Getting healthy for the New Year doesn’t have to mean skipping dessert. Try these sugar free Keto Pecan Toffee Bars. You won’t regret it, I promise! Now with an instructional video.
One of my favorite keto holiday treats now has its own How To Video! Check out how easy it is to make these sugar free Pecan Toffee Bars.
There are two ways of looking at this New Year thing. Depending on your perspective, you might be saying:
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Woot woot, welcome to 2016!!!
Or, if this change of calendar year has snuck up on you, you’re all:
OH CRAP, IT’S ALREADY 2016, HOW DID THAT HAPPEN!???!”
Where do you fall on that spectrum? I think I am somewhere in the middle. It’s astonishing how quickly time moves as you get older and no matter how aware I am that a new year is coming, I always feel a little caught off guard.
But at the same time, I always feel the excitement that a new year and a new start brings. I don’t make New Year’s resolutions anymore, as I know full well that life might throw me a curve ball and those grand plans will fall to the wayside. I have no interest in feeling guilty for not living up to my own grandiose expectations.
But I do have ideas and plans and dreams and I get pretty excited about getting after it in the year to come. Whether or not I can bring them all to fruition remains to be seen.
Proof that I am constantly surprised at the rapid passing of time are these low carb Pecan Toffee Bars. I developed this recipe well before the holidays with every intention of getting it up before Christmas. That didn’t happen, obviously.
But in the end, I am rather glad about that. I sensed a little “holiday sweets” ennui from my readers and I decided to hold these back for a bit. I would have hated to see them get lost in the shuffle of holiday cookie recipes. They are much too tasty to be overlooked! And besides, any time is a good time for pecans and toffee. Right? Right? Am I right?
Tips for Pecan Toffee Bars
The almond flour shortbread crust on these bars is simply divine. It’s crisp to bite into but also melt in your mouth delicious, as all good shortbread should be. Be sure to pre-bake it and let it cool before adding the topping. That process is part of what helps it crisp up so nicely.
The toffee is made with Swerve Sweetener, an erythritol based sweetener. Let’s be honest, low carb sweeteners do not behave exactly as sugar does. So while Swerve does caramelize, it takes a little coaxing. You need to make sure you boil the toffee mixture enough. Do not panic if it smokes a bit, as this is normal when caramelizing erythritol based sweeteners.
Be sure to stand near that pan while it caramelizes as it can over cook and burn, just like a sugar based toffee. Watch it carefully and when it deepens to amber, remove it from heat immediately.
When you add the vanilla, it will bubble vigorously. This is also normal for any toffee recipe.
Don’t pre-toast the pecans, as they will get plenty toasted during baking. I used pecan halves but you can use chopped pecans as well, as long as they are raw and unsalted. I’ve made these several times and I actually find that some chopped pecans makes the bars easier to cut in the end.
Let the bars cool completely before cutting, and use a very sharp large knife. Because of the hardness of the toffee, these can shatter a bit when cutting. A very good chef’s knife helps. Also be sure to cut straight up and down, without sawing.
These delicious keto Pecan Toffee Bars make a fabulous gift for anyone. If you can pry them from your own fingers!
More Fabulous Keto Pecan Recipes
For more great keto and low carb recipes, follow me on Pinterest!
These sugar-free, low carb Pecan Toffee Bars taste just like pecan pie. Eating healthy doesn't have to mean skipping dessert!
- 1 1/4 cups almond flour
- 1/4 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup butter chilled and cut into small pieces
- ¾ cup granulated Swerve Sweetener
- ½ cup butter
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
- 2 tbsp powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 3 cups pecans whole or pieces or a mix
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Preheat oven to 325F and line an 9x9 or 8x8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy removal.
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In the bowl of a food processor, combine almond flour, powdered sweetener, and salt. Pulse to combine. Sprinkle with butter pieces and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Alternatively, you can cut in butter with a pastry cutter.
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Press into bottom of prepared baking pan. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until just beginning to brown on the edges. Remove and let cool while preparing topping.
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In a medium heavy-duty saucepan over medium heat, combine Swerve and butter and stir until Swerve is dissolved. Bring to a boil and cook without stirring until mixture darkens to amber, about 5 to 7 minutes (time may vary depending on the quality of your cookware).
