobbins says
Can you make these as NOT gluten free with regular flower?
Karen Kelly says
Yes that should work fine!
LaShel says
Anything with chocolate and pecans catches my eye, and I'm so glad I made them. Chocolate pecan bars were one of my 8 different cookie bar options when serving a group of 75 young adults, and it was the most popular of them all. Even those who eat gluten were begging for more. Thank you, Karen!
LaShel says
Great recipe! I served to a large group of young adults as one of the gluten free options and many of the non GF participants were begging to try them. Thanks for sharing your mom’s recipe.
Karen Kelly says
Thanks for letting me know that is great news!