Blondies are the vanilla version of a brownie. Yes, I know that the brownie is a tried, true, and tested Bunner’s bestseller, but before you start to scoff, trust me when I say that a blondie is no ditzy stereotype and can hold its own against its cocoa-rich, valedictorian classmate.
Now, we don’t need to convince our fellow vanilla lovers out there that vanilla is anything but boring. Remember those vanilla Girl Guide cookies? Exactly. You politely thanked the little Guide on your porch, closed the door on her a little too abruptly, and then tore open the package. Well, I think you’ll feel the same type of excitement as your blondies bake, filling your home with that sweet classic vanilla smell. So next time you’re feeling kind of meh on chocolate, give these little ladies a whirl and see for yourself if blondies do, in fact, have more fun.
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 2 cups organic sugar
- ½ teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with canola oil.
- In a large bowl, sift the flour, then whisk in the sugar, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together the applesauce, oil, and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour ¼ cup batter into each prepared muffin cup. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the tops are firm and slightly shiny. (Testing for doneness with a toothpick may not work here thanks to the melted chocolate chips inside and the tenderness of the cake.) Let cool for 15 minutes before removing from the muffin pan with a butter knife. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.