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Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract and salt. If the mixture appears to be separating, stir in 2 tbsp of powdered Swerve Sweetener until it comes back together.
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Sprinkle crust evenly with pecans. Pour toffee mixture evenly overtop. Bake another 15 to 20 minutes, until topping has darkened and bubbles thickly. Let cool completely before cutting into bars.
Serves 16. Each serving has 1.83 g NET CARBS.
Food energy: 270kcal
Calories from fat: 237
Cholesterol: 22mg
Carbohydrate: 4.73g
Total dietary fiber: 2.90g
Protein: 3.84g
Guinan says
Hi Carolyn!
I’d looove to try making these, but Swerve Sweetener isn’t sold here in the Netherlands. Can I use plain erythritol instead? Or do you know how to “fake” Swerve?
Your recipes are amazing and I’m collecting a load of them for when I start my next attempt at losing some 40 lbs on Low Carb. Gathering courage and recipes for now.
Happy New Year to you and keep up the good work. You definately make a difference! 🙂
PS: do you use salted or non-salted pecans for this??
Carolyn says
Raw unsalted pecans for this and yes, you should be able to use plain erythritol for this. Good luck!
Brenda McNicol says
Guinan, are the Sukrin line of sweeteners available in the Netherlands? The mfgr is in Norway. Amazon carries Sukrin if you cannot find it in a store
Staci says
Oh, you put this up just for me, right? LOL
This is my first holiday season as a diabetic and I have been longing for pecan pie!
A dear friend gave me a huge bag of the most beautiful & huge pecans I’ve ever seen and now I know exactly what do wth them. Thank you!!
Carolyn says
You’re welcome! Sorry it’s your first holiday as a diabetic but you can do this!
Bobie Fredrikson says
Could you double the recipe and do a cake pan?
Carolyn says
I think your crust will be a little thicker that way, since the area doesn’t work out to exactly double but it should still be good. Maybe you should bake it a little longer. Just not too much…only when the edges are just beginning to brown.
Mer says
Took me 4x to get the caramel sauce right, and once I did, seemed like there was nowhere near enough to cover the whole thing, so now I have many pecans uncovered so you can just pick them right off. Wasted a lot of time and money 🙁
Carolyn says
I don’t know why the caramel would give you so much trouble, unless your pan is not very good and/or your heat was too high. And there absolutely IS enough to cover the whole thing, you have to drizzle it into every part – but if you dumped it into the centre, it may not. And once it bakes again, it spreads out. I have made these multiple times and never had these issues.
Leah says
Can’t wait to try this! Thanks for sharing.
TanYa says
Thanks for another one of your creative ideas; I love them all! I’ve been longing for a low carb version of pecan pie! This sounds pretty close, but how do the pecans stick to the crust? It doesn’t sound like the toffee is sufficient to do this?
Carolyn says
Oh yes, the toffee is sufficient to do it! 🙂
GLO says
I just made this – cooling as we speak. Maybe it’s because I used mostly whole pecans but some of the pecans are loose (not covered by the toffee) should I have used pieces instead of whole pecans?
Carolyn says
I did have a mix in mine so that may account for it. Hope it turns out all right. If not, let me know and I will amend the recipe. I did find that even my bigger pieces (I did half of each) stuck fine, except in a few places on the very edges.
Barb says
I’ve only been able to find powdered swerve – can that be used instead of the granulated? Or truvia?
Carolyn says
I think the powdered Swerve will work. The Truvia will definitely not.
Eugene says
Hi Carolyn.
Why would Truvia not work? According to their ingredients information, it is erythritol (the only ingredient of Swerve) plus traces of stevia extract.
Carolyn says
Because it’s more concentrated in sweeteners (2 to 3 times) compared to Swerve, which measures like sugar. Which means you wouldn’t get nearly enough of the toffee to cover the bars.
Eugene says
Hm, Sverwe’s own nutrition information says (here: http://www.swervesweetener.com/what-is-swerve/): “Erythritol: 5g for 5-gram serving”. So it is 100% erythritol.
Truvia – https://www.truvia.com/products/truvia-packets – says that 3-gram serving contains 3g erythritol. So it is also basically 100% erythritol.
I assume both have different mixtures to them, so to stand out among competition, but can it be that those trace amounts of other ingredients matter?
