Pecan caramel gooey squares (vegan).

In order to satisfy the cravings Thomas and I frequently get for yummy treats I tried out a recipe that called for a new ingredient to me - brown rice syrup (which I picked up from my local health food shop) and it turned out oh so great. The recipe was from my shiny new book - Vegan cookies invade your cookie jar which is full of so many wonderful vegan goodies that I am just itching to bake! For anyone who wants to give this a go here is the recipe:

For the crust:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

3/4 cup pure soya spread/ nonhydrogenated margarine

For the pecan topping:

3 tbsp corn flour

1/3 cup soya milk

1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar

2/3 cup brown rice syrup

2 tbsp pure soya spread melted

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 175°C and line tin with baking paper.

2. To prepare the crust combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.  Then cut in the margarine and mix with fingers until it resembles fine crumbs. Pour in to prepared baking tray and press down evenly. Bake the crust for 8-10 minutes until firm and lightly browned. Remove the tray from the oven and set it aside.

3. To prepare the topping whisk together the corn flour and soya milk until foamy. Stir in the dark brown sugar, brown rice syrup, melted margarine, vanilla and salt until smooth. Fold in pecans and pour mixture onto the crust and spread evenly.

4. Return the tray to the oven and bake for 25-28 minutes or until the filling is rapidly bubbling. Remove from the oven and leave to cool and then chill in the fridge. Enjoy!