Description
These Pecan Pie Bars have a nice shortbready crust with a creamy pecan filling on top. They’re the perfect indulgent Christmas treat. THM S
The originals are ooey gooey like pecan pie and probably contain lots of corn syrup. Unfortunately no sugar = no real caramelization, so you have to try to get goo in other ways. Even if the texture isn’t going to be a dead ringer for the original, the flavors are there, and these Pecan Pie Bars are absolutely delicious.
Ingredients
CRUST
- 1/2 cup Briana’s Baking Mix
- 1/4 cup oat fiber
- 1 teaspoon THM Super Sweet Blend
- 6 tablespoons salted butter (melted)
FILLING
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk or cashew milk
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons oat fiber
- 1 tablespoon THM Super Sweet Blend
- 1 teaspoon molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons salted butter (melted)
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (approx 110g – I love my Tupperware Smooth Chopper for chopping nuts!)
Instructions
Mix the crust ingredients together with a hand mixer or meat fork (it works). Press the crust into a greased 8” x 8” glass baking pan. Do not prebake the crust.
For the filling, whisk the cream, almond milk, eggs, oat fiber, sweetener, molasses, vanilla, and salt together until smooth. Drizzle in the melted butter while whisking. Add the xanthan gum a little at a time while whisking. Fold in the chopped pecans. Pour the filling mixture over the crust and use an offset frosting spreader or spatula to distribute the pecans evenly.
Bake at 350°F until just set when jiggled but still soft in the center, about 23-25 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate to chill completely before cutting and serving.
These Pecan Pie Bars definitely need to firm up in the fridge before you can eat them. They’re quite runny when warm, and they taste much better cold anyway. I cut this recipe into 16 squares (4×4) because they’re quite rich. Cutting into 9 squares (3×3) = very large pieces! If the pieces are small, you can have one and a half, right?
Notes
You could probably make a double batch of this recipe in a 9” x 13” pan. You may need to bake them a little longer, but check early and frequently to make sure you don’t overbake them.
Briana’s Baking Mix vs THM Baking Blend: My baking mix is a little drier than THM Baking Blend, but when using such a small amount I would start with the same amount of THM Baking Blend, then add an extra tablespoon or two if needed to create a crust that you can press into a pan.
Oat fiber: This versatile low carb flour can usually only be found online. Not all brands are created equal, but I like LifeSource oat fiber. Use gluten free oat fiber for a gluten free option. Oat fiber and oat flour are different and are not interchangeable.
Sweetener: Feel free to use your favorite low glycemic sweetener to taste in place of the THM Super Sweet Blend. Many people like more sweetener than I do, so adjust to taste to make sure you get a result you like.
Molasses: This is allowed on the Trim Healthy Mama plan in small amounts (1/4 teaspoon per serving) for flavor. I like Grandma’s brand molasses from Walmart or a local grocery store. Blackstrap molasses is recommended I believe, but the nutrition info isn’t that different from Grandma’s and I don’t like the taste nearly as well. Molasses IS technically a sweetener, but it’s not refined sugar and is only used in a small amount for flavor so I’m still calling this recipe sugar free. 😉 You could try 1/2 teaspoon maple extract in place of the molasses if you prefer.
Glucomannan/xanthan gum: You can generally swap between the two in recipes, although I haven’t tried glucomannan in this recipe.
Allergy info: gluten free (use gluten free oat fiber)
This recipe is a remake of the Pecan Pie Bars recipe on page 330 of Necessary Food, my first cookbook. In this update I added more sweetener to try to appease everyone’s taste buds (and I personally make things sweeter now than I used to) and tried to up the goo factor. The new recipe is made for an 8″ x 8″ pan while the old recipe was for a 9″ x 13″ pan. This recipe was originally published to the website on November 24, 2015. It was updated November 2021.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: THM S, low carb, gluten free