Carolyn says
No, they are not the same. Swerve measures exactly like sugar…so 5g (1 teaspoon) of Swerve = 5g (1 teaspoon) of sugar. Truvia is not 100% erythritol, because STEVIA has no carbs and no calories (and also no bulk or weight), so when you see 3g of erythritol, that’s the only thing that’s giving it carbs. And if 3g of Truvia = a serving, that means 3g of Truvia = 5g of sugar. So it is more concentrated.
I suggest you Google “Truvia equivalent to sugar” and you will see that it is suggested that you use 1/3 to 1/2 cup Truvia when trying to get the same sweetness. Please don’t underestimate the sweetness of stevia, it is intensely strong so while it may not make up much in terms of the WEIGHT of the product, it intensifies its sweetness a great deal.
If you were to use the equivalent amount of Truvia that I used Swerve in this recipe, it would be horribly sweet. Probably disgusting.
Eugene says
Now I get it. So you say that Truvia is more sweet than sugar and Sverwe, and therefore you need less truvia to achieve the same sweetness, and thus getting less bulk. Makes sense.
I tried your recipe with trivia anyway before I posted my first comment – I just don’t have anything else in my local ShopRite with erythritol. It is indeed very much sweet, but not disgusting 🙂
Will try with sverwe or pure erythritol next time.
Carolyn says
Yup, that’s what I was saying. Glad they weren’t awful but I definitely think they’d be too sweet for me!
Eugene says
Oh, and thanks for the explanation and for sharing your amazing recipes.
April Jenson says
Hi, I get mine from Lucky vitamin and It’s cheaper than on Amazon. They also carry lilys chocolate WAY cheaper. April
Angela Pickett says
I made these with walnuts instead of pecans. They were amazing! Fixing the second batch to share with co-workers tomorrow. Thanks for your recipes!
Roxana says
I know what you mean, I feel like every time I make resolutions I end up not following them and just feel guilty later, so I’m all for skipping them! These toffee bars look so wonderful – what a sticky, gooey, crunchy treat for January! 🙂
Lynn says
Hi, we just finished our annual family New Years dinner party. I made these for dessert. They were wonderful and very well received by the whole bunch! I offered Carb Smart vanilla ice cream on the side but I thought it was awesome on its own.
I used only whole pecans halves and I will use some pieces next time as some of the pecan halves did not stick as well as your photo looks. Thank you for helping us welcome 2016 with such a special (and easy) treat!
Carolyn says
Okay, that is very good feedback. Thanks!
Carolyn says
Hi, I ran out of my granulated Swerve… can I use confectioners Swerve instead? What would be the ratio? Thanks and Happy New Year!
Carolyn says
I think, can’t say for sure, that you can swap it in 1:1 and it *should* work. I hope!
Carolyn says
Thank you! I will try it!
Heather W says
I know this is an old post, but for anyone coming new to the site, confectioner’s Swerve does work 1:1. I had already made the crust before I realized I was out of granulated Swerve so figured I’d give it a try. Turned out great.
Debra says
Happy New Year and thank you for this recipe! Looks wonderful!
nancy says
Happy & Healthy New Year!
I LOVE your recipes, all delish ?
Can I make this with Splenda?
Thanks for ALL you do ???
Carolyn says
No, I am afraid Splenda would not work at all. It won’t caramelize.
Nancy says
Happy & Healthy New Year!
Can I use Splenda for this recipe?
Thank you for ALL that you do, you are a blessing to me, with Diabetes T2, been eating LC for 1 1/2 yrs, lost 60 lbs, reduced my diabetes meds in half, got off 2 cholesterol meds, off b/p meds ?
nancy says
ooops Duplicated my comment, sorry!
Christie Fine says
I saw this recipe yesterday on the Swerve site and I immediately made them. Oh my goodness they are good! Thank you for the wonderful recipe. I haven’t told you in a while but you are my hero.
Sheryl says
I made these this morning. I cannot find Swerve in my area, so used Pyure sweetener. After putting the crust in to bake I read the package and realized that it substitutes for sugar only needing to use half as much… And I read on the swerve website that Swerve is 1:1 so realized I’d used too much! So I cutback in the topping. . All things considered, this is a fabulous recipe! I’m already looking forward to making it again! I’m thinking of chopping up some of the pecans and baking them in with the crust next time. Thanks for a great recipe!
