Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars with Fresh Milled Flour Crust
These chocolate pecan pie bars made with fresh milled flour have a dairy-free shortbread crust and are topped with a chocolatey, caramelly, pecan filling – without using corn syrup! They’re a decadent dessert and easy to make. This recipe is perfect to bake for loved ones during this holiday season…or anytime!
This recipe was born to meet three requirements:
*Dairy-Free
*A crust using freshly milled flour
*No corn syrup
Traditional pecan pie was my favorite pie growing up and I always look forward to making it as an adult. Over the years I’ve become picky over which ingredients I feel comfortable feeding to my family and corn syrup is on the no no list. I also prefer to mill my own flour using wheat berries whenever possible for the added boost of nutrients. Also, unfortunately, my daughter can’t have dairy. My go to original recipe didn’t meet these requirements so I made my own version and let me tell you – it is amazing. You will always find these bars on my holiday tables.
Benefits of Using Freshly Milled Flour
There are so many benefits to using freshly milled flour – the main two in my opinion are the taste and the added nutrients. Using freshly milled flour will add a rich, complex, nutty, sweet flavor that blows the standard all-purpose flour out of the water. Additionally, when you mill your own flour you end up using the entire grain kernel. This is important because keeping the bran and germ will add nutrients that are not found in processed white flour. I learned so much from Bread Beckers about the benefits of whole grains – check them out for more information!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s dairy-free so it’s perfect to bring to holiday gatherings where there might be more people with food allergies.
- The benefit of these being in bar form instead of a pie is that you can get many more servings and they’re easy to serve.
- These pecan bars are perfect to make ahead.
- You probably already have the healthy ingredients on hand!
- They freeze well so you can easily save any leftovers.
List of Ingredients for Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars with Fresh Milled Flour Crust
Flour – I recommend milling soft white wheat berries, but regular whole wheat flour, white whole wheat flour, or whole wheat pastry flour from the grocery store will also work. In a pinch, you can also substitute all purpose flour if that’s what you have on hand.
Maple Syrup – I prefer to use this natural sweetener for the crust.
Baking Soda -helps the bars rise slightly.
Brown Sugar – This promotes the caramel flavor to create a delicious gooey filling
Sea Salt – The only salt I use is Redmond’s Real Salt. Just don’t use table salt.
Coconut oil – It is a healthier oil to use than canola oil or vegetable oil.
Large Eggs – acts as a natural binder to hold all of the ingredients together.
Vanilla Extract – helps enhance the caramel flavor.
Chocolate Chips – I think semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips work best here
Pecans – the star of the show here! You can use pecan halves or chopped pecans
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How to Make Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars Made With Fresh Milled Flour
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 8×8 inch pan with a piece of parchment paper.
Next, mill your wheat berries into a large bowl (reserve 1.5 tablespoons of milled flour) and then combine with 1/4 cup of melted coconut oil, and two tablespoons of pure maple syrup. Use your fingers (I think this works best) or a wooden spoon to combine until it feels like sand.
Press dough into the baking pan and bake in the center of the oven for 10 minutes.
While your crust is baking, whisk together 3/4 cup of brown sugar, 1.5 tablespoons of flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, 2 large eggs, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla until well combined. If you prefer, you can add all of these ingredients to a bowl of a stand mixer and mix with a paddle attachment for about two minutes.
Take the crust out of the oven and sprinkle the pecans and chocolate chips on the bottom. Pour the filling over the pecans and chocolate chips and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and the middle doesn’t jiggle.
Let cool for at least two hours to let the filling set.
Tips
- Don’t forget to reserve some flour once milled for the filling!
- Fresh-milled flour recipes generally do better if you let the batter sit so the flour can absorb the liquid. For this crust, it doesn’t seem to make a difference so don’t worry about it.
- Make sure that the filling isn’t jiggly in the middle. It will be bubbly but it shouldn’t move around.
- For a little bit rich flavor you can use roasted pecans.
- These are extra decadent when served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!
FAQ/Questions for These Dessert Bars
Want more recipes with freshly milled flour? Check these out!
- Easy Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
- Healthy Carrot Raisin Muffins With Fresh Milled Flour
- Dairy Free Skillet Cobbler Cake Made with Freshly Milled Flour
Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars Made With Fresh Milled Flour
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 1/4 cup flour (mill 160 grams of soft white wheat berries) reserve 1.5 tablespoons of flour for the filling
- 2 tbsp pure mayple syrup
- 1/4 cup melted and cooled coconut oil
Pecan Pie Filling
- 3/4 cup brown sugar light or dark
- 1.5 tbsp flour from the reserved crust flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp melted and cooled coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1.5 cups pecans halfs or pieces, can use raw or roasted
- 3/4 cups chocolate chips semi-sweet or dark chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 8×8 inch pan with a piece of parchment paper.
- Next, mill your wheat berries into a large bowl (reserve 1.5 tablespoons of milled flour) and then combine with 1/4 cup of melted coconut oil, and two tablespoons of pure maple syrup. Use your fingers (I think this works best) or a wooden spoon to combine until it feels like sand.
- Press dough into the baking pan and bake in the center of the oven for 10 minutes.
- While your crust is baking, whisk together 3/4 cup of brown sugar, 1.5 tablespoons of flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2tablespoons of coconut oil, 2 large eggs, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla until well combined. If you prefer, you can add all of these ingredients to a bowl of a stand mixer and mix with a paddle attachment for about two minutes.
- Take the crust out of the oven and sprinkle the pecans and chocolate chips on the bottom. Pour the filling over the pecans and chocolate chips and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and the middle doesn't jiggle.
- Let cool for at least two hours to let the filling set.
Notes
- Don’t forget to reserve some flour once milled for the filling!
- Fresh-milled flour recipes generally do better if you let the batter sit so the flour can absorb the liquid. For this crust, it doesn’t seem to make a difference so don’t worry about it.
- Make sure that the filling isn’t jiggly in the middle. It will be bubbly but it shouldn’t move around.
- For a little bit rich flavor you can use roasted pecans.
