Salted Caramel & Chocolate Pecan Tarts

These Salted Caramel and Chocolate Pecan Tarts are the perfect combination of sweet and salty. If you are looking for a healthier desert recipe, I found you the perfect one!

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Diamond of California. The wonderful people at Diamond of California compensated me for the time spent developing and photographing this recipe. However, like always, the opinions are entirely my own. Promise!

If you are like me, you love nuts.  I mean, I really, really love nuts.  They are high in healthy, beneficial fats, protein and tons of vitamins and minerals.  So you can imagine how excited I was when Diamond Nuts asked me to create a recipe using their chopped pecans.  

My mind went crazy with delicious ideas, but I knew I had to make something with salted caramel.  Just because.  

The truth is that I LOVE salted caramel (I mean, who doesn't??) but I rarely eat it these days.  I wanted to make a treat that contained salted caramel and pecans, but make it healthier than others out there.  

And why not throw in some chocolate in there to make it even more amazing?

Why You Should Make These Salted Caramel Chocolate Pecan Tarts

These babies might look fancy and difficult to make but I promise they are sooooo easy! I love that they are bite sized too to make the perfect portion controlled treat.

These chocolate pecan tarts are perfect for the holidays too because they give you a nice little break from all of those peppermint and gingerbread treats. Now don't get me wrong, I will always love them, it's just nice to mix it up a bit.

Don't be scared of the fat content.  All of the fat in this recipe comes from heart-healthy pecans and coconut.

These tart are gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan.  And also super duper delicious. They can easily be made sugar free and low carb as well.

Recipe Ingredients

• Pecans- I used already chopped pecans to make life easier. I keep these in my pantry at all times.
• Almond flour - I use the super fine almond flour in all of my baked goods because it lends the lightest, ideal texture, especially in gluten free desserts.
• Vanilla - I use pure vanilla extract which doesn’t contain any artificial flavors or additives, it’s just pure vanilla made from alcohol. I use this one.
• Coconut oil - I use refined coconut oil which has very little coconut taste (Yes, I know it's not a popular opinion but I don't like the taste of coconut!) The only issue is that refined coconut oil has less antioxidants and vitamins than the virgin coconut oil (as well as a higher smoke points which is good to remember for baked goods) so if you like the taste of coconut, then you can easily use virgin coconut oil. If you don't care about these tarts being vegan, you can also use butter in here.
• Pure maple syrup  - The key here is to use 100% pure maple syrup. The taste and quality are far more superior to ones that just say "maple syrup".
• Flax meal + 3 tablespoons water OR 1 egg
• Unrefined sugar - This can be whatever sugar you have in the house. I like to use unrefined sugar because it's minimally processed and contains some nutrients. You can use maple syrup, honey, coconut sugar, or even try a sugar free alternative such as Monk fruit.
• Coconut cream - I like to use the unsweetened coconut cream because it doesn't contain all of those unnecessary added sugars.
• Chocolate chips - I used sugar free chocolate chips in these tarts. Please read the ingredients for your sugar free chocolate chips. Many of them contain large amounts of sugar alcohols which can cause stomach upset and diarrhea. I use these sugar free chocolate chips all the time.

Salted Caramel & Chocolate Pecan Tarts

These Salted Caramel and Chocolate Pecan Tarts are the perfect combination of sweet and salty!

5 from 4 votes

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Course: brunch, Dessert, Snack, vegetarian

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 24 servings

Calories: 102kcal

Author: Lauren Kelly

Ingredients

• ▢ TARTS:
• ▢ ¾ cup pecans- I used Diamond chopped pecans
• ▢ 1 cup almond flour
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon gluten-free baking soda
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ▢ 4 tablespoons coconut oil or cold butter
• ▢ 3 tablespoons 100% pure maple syrup or sugar free sweetener of choice
• ▢ 1 tablespoon flax meal + 3 tablespoons water OR 1 egg
• ▢ CARAMEL SAUCE:
• ▢ 3 tablespoons coconut sugar or sugar free sweetener of choice
• ▢ 2 tablespoons coconut cream
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
• ▢ CHOCOLATE SAUCE:
• ▢ 2 tablespoons coconut cream
• ▢ 3 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray mini muffin tin with organic cooking spray.
• Place the pecans in a food processor and process until you have a coarse flour. Add the almond flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, coconut oil, maple syrup, flax egg or egg, and vanilla and pulse until a ball of dough forms.
• Press the dough into the mini muffin tin. Press down to make sure it was in an even layer. Bake for 12-15 minutes until middle is set.
• While these are baking, prepare caramel sauce. Place coconut sugar and coconut cream in a small saucepan.
• Continue to stir until melted and completely smooth and bubbly.
• Remove from heat and add salt. Stir again. Set aside.
• Prepare chocolate sauce by placing coconut cream in small saucepan.
• Continue to stir until melted. Add chocolate chips and stir until completely smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat.
• Once tarts are finished baking, take a spoon and press down the center to form an indent.
• Gently spoon caramel sauce into center of each tart, then spoon chocolate sauce onto of carmel sauce.
• Top with a tiny bit of extra sea salt and finely chopped pecans.
• Place in the refrigerator for at least an hour until set.

Notes

To store in the refrigerator, place cooled tarts in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.

To store in the freezer, place cooled tarts in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.

 

 

Nutrition

Calories: 102kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 28mg | Potassium: 39mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 3IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1mg

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