Caramel Pecan Bars

Happy Friday and Memorial Day Weekend! It's is my hope that everyone will take a moment out of their weekend to remember all those that have fought, and died, for our freedom. There is a  lady who works out at ITF whose husband was killed while serving and she is one of the strongest women I know and I respect and admire her more than she knows. She has written a blog post on IronTribe's website regarding Memorial Day and I encourage you to read it. Here is the link.

I know that a lot of people will be spending this long weekend by the pool with friends, at the lake, going to cook outs, etc so I wanted to give you a recipe that is SO GOOD and that will carry well to a party. Of course it is a treat - I just couldn't resist. BUT I do think that parties are the perfect time to make treats because you are less likely to eat too many :) I would recommend making this treat the day before your party as, IMO, this is better the following day. I snagged this recipe from paleomg.com and my caramel didn't turn out nearly as 'caramel' is color, but I think if I had a better food processor, we'd be in business.

When I made these, I shared them with my coaches at ITF and I have confirmation that they really are as good as I say!

Ingredients:
For the crust:

• 1.5 cups pecans
• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 egg, whisked
• 1 Tbsp raw honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt

For the caramel:

• 12-14 medjool dates, pitted and soaked in water for an hour
• 6-8 Tbsp canned coconut milk
• 3 Tbsp water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Add pecans to food processor and blend until you get flour. Then add melted coconut oil, honey, and vanilla and blend until combined into pecan butter
3. Add pecan butter to a large bowl with flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Combine well, then add whisked egg and mix
4. Grease and 8x8 pan with coconut oil  and add pecan crust to the pan, spreading the crust out evenly
5. Bake crust for 25-30 minutes or until done. Use the toothpick method to test for doneness (is that a word?)
6. Meanwhile, lightly clean out your food processor and add your dates. Turn the food processor on and process until dates have broken down
7. Add canned coconut milk, Tbsp by Tbsp to the dates while the food processor is running. Then add your water, salt, and vanilla
8. Process until you get caramel! Watching this happen is a beautiful thing :)
9. Once crust is done baking let it cook for 15 minutes
10. Spoon caramel over crust and use a spoon to smooth it out
11. Put in fridge for 30 minutes to an hour. Cut into bars and then consume!