Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Blondies (Paleo)

These chocolate chip gluten free blondies are made in one bowl, no mixer required, and incredibly soft, chewy with a gooey center. They’re paleo and quite possibly the best cookie bars I’ve had!

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Whether you call these gluten free blondies or chocolate chip cookie bars, this is a recipe that you definitely don’t want to miss.

My almond flour brownies have been incredibly popular lately, but I’ve always been more of a vanilla than chocolate kind of girl, so I thought almond flour blondies were in order.

They taste like a chocolate chip cookie, but they’re shaped like brownies, have a *slightly* crisp exterior and a gooey interior with juuuust the right amount of chocolate in every bite.

This is a paleo, gluten free, dairy free recipe that can be easily made vegan. I’m hungry so let’s start cooking.

Key Ingredients

• Almond Butter: Any nut butter will work, but I suggest using one with a neutral flavor. Not all almond butters are created equal. Some have a very strong almond flavor. The raw almond butter from Trader Joes is the best of the best IMO!

• Almond Flour: These blondies are not only gluten free, but paleo too! We’ll be using almond flour as the base, which helps these blondies get nice and fluffy while still maintaining a gooey center. Be sure to use blanched almond flour and not almond meal for this recipe.

• Brown Sugar: Light brown sugar keeps the color of the blondies light, but adds a caramely flavor to the final recipe. You can sub with coconut sugar to make these refined sugar free.

• Maple Syrup: Vanilla chocolate chip maple blondies just sounds too good to pass up. The maple syrup in this recipe is subtle, but adds some sweetness and moisture to the recipe.

• Eggs: Two eggs help give these blondies rice and make them super fluffy. For a vegan option, you can sub for two flax eggs. Just mix 2 tbsp ground flax seeds with 5 tbsp of water and let thicken.

• Oil: Virtually any oil or melted butter will work in this recipe, but I opted for refined avocado oil for a neutral flavor.

• Arrowroot Starch: Arrowroot, tapioca, or even corn starch helps to absorb a bit of extra moisture and give the blondies a a fluffy, spongey texture.

• Vanilla: You will need a full tablespoon (or 3 teaspoons) of vanilla extract for this recipe.

How to make this recipe

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all of the wet ingredients until everything is well combined. 

Stir in the wet ingredients (making sure to pour and level the flour, don’t scoop from the bag), and mix with a wooden spoon until well combined. 

The batter should be on the thicker side, so don’t worry if that is what you have. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Transfer to an 8×8 baking pan lined with parchment paper (they will stick without) and top with additional chocolate chips if desired. If you only have a 9×9, that will work too but they will be a bit thinner.

Bake for 32-37 minutes. The top should be golden brown and a toothpick should come out clean. 

Let cool completely before slicing. If they haven’t cooled, slicing will get messy, so trust me when I say let them cool completely! They’re worth the wait.

Once cooled, if you want to drizzle them with more chocolate like I did in the photos, you’ll want to create a double boiler (or use an actual one if you have it) by adding a small pot into a larger pot with about 1 inch of water in the larger pot.

Add about 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1-2 tsp coconut oil and let melt over low heat. Stir occasionally to prevent clumps. Once it’s completely melted, take a spoon and drizzle it back and forth over the blondies.

Your questions, Answered!

• What is a blondie? A blondie is more or less a chocolate chip cookie in the shape of a brownie. Some call them chocolate chip cookie bars, but they’re more or less the same thing.

• Why is it called a blondie? Unlike a brownie, blondies don’t have any cocoa powder in the batter, giving them a paler blonde color, hence the name blondie!

• How long will they keep? These gluten free blondies will keep for 3-5 days. They surprisingly do best when stored in a container with the lid slightly ajar. They can get a bit mushy if the lid is on completely, but will dry out if left completely out in the open.

• What is the difference between a blondie and a brownie? Brownies and blondies are kind of the opposite of each other. Brownies are chocolate based, whereas blondies are vanilla based and taste more like a chocolate chip cookie than they do a brownie.

Try these recipes next

• Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
• Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
• Chocolate Bliss Balls

Lastly, if you want more recipes straight to your inbox, be sure to subscribe to my email list. As always, if you make this recipe, be sure to tag me on instagram and leave a comment below so I can see your creation!

Gluten Free & Paleo Almond Flour Blondies

These chocolate chip gluten free blondies are made in one bowl, no mixer required, and incredibly soft, chewy with a gooey center. They’re paleo and quite possibly the best cookie bars I’ve had!

4.67 from 6 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 16 blondies

Author: Claire Cary

Ingredients

 

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Wet:

• 1 cup runny (unsalted, natural almond butter)
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 2 tbsp avocado oil or melted coconut oil
• 2 tbsp non dairy milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

Dry:

• 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
• 2 tbsp arrowroot starch or tapioca starch
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (plus more for topping)

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all of the wet ingredients until everything is well combined. 
• Stir in the dry ingredients (making sure to pour and level the flour, don’t scoop from the bag), and mix with a wooden spoon until well combined. 
• The batter should be on the thicker side, so don’t worry if that is what you have. Fold in the chocolate chips.
• Transfer to an 8×8 baking pan lined with parchment paper (they will stick without) and top with additional chocolate chips if desired.
• Bake for 32-37 minutes. The top should be golden brown and a toothpick should come out clean. 
• Let cool completely before slicing. If they haven’t cooled, slicing will get messy!

Notes

These blondies will keep for 3-5 days. They do best when stored in a container with the lid ajar. They can get mushy if the lid is sealed, but will dry out if left open.

You can sub the almond butter for another nut butter like sunflower or cashew butter. Just make sure it is nice and runny. 

I like using the raw almond butter from Trader Joe’s for all my baking.

I suggest using unsalted nut butter for this recipe, but if yours is salted, just be sure to leave out the additional 1/2 tsp of salt. 

The light brown sugar can be subbed for coconut sugar, but it will change the color of the blondies slightly. 

If you only have a 9×9 baking pan, that will work but the blondies will be a bit thinner.

Nutrition

Serving: 1blondie | Calories: 198kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 5.8g | Fat: 12g | Fiber: 2.4g | Sugar: 12g

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Keyword: blondies, gluten free blondies, paleo blondies