I can't believe how good these flourless blonde brownies were, and so easy and fast to make, too! Why flourless? There are a variety of reasons someone might want to eat gluten-free/grain-free: Maybe you're gluten intolerant, maybe you're doing the GAPS Diet, or maybe you just feel better not eating grains. These were a surprising hit — I don't often make up a recipe with such success, so I expected this to be another “Friday Food Flop” for sure, but the kids and adults were all going after them!
My friend, Meg's, favorite treat is blonde brownies, and when I told her I was making her some, she reminded me that she hasn't been eating flour lately, so I came up with these flourless blonde brownies by pulling a few different recipes together, mostly from my Mom's “Butterscotch Brownies”, as she called them. Here's a picture from her recipe box, which I was so happy to have after she passed…
Flourless Blonde Brownies
Ingredients:
- 1 cup butter, melted — pastured butter is best
- 3/4 – 1 cup palm or coconut sugar (I used 1 c. this time, but I think 3/4 would be fine from now on), also I'll bet date sugar would work well for those on GAPS, but I haven't tried it.
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups Almond Meal/Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 4 eggs, beaten
- White chocolate chips for the top, optional — it's good without (Use organic if you can find them, read more about avoiding GMOs and trans fats in chocolate chips here.)
Instructions:
Mix together everything but the chocolate chips (I mix it right in the saucepan that I melt the butter in so there are less dishes to clean up), pour into a buttered 8″ glass baking pan. Bake @ 325* for 35-40 minutes or until set. (You may even want to let it go longer so the bottom gets a little crispy.) Right after getting them out of the oven, sprinkle on the chips, if desired. By the way, these are delicious without the white chocolate chips sprinkled on top, and I normally wouldn't add those because of all the extra sugar, but it was Megan's special request, and made for a prettier picture, too. 🙂 Makes 16 squares.
- More dessert recipes that are a little less unhealthy than some… Many are also grain-free!
- Or if you want another Paleo brownie recipe that has some chocolate, try these Paleo Blonde Brownies!!
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I have a request/suggestion: could you make your recipe posts so they are easier to print? Some blogs have a “print” button that automatically formats it? As it is, I have to open word, copy, paste, remove excess photos & such. Maybe I am just old fashioned in that I have to print recipes to put them in my “try” pile, or else I will forget about them? It would be nice though 🙂
Hi Lisa,
There actually IS a ‘print friendly’ button to make printing easier – it’s down toward the bottom just above the social shares buttons.
Let me know if that doesn’t work!
Kel
Excited to try these, blondies are my husband’s favorite but they are usually made with such awful ingredients! What other flours besides almond meal would work for these? I do not need to be gluten free 😉
If you don’t need to be gluten-free, then you could just google for “blondies” and make that recipe using unbleached white or even sprouted flours instead. Or just make these anyway, they’re really good. 🙂
KElly, did you put the chips on top of the raw batter or spread them on the hot, baked blondies? My batter seems too thin, I’m afraid they chips will all sink. Oh well, it’ll be delicious anyway, I’m sure.
Thanks for the reminder to fix that in the post. They go on right after getting them out of the oven and then they’ll melt some. 🙂
Kel
Ooops, I actually ended up putting them on the raw batter. It thickened up while I took the time to come and ask the question. LOL! Then I decided I hadn’t put on enough and added a few more after baking. They turned out well!
You probably can’t go wrong no matter when chocolate is added, LOL!
I just remembered… it was the Sunspire brand white chocolate chips that had powdered milk in them, which means oxidized cholesterol. I think it was two kinds: whole and nonfat dry milk, so even more sure to have oxidative damage.
I’m starting on these now, am excited to see how they turn out. BTW… reposting this from your chocolate chip page: Kelly, I just stopped at the grocery store and looked at several brands of chocolate and white chocolate chips. The Ghirardelli “choc-au-lait” white chocolate chips had partially hydrogenated oil in them, sorry to say. Another brand (sorry I forget which) had nonfat dry milk in them. I’d be very suspicious of any white chocolate (as well as regular chocolate) without seeing the ingredients label first. I found some Dagoba, insanely expensive, and also a brand that had only evaporated cane juice, chocolate liquor, and cocoa butter. No note whether GMO-free or not. I’m only using a tiny amount as decoration.
Good reminder to KEEP checking labels, even if you’ve always bought the same brand!
We run into label change issues all the time, especially now that big fud ( some call it food?) has decided the organic market is a money maker and has been buying up all the little ethical companies and changing the ingredients without being transparent about it. Many trusted brands are now owned by huge companies…dagoba is one….sigh.