Carolyn says
So glad it worked with Pyure. I am surprised, I wouldn’t have thought it would!
Amy says
Parchment paper and I do not get along. Do you think spraying the pan with coconut oil would work just as well?
Carolyn says
I think you will have trouble getting them out but it’s up to you!
Kelsey says
These look fantastic! I am love that they are low carb, I will have to try these out! Thanks so much for sharing!
Corly says
I just made this and think I cooked the filling for too long as it became more crunchy than gooey. I will definitely try again though because it is still so good. Next time I will chop the pecans up a bit, mix them into the sugar/butter/vanilla mixture and then pour that over the shortbread crust. I think it will allow for more even coverage. Thanks so much for all your recipes!
Carolyn says
It’s supposed to be crunchy. Toffee is crunchy, not gooey and the recipe is designed to be like toffee.
Lisa says
Holy cow these are amazing! I’ve been following a keto diet for the last 6 months and I’m always looking for a sweet treat that won’t throw me out of ketosis. My husband and kids also loved these! The only problem is that we can’t keep them around for more than 12 hours! Thank you so much!
Wenda says
This bar is sooo delicious…my husband wants more…and he’s not low carb..Thank you!!
Patricia Kingry says
Could you us powered stevia in place of swerve?
Carolyn says
No…in this case you need a bulk sweetener like Swerve or other erythritol.
René Vermeulen says
Can I use xylitol in place of swerve?
Carolyn says
yes, but your topping will probably never harden up like toffee. It will be good but more like caramel.
Inez says
Ooooh. Goooooooey is good for our house and I use xylitol. My hubs is going to be such a happy, happy man! He really missed pecan pie this year.
Lorri says
Another winner of a recipe! I just love your website. Thank you for sharing.
We made these this afternoon. So very easy. I loved toffee in my carb days, so this recipe excited me! It delivered! I made one change – I chopped a bar of 85% dark chocolate and spread the shavings on top of the bars while they were hot. Super yummy!
Kellie Beggs says
Oh my god just made these. They were gorgeous. I couldn’t get swerve. I had a selection of sweetness here, powdered stevia, Splenda and Hermesetas. I used the Hermesetas. They turned out yummy. My tin was a bit too big though so I could of done with a bit more caramel to cover the whole thing so not all my pecans stuck but most did. Really gorgeous. The only problem now is trying not to eat the whole thing. Would be gorgeous with a spoonful of whipped cream on top. Thanks so much for the recipe. 1 week back into my low carb diet after being off it for a while and I was really craving something exactly like this.
Carolyn says
I’ve never heard of that brand. Glad it worked out!
Karen says
Do you have to keep these in the refrigerator to store them? Thank you.
Carolyn says
No, counter is best.
Karen says
OMG in the oven right now. Smells amazing.
Beth says
Do you think coconut oil can be substituted for the butter for a dairy free version? It looks sooo good…I would love to try it!
Carolyn says
Not positive it would work but I’d say it’s worth a try.
Cici says
Hey Beth, Did you try it without the butter?
katie says
These are FREAKING FABULOUS!! Thank you Carolyn for another fantastic recipe!
Ravfood says
Hi
Is the almond flour with og without fat?
Best
Kathe/ Denmark
Carolyn says
It’s the kind that is just blanched, ground almonds, with fat. Not the powdery stuff.
Susie Ward says
My pecan toffee bars are baking right now. Almost a fail with electric stove top. It didn’t work (even at lower heat) NOT stirring the butter/Stevia mixture. Think they’re going to be great… But everything stuck badly?
Kelly says
These are yummy, but I felt they were too sweet. Definitely a keeper, I will just adjust the swerve. Thanks for these creative recipes.
Claudia says
I used erythritol and this gave me GI disturbance. Is this normal? I usually work with Swerve but didn’t have any on hand. 🙁
Carolyn says
Well, given that Swerve is 90% erythritol, I don’t know how using straight erythritol would cause this. Could it have been something else at play here?
Claudia says
Hi Carolyn,
I think it was something else that gave me the GI upset. The next day I tried it all went well. Sorry to put the blame on this amazing recipe and you. Thanks so much for posting!
