I’ve been trying to make a classic pecan pie or bar for years with no success. I’ve tried so many egg substitutes and nothing produced the right results. They either didn’t coagulate or were so runny or stodgy that they were nothing like the pies I remembered before going vegan. I had high hopes for Just Egg because although it can be unpredictable in certain baked goods, this was more of a filling for a pie. I’ve used Just Egg in a number of my recipes and what I’ve found is a little aquafaba (liquid from canned chickpeas) is it’s friend. I don’t know why or the science behind it, but it helps. I think the reason is that Just Egg acts like the yolk and aquafaba as the egg whites. Sometimes using all Just Egg has left baked things a little dry in my experience and we don’t want that in a pecan pie filling! Now, some may balk at the price of Just Egg but I liken it to any other specialty ingredient you may buy like a good vegan butter, artisan chocolate or a really good vanilla. I don’t think you’d be making these every week, so it’s more of a special recipe where you might want to splurge on an ingredient to make it really great.
These are loaded with pecans. Pecans in the crust and the filling. The base is a short crust like a butter cookie and the filling is so perfectly silky and unctuous. And the best part? NO CORN SYRUP! Most recipes call for this ingredient but I used a dark raw agave and it came out just like the pecan pie filling I remembered. I think maple syrup would be too thin, but a product like Britain’s Lyle’s golden syrup might work here as well.
I originally made these plain and even toyed with the idea of adding pumpkin to replace some of the egg, but then I thought it might not set. Once finished, I thought they needed something to counter all the sweetness. But what? Then it came to me, chocolate of course! A drizzle of a dark bittersweet chocolate was the perfect foil to the sweetness. I had cracked it finally and I now present them to you.
Make sure to trim the ends all around before cutting into squares. The edges can get a bit tough. I find cutting with a serrated bread or tomato knife is best and cut them when they’re cold and refrigerate any you don’t finish, but let’s be honest, that might not happen.
I’m not sure if using all aquafaba would produce the same results as using the combination with Just egg. If you were to try it, I would suggest using one cup then adding 3 tablespoons of finely ground flax seed. I know Just egg is not available everywhere so if you try another egg replacement that works, drop a comment below!
The Best Vegan Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars
24
servings20
minutes45
minutesThe best vegan pecan pie bars you’ve ever had with or without the chocolate topping!
Ingredients
- Crust
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup vegan butter
1/3 cup vegan cane sugar
1/3 cup pecans, chopped fine
- Filling
2/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
6 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups agave syrup
2/3 cup Just vegan egg product
1/3 cup aquafaba (liquid from canned chickpeas)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped
- Chocolate Topping (optional)
1/3 cup vegan bittersweet chocolate
1/2 teaspoon coconut oil
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 350°. Combine flour, vegan butter, 1/3 cup pecans and sugar in bowl of a food processor or regular mixing bowl. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. If mixing by hand, chop the pecans first.
- Press crust mixture evenly onto bottom of parchment lined or greased 13×9 inch baking pan (I find using the bottom of a measuring cup helpful to press it in). Bake 18-22 minutes or until edges are very light golden brown.
- Combine brown sugar, 6 tablespoons flour, and salt in large bowl or a food processor and whisk or pulse until mixed. Add agave, Just egg, aquafaba and vanilla and mix well or pulse until mixed. Stir in 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans or pulse whole pecans into the mixture using a food processor (that’s what I did). Pour evenly over hot, partially baked crust. Bake 30-35 minutes or until filling is set and slightly jiggles when moved from side to side.
- Let cool for 15 minutes then refrigerate for at least a half hour until chilled.
- Melt the chocolate and coconut oil together in a small bowl using a microwave or double boiler on the stove. If using the microwave, use 20 second intervals until just starting to melt then stir completely to finish melting completely. You don’t want to overcook and burn the chocolate as it will seize up and you’ll need to start over. Take the slab of bars out of the pan carefully then drizzle the chocolate over the cooled bars then using a serrated knife, cut into squares in whatever size you desire.
Notes
- Read my story above to see what other egg replacements might work.
- I found a food processor is the easiest tool to use to make these, but if you don’t have one mixing by hand will certainly work as well.
- Use a good dark bittersweet chocolate. A sweeter chocolate will just add more sweetness. I prefer a 72% cacao type (at least) for a deep chocolate flavor.
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If I don’t have justegg, can i just do 1 whole cup of aquafaba?
Yes, I mention that in the blog post that I suggest if you use all aquafaba that you add some flax meal to it. I would suggest 3 tablespoons to the one cup of aquafaba. Let me know how it turns out!
Once again you transformed a traditional dessert into a delicious vegan recipe that is absolutely delicious!! Let the creativity continue.
Awesome, so glad you liked them! I’ll keep on creating!
can I use Maple syrup instead agava?
I have not tried pure maple syrup and normally it’s thinner than agave but it should work! The classic sweetener in these pies is corn syrup but I know a lot of people avoid it. Brown rice syrup would work as well I think. Report back if you try it!
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