Spoil your taste buds with Paleo Turtle Bars. Made with maple syrup, chocolate, and crushed pecans, these are nothing short of a delicious treat.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

Recipe Name: Paleo Turtle Bars
Ready In: 50 minutes
Serves: 12 bars
Main Ingredients: Crust, ¾ cup almond flour, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, salt, coconut cream
Why You'll Love It: Spoil your taste buds with Paleo Turtle Bars. Made with maple syrup, chocolate, and crushed pecans, these are nothing short of a delicious treat.

The best dessert on planet Earth

Do you ever find yourself in the mood for brownies, but like... better? A brownie, but with a twist, perhaps. Well, do I have the recipe for you.

Paleo turtle bars are kind of like brownies in that they have the same base flavor (chocolate) and shape. Any usually, the texture is similar to a fudgy brownie.

But, they're different in that they're so much better. Paleo turtle bars are made with yummy ingredients like maple syrup, coconut sugar, and pecans, and they contain just the right amount of sweetness.

If you're craving a deluxe brownie, these bars are perfect.

Ingredients in paleo turtle bars

This turtle bars recipe has two parts - the crust, and then the turtle layer. A couple of the ingredients overlap (coconut oil and vanilla), but for the most part you'll need slightly different items for either section.

We'll begin with an almond flour crust, and then we'll move into the yummy pecan, chocolate, and sugar layer!

Crust:

Almond flour: Almond flour will be the base of our crust. Use 1 ¾ cup for the perfect texture.
Coconut oil: Next, ¼ cup of coconut oil will mix with the flour to form a crust that's perfect crumbly but won't fall apart.
Maple syrup: Include ¼ cup of maple syrup for rich, sweet flavor.
Vanilla: Add a dash of vanilla in the amount of 1 tsp.
Salt: Finally, include ¼ teaspoon of salt for that perfect flavor!

Turtle Layer:

Coconut cream: First for the turtle layer, we'll be using ½ cup of coconut cream. Alternatively, grab a can of coconut milk and use the hard part on top.
Coconut sugar: For sweet flavor you'll need to include ½ cup of coconut sugar, a great alternative to regular white sugar!
Salt: Add a dash of salt in the amount of ½ tsp.
Coconut oil: We will again use a bit of coconut oil. You'll need 2 tsp.
Vanilla: Include 1 teaspoon of vanilla.
Chopped pecans: For the pecan portion, set aside 1.5 cups! They'll need to be chopped, which can be done by hand or with a food processor/blender.
Chocolate chips: We will be mixing chocolate with coconut oil for the topping! You'll need 1.5 cups of chocolate chips.
Coconut oil: Finally, 1 tablespoon of coconut oil will be used to melt with the chips.

Tools you need to make turtle cookie bars

Pecan turtle bars come together pretty quickly, but you'll need a number of kitchen tools to make that happen! Starting with your pan and parchment paper, gather a few mixing bowls and measuring cups to bring this recipe together.

8x8 Pan
Parchment paper
Small mixing bowl
Stirring utensil
Spatula (to flatten the crust)
Sauce pan
Microwave-safe bowl

For measuring, you will need the following sizes: ¼ tsp, ½ tsp, 1 tsp, 1 tbsp, ¼ cup, ½ cup, ¾ cup, and 1 cup.

How to make paleo turtle bars

And finally, for the how-to! If you're like me, you can't wait to get these bad boys whipped together! Luckily the only thing standing between you and this sweet treat is about 25 minutes. Let's get started!

To begin, preheat the oven to 350F and line an 8x8 brownie pan with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, mix the almond flour, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt until well combined. This will be the crust.

Then, form the crust into the bottom of the pan and bake for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown. Once cooked, remove the crust from the oven and let it cool.

Meanwhile, start making caramel by adding the coconut cream, coconut sugar, coconut oil, and salt to a medium sauce pan. Turn the heat on medium and stir consistently.

Once the caramel comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and stir constantly for 10-15 minutes or until it thickens. It will thicken with time over low heat but will burn on high heat.

Once the caramel has thickened, turn off the heat and add the vanilla.

Next, pour the caramel over the crust, and then sprinkle the chopped pecans on top.

Microwave the chocolate chips with the coconut oil for 30 second increments. Once melted, pour over the pecans and spread until smooth and even.

Finally, let the bars chill in the freezer for at least 1 hour before cutting.

Substitution Tip

A few different ingredients come with easy swap options that you may find useful.

Coconut oil: You can use any similar baking oil, like canola or vegetable.
Maple syrup: Next, you can sub maple syrup with honey or molasses, which are both natural sweeteners. Start with a smaller measurement and add to taste.
Coconut sugar: If preferred, you can use regular white sugar in place of coconut sugar at a 1:1 ratio.
Chopped pecans: Finally, pecans can be subbed with any type of nut! Peanuts, walnuts, and even cashews would all taste yummy.

If you liked this recipe, you'll want to try these!

Below are some more of my favorite bar recipes, perfect for accompanying on a dessert platter alongside the turtle bars!

Erin Antoniak