Carolyn says
No worries at all! Some sugar alcohols do cause GI issues but since you’d eaten erythritol before, I suspected it might be something else.
VC says
Would these do well in the freezer? I made a batch (they are AMAZING! The best low-carb dessert recipe I’ve ever made) and I want to wrap them individually and put them in the freezer.
Carolyn says
I think they would do okay.
Joan says
I am worried about the carb count of this recipe. My calculations are so far away from what is printed here. Did you not count the carbs of the swerve? The swerve carbs alone are 270g. That plus the carbs in the pecans and almond flour bring it up to 345 grams of carb. Divide that by 16 portions you get 21.56 total carbs per bar.
Carolyn says
I never count the carbs in Swerve, they do not affect my blood glucose levels at all. I state that fact in several places on this blog and most low carbers don’t count them either. They really do pass through the body without hitting the blood stream (at least this is my experience). I know it’s hard to believe but I have tested this on myself over and over and it does seem to hold true!
Barry D. says
I wanted to stop back in and leave a huge THANK YOU for this recipe and others you have here. I was recently diagnosed as diabetic and have had to adjust my diet a bit to work on lowering my blood sugar levels. I had searched a bit and found another sweetener (Whey Low, not Swerve) that offers a diabetic friendly version in crystal form. They also offer a Powder that is lower sugar, but not quite as a diabetic friendly. I believe it would be competitive with Swerve (measures 1:1 with regular sugar, and has measured 1:1 as a substitute for Swerve in your recipes), though it could be a bit more or less expensive than Swerve. (Whey Low runs approx. $14 for a 2 pound bag, depending on who you get it from. Discount coupons from ordering directly from them if you sign up for their mailing list)
Anyway, the Pecan Toffee Bars was a recipe that I definitely had to try. One of my favorite vices is Pecan Pie (though I’m particular about it, desiring my mom’s good old normally over-done and slightly burnt Pecan Pie). This is a great substitute for that taste and definitely way more friendly on the diabetic scale.
I’m looking forward to trying a few others of your recipes that feature Almond Flour, especially the deep dish pizza recipe. I’m pretty confident that the results will be great and very tasty. Thanks again for your hard work and dedication on all of these recipes.
Carrie says
What can I substitute for the powdered Swerve? Don’t have any!
Carolyn says
In this recipe, only erythritol based sweeteners will do.
Kim says
Sprinkled with sugar free dark chocolate chips while hot, YUM!
Mary Lynn says
These are TOTALLY delicious. I made them with monkfruit sweetener & they came out just like my pecan date bars that I used to make. Great recipe! Thanks for sharing so many mistake proof recipes.
Carolyn says
Glad you liked them!
Donna LM says
Mary Lynn,
How much Monk Fruit did you use?
(My sister’s name is Mary Lynn… )
Ashley says
I don’t have any swerve. I have erythritol. What would I use for the “powdered” swerve substitute?
Carolyn says
Try powdering it in a coffee grinder.
Rachel H. says
If I want these for Christmas Eve, how far ahead could I bake them? Usually, I do everything last minutes, but I”m trying something different.
Carolyn says
These are good for several days. If longer, then refrigerate them and then let them come to room temperature before serving.
Leslie Lockwood says
Hi Carolyn,
Will any of the THM sweeteners work in this or Pyure? That’s all I’ve got.
Carolyn says
I can’t guarantee it with other sweeteners but you can certainly try it!
Maria says
Wow. This is amazing! Thanks so much. My family enjoyed it so much. Will be my go to dessert.
Beth says
I would like to begin by thanking you for your amazing recipes. They always turn out delicious. I tried substituting half of the butter with coconut oil for the toffee topping and added 1/4 tsp of butter extract to cover the coconut flavor. The toffee in the pan did not really thicken that much, but it could be possibly because I did not leave it on long enough to let it become thick or I ate some straight out of the oven. It looks beautiful and tastes delicious anyway. I think it might form up after it cools.
Please keep the outstanding recipes coming.
Beth says
They have cooled and firmed up very nicely. I will definitely be making these again.
Carolyn says
Thanks, Beth!
