You know I’m not too big on desserts but if you’ve been reading this vegan food blog for even a few weeks you also know that my husband has a major sweet tooth. While I don’t eat them much, I do love to make a good dessert. I love to watch people take that first delicious vegan bite, seeing their eyes close and roll back because it’s just that good.

It’s a bit of a rush, I admit.

But this time of year I really love to spread the love around, making sweet vegan treats from all of my Romanian friends and family. Most people love dessert and it rarely matters whether or not it’s a vegan dessert, and that’s my toe in to show them that you can eat really well without sacrificing any animals.

Today’s dessert however never made it out of the house because Cos loved it too much to share!

Lately I’d been in the mood for something I haven’t had in ages up on ages; pecan pie. If you’re from America or lived there during the Thanksgiving to Christmas holiday season you’ve seen or eaten a slice yourself and if that’s the case, you already know what’s up.

Pecan Pie is my jam. It’s delicious and sweet and pecans are right up there with cashews and macadamia nuts in my humble estimation. But pecan pie wasn’t on the table because, reasons! Ha, just kidding. The reason is that corn syrup is really difficult to come across here in Europe. I first noticed it in Germany. It wasn’t in the baking section of any of the major grocery stores and I began to wonder why.

Turns out it’s because the EU put restrictions on the production of high fructose corn syrup (HCFS) to make sure farmers aren’t getting screwed and to make sure that everything thing on the grocery shelves isn’t sweetened with it, and apparently that includes good ol’ corn syrup. I’ve only recently learned all that so in the intervening years I’ve simply eaten pecan pie in my head.

Until now…

Pecan Bars are a nice alternative that don’t require corn syrup. I won’t even fix my mouth to say they are healthier because I doubt they are, but they are a delicious alternative with a distinctive nod to the OG, pecan pie.

And if you’re crap at making pie crust–like I am–this vegan version requires a simple crust of flour, vegan butter and sugar, similar to a crumble. It’s delicious and I know you’ll want to try it out too!

Kitchen Tools:

*Baking dish (8×8 or 9×13)
*Mixing bowls
*Spatula
*Food processor (or fork or pastry cutter)
*Saucepan

Ingredients:

Instructions:

*Preheat oven to 175c/350F

*For the crust: Combine cold vegan butter with flower and powdered sugar with the food processor, a fork or pastry cutter. Mix well until it forms into little pea-sized crumbs. If you use a food processor, I find the pulse setting works best.

*Once the crust is crumbled, press it into your baking dish until a crust has formed. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes and then let cool while you get started on the rest.

*Chop the pecans and set them aside.

*In a saucepan, melt the butter and sugar over medium heat. Add the agave syrup once the vegan butter is fully melted and bring to a boil.

*Reduce to a simmer and let thicken, about 3 to 5 minutes before removing from the heat and stirring in the pecans.

*Pour over the crust and smooth out with a spatula until it touches all the edges, adding a handful of vegan dark chocolate chunks, and bake another 15 to 20 minutes. The pecan topping will be bubbly and it won’t seem done but once it’s cool it will set and you’ll see how perfect it comes out!

*Let cool completely before you cut into bars and serve.

And there you have it, the perfect vegan dessert to impress any crowd when you show up for dinner parties, family get togethers or wherever you end up for New Year’s Eve.

What’s your go-to vegan dessert?

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