Gluten-free Maple Healthy Blondies

When I set about developing a Healthy Blondies Recipe, I had no idea I was about to strike gold! Let’s put it this way: You may forget who you are and where you are, and all your worries for a moment when these Gluten-free Maple White Chocolate Blondies come out of your oven. They are made with maple instead of refined sugar, and they are gluten-free!

Table of contents

• Why You’ll Love This Healthy Blondies Recipe
• Ingredients For This Gluten-free Blondies Recipe
• How to Make Healthy Blondies
• FAQs and Expert Tips
• Additional Recipes to Try

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Why You’ll Love This Healthy Blondies Recipe

You know how in a recipe for say, potato salad, it might say, “when the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel.” Yeah, that. “Cool enough to handle.” That phrase, that’s the thing I think you’re going to want to be familiar with when these gluten-free maple white chocolate blondies come out of the oven.

But not so much because you want to “handle” them, but because you’ll want to eat the whole entire maple gooey white chocolate chippy pan of them as soon as you see them. You may even be tempted to attempt to do so, pie-eating-contest-stlye, face first, no hands, no cutting.

Now, I’m not saying that did or did not happen at my house when I made them. I’m just saying it for the same reasons that some take out lids say “caution contents may be hot.”

And because I’m your friend, and friends don’t let friends burn their cute li’l faces. So don’t. Just distract yourself for long enough until they are cool enough to “handle” and then I won’t judge if you want to skip the whole business of cutting them into squares and using hands and all that formality.

This is one of those recipes when I was totally overjoyed when it didn’t work as I had planned and had to re-test. You know, to get this recipe just so. Then I’m all, “oh, shoot, 24 more amazingly delicious maple sweetened blondies to ‘sample.’ ”

I actually liked them a ton the first time because they were like a delicious gooey blondie mess. But I didn’t want people to be off put by how soft they were, so I increased the gluten free all-purpose baking flour and nut flour. That gave them better structure.

They are also salty, which makes me love them so much. I didn’t change that. I also did test them with half bittersweet chocolate chips and half white chocolate chips. You can do that if you like but keep in mind that the dark chocolate will mask the subtle flavor of the maple.

Ingredients For This Gluten-free Blondies Recipe

• Maple sugar: A traditional blondie recipe calls for brown sugar, but I swapped it out for a more natural sugar, maple sugar. Not only is it a little healthier, but it adds that really nice caramely maple flavor to the blondies. You can often times find maple sugar in the health food stores, but if you can’t find it, just use brown sugar instead. You can always add a few tablespoons maple syrup too, if you really don’t want to miss out of the maple. Just make sure to subtract however much syrup you use from the brown sugar you use.
• Ground nut flour: Nut flours are a great way to add some texture to gluten-free baked goods. I love using almond or pecan, and for this recipe you can use either. You can get them in the health isles of most grocery stores. I will say though, almond flour will be a little easier to find. If you can’t find ground nut flour, buy whole nuts and pulse them in a food processor or blender.
• Gluten free all-purpose baking mix: Out of all the gluten-free flours I’ve tried, I absolutely love this one by King Arthur. And can you blame me? All their products are so great. With that being said, feel free to use whichever one you want. You can find this one in the baking isle (or gluten-free isle) of most large grocery stores.
• White or chocolate chips: I think maple and while chocolate go together like peas in a pod, which is why I went for white chocolate in this recipe. However, regular chocolate chips will also taste amazing. You could even use both, if you want. And don’t feel like you have to limit yourself to just chocolate!
• Unsalted butter: Make sure it is softened
• 1 large egg
• Pantry Staples: From your baking supplies you’ll need vanilla extract, baking powder, baking soda, salt and a neutral cooking oil (I like avocado oil.)

How to Make Healthy Blondies

Step 1: Prep dish & start batter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with an oven rack placed in the center position. Coat a 9×9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Beat the butter and maple sugar in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment on medium-high (or in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium) until creamy. Add the egg and beat on high until well combined. Beat in the oil and vanilla until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Step 2: Add remaining ingredients

Whisk the gluten-free all-purpose flour, ground nut flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, and mix only until combined (be careful not to overman). Add the white chocolate chips and stir until incorporated.

Step 3: Bake & serve

Spread the blondie dough into the prepared baking dish. Bake until crispy and browned along the edges and puffed in the center, 25 to 28 minutes. Allow them to cool in the pan slightly, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into 24 blondies to serve.