Kelsey says
Hi, quick question:
Do these bars have a “cooling taste” to them once they’re baked? I made peanut butter cookies yesterday with powdered Swerve and it tastes like how I imagine a menthol cigarette would taste! I can hardly stand them. I hate to waste ingredients but I so badly want to find eatable low carb baked goods. Any feedback or tips about this problem would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Carolyn says
Every palate is different. I used to get the cooling sensation badly with plain erythritol, but I don’t get it with Swerve at all. So I’d say no, these bars don’t have that taste but I can only speak for myself. You may need to try other sweeteners.
Elaine Markley says
I love pecans! These look fabulous? But I, also, love piñons and have a bunch of them, too. Think I’ll make these with those!
Carolyn says
That would be delicious!
Amy says
Can I use regular powdered sugar and regular granulated Sugar instead of the swerve brand
Carolyn says
I don’t know, I don’t use those at all. Probably.
tim says
We made these and they are great. Came out perfect. Cant believe they are sugar free. Just the thing for Keto fat bombs. Made the whole neighborhood smell like a candy factory, when we were cooking.
Charrell says
Thank you for your recipes!!!
Made these last night…..BIG HIT!! My husband (who is not low carb) ate two! I need to put them away somewhere so they don’t disappear while I’m at work!
Penny says
Does it matter I’d uou use Salted or unsalted butter
Carolyn says
I use salted.
Michelle says
Hi. What alternatives are there for the powdered swerve. I find the after taste bitter. I have tried to grind bocha sweet but am unable to get it smooth in goodnight processors. I usually make small batches and maybe having issue with trying to do a small amount.
Carolyn says
In the base of this, you can use regular granulated sweetener.
Cassandra says
I’m going to make this for Thanksgiving. I don’t want too much of a hard toffee crunch Bc my moms teeth are sensitive. My first thought is to add some heavy cream? I’m not much of a baker but maybe you can suggest how little to add so I’m not destroying the flavor? I tried looking up BochaSweet but none available at Amazon and at this point, I don’t want to buy any other sweeteners. But if necessary I will. Thoughts? Suggestions? Options?
Carolyn says
I think you should try making my pecan pie bars instead. These will not do well as a softer bar.
Mary Manello says
Carolyn- instead of granular Swerve, could I use Bocha Sweet?
Carolyn says
Yes but it won’t become like hard toffee, I suspect it will stay more chewy.
Dee says
Do you think these bars would travel well if I sent them to my grandkids? Probably be in the mail for a week.
Carolyn says
If they were well packed not to bounce around too much, they’d last.
Red in Keds says
Made these for Thanksgiving and they were a hit! Thank you so much, Carolyn, for your fabulous recipes.
Carolyn says
Thanks so much!
Renee Paj says
Keto or not, these look incredible. They would make a great addition to my cookie tray this year!
Kara says
I love pecan pie, I can’t wait to try this healthier version!
Ashley F says
These are incredible! Love that we can still have the same treats made healthier.
Kellie H. says
I have an incredible sweet tooth and made these earlier in the year. They’re so easy and totally amazing!!!
Rachael Yerkes says
Love this sweet treat, my mom loves making these!
Patricia says
I know this is an old thread, but I have to be dairy free. Do you think butter flavored coconut oil would work…..but use a little les of it? Thank you for your help.
Carolyn says
Without trying it, I can’t be sure entirely that it will harden as much. But it should still be tasty!
Laura Roehl says
Hi Carolyn! Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe! I can’t wait to try it!! Where is the video you mention at the top?
Carolyn says
It’s literally right underneath that sentence. 🙂
Brooke Silberhorn says
Hi Carolyn! I love so many of your recipes! I made this one last night and found that the toffee soaked into the crust (leaving the pecans only lightly coated and very loose on top). I’m wondering if I should have baked the crust a bit longer and let it completely cool before doing the rest of the steps. I may so I use a different pan. The crust seemed loose in the corners because of the bulk of the parchment. Do you have any suggestions? Otherwise they taste great!
Carolyn says
So two possible things, if the corners were loose after baking… the butter wasn’t evenly enough distributed so make sure you process until it resembles crumbs. Also possible the almond flour was mis-measured a bit (1 cup = about 100g if you’d prefer to be more exact by weight). Do make sure the crust is properly cooled before adding the topping.
