Almond Flour Blondies
These chocolate chip almond flour blondies are made in one bowl, no mixer required, and incredibly soft, chewy with a gooey center. They’re completely paleo, gluten free and the perfect way to satisfy your sweet tooth!
Whether you call these almond flour 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. Try my gluten free sugar cookies, vegan gluten free brownies or almond flour banana muffins next!
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 will bind everything together and help the mixture rise. 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 prefer melted butter for the best flavor.
Arrowroot Starch: Arrowroot, tapioca, or even corn starch helps to absorb a bit of extra moisture and give the blondies a a fluffy texture.
Vanilla: You will need a full tablespoon (or 3 teaspoons) of vanilla extract for this recipe.
How to make almond flour blondies
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.
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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 on top.
What is a blondie and why is it called that?
A blondie is more or less a chocolate chip cookie in the shape of a brownie. Some call them chocolate chip cookie bars!
Unlike a brownie, blondies don’t have any cocoa powder in the batter, giving them a paler blonde color, hence the name blondie!
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. This recipe is a bit healthier than traditional blondies, but if you want something more buttery and sugary, try my classic gluten free blondies.
How to store and freeze
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.
You can also freeze these blondies! Just allow them to cool completely, then slice and transfer to a freezer safe bag or container. Freeze for up to 2 months, then reheat in the oven at 300.
Make them vegan!
Yes! Just swap the two eggs for two flax eggs (2 tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 5 tbsp water). Let the flax eggs thicken, then add to the recipe as usual.
This will change the final texture slightly and they won’t rise quite as much, they’ll be delicious! They will just be a biter on the denser, fudgier side.
Try these next
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Gluten Free Almond Flour Blondies
by: claire cary
Ingredients
Wet
- ¾ cup runny unsalted, natural almond butter
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup (dairy free) butter or refined coconut oil melted, I prefer butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Dry
- 1 ½ cups blanched almond flour
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch or tapioca starch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder see notes
- ⅔ cup chocolate chips plus more for topping
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 or rubber spatula until well combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Transfer to an 8 or 9 inch square baking pan lined with parchment paper (they will stick without it) and top with additional chocolate chips if desired. These blondies were photographed in an 8 inch pan, so they’re thick, but I actually love them a bit thinner so lately I’ve been using the 9 inch pan! Either works, just depends on your preference.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes for an 8 inch pan and about 25-30 for a 9 inch. The top should be golden brown and a toothpick should come out clean. If you like really gooey centers, bake for less time!
- Let cool completely before slicing. If they haven’t cooled, slicing will get messy!
Notes
Comments
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I followed the recipe exactly except I used runny peanut butter, but I couldn’t get the center to bake thoroughly. The edges browned but the center was still too mushy. I baked it for an extra ~15-20 minutes in a foil tent at 325 until it reached 190 degrees internal temp, but it still was undercooked. I eventually let it cool to room temp and then in the fridge overnight, and then baked them again in a foil tent at 325 until they reached the right temp. Put a lot of work into these haha! They’re better but I’m wondering what I might have done wrong initially? Thanks so much!
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Hmm, interesting! Did the batter seem super runny? You can try adding in an extra tablespoon of arrowroot to help absorb some of the moisture. Sorry you’re having issues with these!
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These are the most amazing blondies ever. No one would guess that they are gluten-free, using only almond flour and some tapioca starch. This will be my go-to blondie recipe for sure!
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Thank you, Leslie!
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Do they freeze well?
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Yes, just let cool, slice, then freeze for up to 2 months in a freezer safe bag.
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I’m excited to try this recipe after making the gluten free oreo brownies. Everyone that tried those raved about them. Do you think it would be possible to put oreos in the middle of these blondies?
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That should work! Might need to add a few minutes of extra bake time, but let me know how they turn out.
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I ended up chopping up some Oreos and mixing them in the batter instead of using chocolate chips. They were a hit at my office! Next time, I’m definitely going to try stuffing the blondies with the Oreos and then topping them with more oreo chunks.
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Oh sounds amazing! Need to give that a try.
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Absolutely amazing! I’ve made them twice. The first time, I didn’t have almond butter so I just used peanut butter and it was still amazing. Obviously changed the flavor – it became a peanut butter blondie – but it was still so good! So I finally bought almond flour to make this properly and it’s AMAZING. I used coconut sugar instead of brown sugar, and ran out of my coconut sugar half way through, so it has even less than the original recipe and it still turned out so well. I’m so impressed with all of the recipes I’ve made from your website.
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Thank you, Margaret! Excited to see what else you make 🙂
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