Over the past couple of years, I have played around with gluten-free and paleo holiday dessert recipes and now have several simple ones in my repetoire for Thanksgiving day.  These pecan pie bars are sure to delight all. No longer will you have to sit wistfully watching your relatives each gluten-filled desserts on Thanskgiving. 
 

Paleo Pecan Pie Bars
Crust: 2 c almond flour
6 T coconut or sunflower oil
2 T honey
Dash of salt
 
Pecan Filling: 1 ¾ c chopped pecans
1/3 c maple syrup
2 T honey
¼ c coconut or sunflower oil
1T vanilla extract1 egg
½ tsp tapioca starch

1. To make crust, preheat oven to 350F and grease an 8 x 8” pan. Mix crust ingredients together and press into pan. Bake for 15 minutes, until crust starts to turn brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
2. For filling: In a small pot, mix together the oil, maple syrup, honey, and vanilla. Bring pot up to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes, whisking frequently.
3. Remove from heat and let cool to room temp.  You can put pot in fridge or freezer to accelerate cooling process.
4. Meanwhile, toast the pecans in a pan on medium heat for about 5-8 minutes or until they smell like roasted pecans, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
5. Once sugar-oil mixture is cool, mix in the egg and tapioca starch.  Then mix in pecans until well combined.  Pour into the cooled crust and distribute evenly.
6. Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes or until the filling begins to set and loses its shine. Remove from oven and let cool.  Before serving, chill in the fridge for at least 1 hr.  The colder they are, the easier they are to cut and serve.