Sandy V says
I just made this recipe, it turned out perfect! My non-keto husband told me it’s his new favorite. Thank you so much for all the wonderful recipes that make keto so easy.
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it.
Catherine says
Hi, Carolyn,
I just made this but I think I goofed on the topping. It did not thicken like yours did. I kept waiting for it to turn amber and it never did even after 12-13 minutes. I used monk fruit. Should that have made that kind of difference? It still tastes delicious, but the presentation is not as beautiful as yours. Any advice for me?
Carolyn says
Yep, monk fruit doesn’t caramelize like Swerve does. Sorry!
Catherine Ashmead says
Alrighty! Then this weekend is Pecan Toffee Bars, TAKE 2! Thank you! (These were delicious regardless of my oops!)
Shimara says
In Germany you can find plain erythritol for a good price at DM
I made this yesterday and liked the crust and the taste of the toffee was great………but way….way too sweet. Would it also work if I put less Swerve in the toffee topping?
Holly says
Dang. I saw this recipe and it stuck to my brain like the toffee that’s in them. Now I have to make them. You are evil, evil I say! But I love you anyway.
Carolyn says
LOL Thanks!
Brittany says
I’m following the keto diet and can not wait until I can make these! These look absolutely DELICIOUS! Thanks for the post!
Karen says
Hi Carolyn,
I’ve added these to my Christmas baking line up. I’m struggling to figure out how far ahead I can make these as well as other keto Christmas cookies.can you give any good guidelines on how to know what to freeze, how to store, how far ahead keto baked goods can be made?
These are so delicious, by the way! Thank you always!
Carolyn says
Read this, it should help. And yes these can be frozen. https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/make-ahead-low-carb-holiday-cookies/
Carol Ann says
I would like to add a layer of dark chocolate between the crust and topping. What would you suggest I use. I don’t want to use anything that contains sugar.
Carolyn says
Lily’s would be perfect! https://amzn.to/2C6YRRo
Faith says
Oh dear, something went terrible wrong and I’m left trying to figure out how to fix or re-invent something to do with this super-expensive yet inedible ingredients. I followed this recipe exactly except to use the Swerve granular in the crust instead of confectioners since I could not afford 2 bags of this sweetener. Everything else was the same-and used Bob’s R.M. almond flour. When they cooled, the topping was nearly whitish but not crunchy like I expected, but the whole thing was very grainy, greasy, and bitter/sickeningly sweet. Could it be that I didn’t cook the mixture enough or bake them long enough? Ugh-I wanted to cry. I don’t know what happened.
Carolyn says
I’m so sorry. If it what whitish and not crunchy, I do suspect you didn’t cook it long enough in the first stage. You can see in my video, I take it to the point that it’s quite dark amber. Also make sure you are using a good pan… cheap aluminum pans don’t caramelize things properly.
Faith says
I have Calphalon Tri-ply stainless cookware, so I don’t think that was the issue. I wanted to tell you what I ended up doing with the bars. I chopped them up and tossed them in the food processor. Then, I smashed the crumb mixture (nothing else added) into the bottom and half-way up the sides of a springform pan and made them into the crust for a cheesecake. They made a FABULOUS butter-pecan tasting cheesecake crust, (2 cheesecakes worth) and now I’m sad that I don’t have any more left! It would be worth making these again just for another cheesecake crust! lol!
Kari Goolsby says
Hi Carolyn,
Would Swerve brown/bocca sweet be anything to substitute or too soft for the toffee to harden? I’m making these today and so excited
Carolyn says
Swerve Brown would be fine and would harden. Bocha Sweet might be too soft.
Layla says
Made these. They satisfied our sweet tooth and had nice flavor. But there’s no stick with the toffee topping and I missed that stickiness. So I added some sugar free maple syrup on top some of them, then left them out to let the syrup harden a bit. It fixed the texture and stick and gave it a nice maple flavor, but ended up way too sweet. So, I’ll probably play with it a little. I thought about adding some heavy cream or coconut cream to the toffee mixture to make it into a carmel, but I am not familiar enough with browned swerve to know how much of a disaster that would be. Overall, they were good. But I’m not sure I’d make them again. I might just do the crust, put the pecans on top and pour sugar free syrup on them and see what happens after 15 minutes in the oven.
