Cauliflower Mash: Pecan nut bars (Paleo, Vegan, Gluten-free)

Pecan nuts go best in a pie. They just do. These little bars are fairly easy to make and with relatively few ingredients. I experimented with a "flax egg" in this recipe, and it worked very nicely.

Ingredients to make 8 decent-sized bars:

1 cup of pecan nuts, broken into pieces

30ml coconut butter

1/2 cup of sugar of your choice (coconut sugar, xylitol, etc.)

1/2 teaspoon of sea salt (I used Maldon salt flakes) Note: if you are using table salt, use less

30ml maple syrup

30ml flax seeds, ground

75ml warm water

1/3 cup coconut butter, softened

45ml maple syrup

180ml coconut flour

pinch salt

Extra water (if you need it)

Start off by making your flax-egg. Just grind the flax seeds in a coffee grinder or something similar and pour the warm water over the ground seeds. Let them rest for about an hour while you make the base to let the ground seeds absorb the water and turn into a gel-like mixture.

Then, you need to make your base:

Put the softened 1/3 cup of coconut butter, 45ml maple syrup, pinch of salt and the coconut flour in a bowl and work at it until it forms a dough. If you need to add a little bit of extra moisture to this mixture, add some water, one teaspoon at a time. I needed about 3 teaspoons of water to get my dough to the correct consistency. You don't want it to be dry and crumbly.

Then, grease a baking dish. Press the dough into the dish and smooth it out with the back of the spoon. Poke holes into the dough to prevent the dough from rising and making bubbles.

Bake the crust for about 15 minutes at 180'C, until it is golden brown.

Allow the crust to cool while you make the filling.

In the same oven, lightly toast the pecan nuts. It should take 5 to 10 minutes. They burn quickly, so keep an eye on them.

In a pot or pan, place the 30ml of coconut butter together with some salt flakes, 30ml maple syrup and your preferred sugar. Gently stir it all together over a medium heat until the sugar has melted. Bring the mixture to the boil, stirring all of the time, and as soon as it bubbles, turn off the heat and allow it to cool.

Once the mixture has cooled a bit, add the flax-egg mixture to the syrup and stir well. Then pop the pecan nuts into the syrupy mixture and toss them to coat.