Paleo Vegan Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

1. Prepare the Crust: 
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9” x 9” cake pan with parchment paper.
3. Stir together all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Keep stirring until a thick, moist, crumbly dough forms.
4. Press the rest of the crust mixture into the parchment-lined cake pan until you have an even layer of crust. Poke several times with a fork to ensure even baking. Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 12 to 16 minutes, or until the crust is golden-brown and appears as though it has set up. 
5. Remove the crust from the oven.
6. Make the Caramel:1. Heat the coconut milk, coconut sugar, and sea salt in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring it to a full boil, whisking consistently. Add the tapioca flour (or gluten-free flour) and whisk vigorously at a continuous boil until the clumps of flour are out and the caramel is very thick, about 8 to 15 minutes.
7. Stir in the pecans.

Make the Bars:

1. Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the cooled pie crust.
2. Pour the caramel pecans evenly over the chocolate chips and spread it into an even layer.
3. Bake at on the center rack of the preheated oven at 350 for 10 minutes. 
4. Allow the bars to cool for 15 minutes before moving them to the refrigerator. Chill for at least 1 hour before slicing and serving. Note: You can slice the bars sooner than 1 hour if you want them to be melted, gooey and don’t care about how messy they are ;)