Carolyn says
These aren’t supposed to be soft. They are meant to be hard and crunchy, like toffee is. If you want a soft pecan bar, you need these: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/chocolate-pecan-pie-bars-and-a-thanksgiving-potluck-for-feeding-america/
Vera says
Thank you, thanks, gracias, 🙏, and in every other language, THANK YOU. These are amazing!!!
Rachel says
Meh. This is one of the few recipes from All Day I Dream About Food that just didn’t live up to my expectation. I followed this recipe to a t. When it was done, it didn’t look right. There were extra pecans that were loose. I used a mix of whole pecans and chopped. It seems as though there wasn’t enough wet ingredients to make the topping stick. The flavor of the top was weirdly coolingly sweet. I’m blaming the swerve confectioners sugar for that. This was my first time using this sweetener. Wasn’t the best taste. I’ve definitely made much better recipes by you, Carolyn. This one sadly is not a keeper at my house.
Jena says
Hi there!
What is the fat content per serving? I saw everything else listed, but no grams of fat per serving, which is pretty important for a high fat way of eating. I think I’ll be trying this recipe for the holidays, because it looks and sounds delicious! Thank you!
Carolyn says
Sorry, that must have been left out when I switched recipe cards. It’s 26.4g and I am off to fix it!
Edith says
A recent Keto convert, I happened upon All Day I Dream About Food through Pinterest. Made these bars twice now.
Love. Love. Love. Can’t wait to try more!
Thank you, Carolyn.
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Andre says
Can you include a temperature the caramel mix should be when it’s done on the stove top?
Carolyn says
Sorry but I did not make them that way. it shouldn’t be necessary if you let it become a deep golden amber.
Cathy mills says
Apparently the 3 cups of pecans is a typo I made these in a 8×8 pan and it has 2” of pecans on the top and the toffee did not even hold them together and I’m a baker
Carolyn says
No, not a typo. You can see from the many positive comments that this recipe works as written. If you’re having trouble, try chopping them some if you need to.
Carolyn says
Oh and I am a baker too. 🙂
Tara says
The final step… do you bake it at the same temp you bake the crust? Mine are looking pretty good, except they are not bubbling up. Wondering if the oven should be hotter. It smells fantastic in here though, can’t wait to eat them!
Carolyn says
Yes, same temp. Don’t worry, I think they will turn out.
Aimee Garcia says
How can you keep the caramel from crystallizing as it vools? Have you tried making this recipe with your caramel sauce made with bocha sweet? Would this keep it gooey?
Carolyn says
This is not supposed to be gooey. Toffee is hard and crunchy. If you want a gooey filling, please check out my pecan pie bars.
Jenny says
I’ve made these twice and the flavor is spot on!!! Both times though lots/most of the pecans didn’t stick. I did think the crust was pretty crumbly both times, not sure what I did wrong. I have an 8×8 pan, The second time it didn’t seem like the bars “set” well and the only way to serve them was refrigerated so they didn’t have to be eaten with a fork because they fell apart.
I’m going to keep trying for the right consistency—the flavor is just superb!!! Thank you!!!
Carolyn says
So you’re not the only one with this problem and something just twigged. I always used a 9×9 pan for this. I suspect the smaller pan, which makes the bars deeper, may be part of the issue. The crust doesn’t get baked quite enough, and the pecans on top are deeper so that the toffee can’t make them all stick. I may experiment here…
Tish says
Hi Carolyn. The only sweetener I have is Lakanto Classic, Powdered, and Golden. It´s monk fruit with erythritol. Would that work instead of Swerve? It´s used 1:1 like sugar. Thanks in advance.
Carolyn says
Use the golden, that’s your best bet here.
Ashley says
How can I keep the topping from crystallizing? I used Lankato monk fruit.
Jenny says
Every time I make these I die cure enjoyment. They are always so excellent! However, I have the same problem that the crust is super crumbly and the pecans fall off. I don’t have a problem with it because I can just eat it with a fork but I don’t think I would make these for other people. I will try the 9 x 9 pan. I think mine might also be 8 x 8. YUMMMMM!!!
Jenny says
Sorry for commenting twice! It looks like you replied to my comment back in January, lol!!