We make our own chocolate chips and white chocolate with coconut oil, cacao and honey or cocoa butter, coconut oil and a little honey. The benefit of that is that you can choose your sweetness level. 🙂
Hi Kelly,
Thanks for this wonderful recipe!!! I made it tonight for dessert. Instead of using white chocolate chips, I used Sunspire brand 65% cacao chocolate chips and mixed them into the batter (about 1 cup). They turned out BEAUTIFULLY! I served it with Kimberley Hartke’s raw milk vanilla ice cream and we all loved it. So good, thanks again!
Thank you. I am making this for fourth of July weekend. I will use chocolate chips and maybe top the brownies with berries and whipped cream.
Ooooh, good idea!
I know Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour is not as desirable for baking as Honeyville. Is Trader Joe’s better than Bob’s also. (It would be nice not to have to order almond flour.)
I currently can’t have egg yolks, would this work with out them??
Yes, you could prob just use more egg white. If you don’t mind sharing, I’m curious why you can’t have yolks?
I’ve been diagnosed with adrenal fatigue and my hormones are a “mess” and after trying several different supplements trying to straighten things out over several months, we did food sensitivity testing, and I’ve been told egg yolks provoke a reaction. I was also told to give it three months, which I’m doing, I’m on as a whole food a diet as I can, bone broth daily, grass fed beef, kale and bok choi and broccoli are daily staples. Gluten is out, casein is out, but yogurt is OK. Coconut is fine, but almonds are out. and while cocoa is ok, vanilla is out, which makes things VERY frustrating 🙂 (especially when adding in all the GMO’s and vegetable oils I don’t want to eat) Unfortunately two months into it I’m not seeing much of an improvement. Something is going on, we just haven’t figured out what it is.
shoot. I just went to print out the recipe and I didn’t realize the flour was almond.. *sigh* Well this restriction from my dr can’t last forever.. I’ll book mark it and give it a try in the future.
HI Connie,
I read your post regarding egg yolk sensitivity and wanted to share our experience with you. All of my children have food allergies. My two daughters are allergic to eggs as tested at allergist. We then had them test her with an egg grown from a friend of ours who does not feed soy, as she has a major soy allergy. IT turns out that she is fine with eggs and chicken from pastured chickens fed organic feed that does not contain soy. My youngest does not even tolerate that, but can have guinea fowl eggs and is absolutely fine with that. If you are dealing with adrenal fatigue, you might want to consider the second hand soy and corn as a partial issue? We have issues with almonds too, but I can tolerate soaked and sprouted almonds. The other thing you may want to check on is sunflower seeds. I use soaked and sprouted organic sunflower seeds in place of almond flour and it works very well. They are less expensive than organic almonds, and taste similar in baked goods.
I never thought of using sunflower seeds as a flour! That is great, now I can send these to school with my kids. Thanks for that suggestion Tina!
I wish palm/coconut sugar wasn’t so expensive!
What a treat! I’ve been trying to cut back on grains at my house, so this recipe comes at just the right time. It looks delicious – I’m not sure I’d ever omit those chocolate chips – when you splurge on treats, especially made with a good helping of nuts and eggs, shouldn’t you just go all out? 🙂
These look real yummy. My husband doesn’t like chocolate so blondies are a treat I like to make him. I’ll have to try this one soon.
My question is, what’s the difference with almond meal and almond meal flour? I’m assuming the flour is ground finer. I can get almond meal at Trader Joe’s and it’s not that pricey but I wonder if it would work well in baking or if I’d need the flour.
I’m not 100% sure but I think they’re the same.
These look yummy! I already love your other brownie reciepe so I will have to give these a try!
I love this!! Thank you. I’m on GAPS intro right now so no ‘desserts’ but I’m saving this for as soon as I’m able to have desserts again!! I will have to get some coconut or date sugar though…
Hello Ladies!
Okay, what is Coconut Palm Sugar? This is the first time that I have seen it. Benefits vs. sucanat and rapadura? Thanks!
Here is some info for you Colleen:
http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/2011/01/a-healthy-alternative-to-agave/
I’m eager to try this after my GAPS intro though I still have lbs and lbs of Rapadura left…
Magda
Great link, thanks Magda!
FAbulous, Kelly….it looks so pretty….
Such a chef you are….chefs make up recipes!!!
Merci!!!!
Mmm! Maybe you could even use less of the chips but just add them in within the dough? I think it looks delicious as-is, though!
I might have to try these… those white chocolate chips must be very sweet, though, no??
Hi Jeanmarie,
Yes, you really don’t need them!