Gluten-free butterless pecan turtle bars

August 22-23, 2026

 

   

 

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of this blog, we had many of our longest Melbourne friends over for a good old-fashioned potluck and invited them to cook like it was 2006. Michael made spiced chickpeas, soy bombs and barbecue sauce; there were Las Vegan-style rice balls with satay sauce, tofu-egg sandwiches, chickpea cutlets. potato salad, focaccia, ratatouille, shepherd's pie, hot dog bread, and peanut butter and jelly cups. We pushed the furniture to the walls and made space as best we could, and loved cramming it with people.

I decided to revisit the first home-made dessert that we posted to the blog: butter pecan turtle bars. They're an easy and tasty layering of biscuit base, thick caramel, pecans and chocolate chips. The original is full of butter and wheat flour, and over the years I've attempted vegan and gluten-free versions, even if I haven't quite nailed them.

This attempt is vegan and gluten-free and a step in the right direction, with a caramel that doesn't sink entirely into the sandy base and has a bit more of the brown chewiness that I'm looking for. It's easy to share and went down a treat. 

 

Gluten-free butterless pecan turtle bars  

(adapted from this recipe and this recipe) 

 

base 

2 cups gluten-free plain flour

3/4 cup brown sugar 

1/2 cup margarine 

 

topping 

1 1/2 cups pecans 

1/3 cup margarine 

half a 320g can sweetened condensed coconut milk  

1/4 cup brown sugar 

1 tablespoon golden syrup

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips 

 

Preheat an oven to 180°C. Line a medium-large tray with baking paper. Place all the base ingredients in a bowl and blend thoroughly with a fork (or mix them in a food processor). Don't worry if the mixture remains quite powdery. Turn the mixture out into the tray, and use the back of a dessert spoon to spread it out evenly and press it down firmly. Spread the pecans out across the base. 

 

Melt the margarine for the topping in a small saucepan, and add the condensed milk, brown sugar, and golden syrup. Cook over medium heat, stirring regularly, until bubbling. Allow this caramel to boil for a minute, then take it off the heat and pour it across the pecans. 

 

Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the caramel is bubbling and the base edges are light brown. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the slice as soon as it comes out of the oven. Allow the slice to cool to room temperature before slicing and serving.