Gluten-Free Blondies

“Why does mama keep calling this a ‘Blondie’? I thought I was a blondie.” Ginger asked Andrew after hearing me talking about my latest recipe, these gluten-free, nut-free Blondies. “That’s just what people call them.” I interrupted, answering for Andrew. “They have the texture of a brownie, but they don’t have cocoa powder, so they’re blond.” I said. To which Ginger shrugged and immediately lost interest, as 8 year olds do when you’re explaining boring concepts to them. 🙂

My nutritionist, Cheryl is really to thank for this updated recipe, because she told me she wanted us eating buckwheat, a gluten-free seed related to rhubarb.  Buckwheat is a good source of calcium and iron, at 14%. I remembered that I had a recipe in my first self-published cookbook that used buckwheat, but only a very small amount. They were called Chocolate Chip Bars, and they were made with almond butter and quinoa flakes. I had completely forgotten about them. So I decided to modify the recipe to make them mainly buckwheat, and nut-free, since so many of you need to avoid nuts 🙂

These Blondies came out so awesome, I can’t wait for you to try them! They are so moist and chewy and delicious!!! Just make SURE you follow the baking instructions carefully. Enjoy!

Blondies

gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free

4 eggs, whisked
1 (13 oz) box Cream of Buckwheat, ground (see instructions)
1/2 cup arrowroot flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1.5 teaspoons baking soda
1.5 teaspoons fine sea salt 
1 cup dairy-free organic dark chocolate chips
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup honey
1/2 cup melted coconut oil

NOTES:
This recipe needs coconut oil, which hardens in the fridge, like butter. I would’t substitute another oil, like avocado oil, which wont solidify.
I don’t know if buckwheat flour would work instead of grinding this hot cereal, you could try and see. But it only takes a few seconds to grind.
Make sure you follow the baking directions closely.

1. Set the oven for 325 F degrees. (This is not a typo. 350 F will cook the outside too quickly.)
2. Grease two 8 x 8 inch baking dishes. Do NOT try to bake this in one large dish. The edges will burn before the middle can cook.
3. Add the eggs to a large mixing bowl.
4. Grind the entire 13 oz box of Cream of Buckwheat in a *very dry blender (or food processor if you don’t have a Vitamix or Blendtec) until it looks like flour.
5. Add the ground buckwheat and all of the dry ingredients on top of the eggs.
6. Add the coconut oil last. I do this because the cold eggs will harden the coconut oil if you put the coconut oil right on top of them. Another option is to put the eggs in a bowl of warm water for 20 minutes to bring them to room temperature (before cracking them), but who has time for that? 🙂
7. Mix until well combined, then spread evenly between the two greased baking dishes.
8. Bake on the middle to upper rack. Start checking them at 22 minutes, and keep a close eye on them. Mine take about 25 minutes. You want the tops nice and golden, but not brown. The middle won’t seem done when they’re ready to come out—Don’t worry 🙂 They will carry over cook when you take them out to cool, and then they will firm up beautifully in the refrigerator. As long as you haven’t made any substitutions they will work perfectly!
9. After they have cooled on the counter and then been refrigerated for at least a few hours, slice them into 18 bars. Enjoy!

Store covered in the fridge.

Makes 18 Blondies

For those of you watching your carbs: One 8 x 8 dish of these Blondies has about 164 carbs from the buckwheat. At 9 servings a dish that’s just over 18 carbs per Blondie, counting only the buckwheat. They also have just over a tablespoon of honey per bar.

♥, Kelly