These cashew butter blondies are made with just five main ingredients! They’re gluten-free, paleo-friendly and delicious!
I have gone holiday crazy.
Not in a good way either – you know, where you feel productive because the house is perfectly decorated inside and out. Nope. I mean I’ve gone holiday crazy in the realllly unproductive sense where I sit on the couch after work and binge watch every single Christmas movie ever made. I mean, sometimes I browse Pinterest for cute Christmas DIY ideas that I’ll probably never make. And sometimes if I’m feeling super guilty, I’ll edit photos for the blog while I watch Melissa Joan Hart kidnap a guy and force him to be her boyfriend over the holidays (see the cringe-worthy movie: Holiday in Handcuffs – or um, please don’t see it?).
Why am I telling you this? To hopefully make you feel better about yourself if you’re doing the same thing I am…?
But really, even though it all sounds slightly pathetic, I kinda love it.This is the only time of the year where I feel like I can get away with hiding out at home in the evenings, sipping on a mug of hot cocoa or eating a freshly baked treat while mindlessly watching television under a blanket. Real life.
What freshly baked treats have I been munching on lately while mindlessly watching one Christmas movie after another, you ask?
Cashew Butter Blondies. 5 ingredients. BAM. Real life.
(how many times can I say “real life.” in a blog post without coming off like an annoying millennial? at least 5 times, right?)
Just 5 main ingredients!
These dessert bars are gluten-free, paleo-friendly and hopefully much healthier than your average blondie/brownie.
The 5 main ingredients: cashew butter, maple syrup, eggs, vanilla extract and baking soda.
I’ve made the blondies pictured here with mini chocolate chips, dried cranberries and salted macadamia nuts but you can use whatever additions you want. I have to make a push for the macadamia nuts though – they’re just so perfect in these blondies.
cakey blondies or fudgy blondies? you can have them both!
Do you like your blondies more on the cakey side? Or do you prefer fudgy? I feel like these cashew butter blondies are both. The edge pieces have more of a cake-like crumb and the middle pieces are softer and fudgier. I’m a fudgy girl and my husband is a cakey guy so these were perfect for the two of us. You can always bake them for a shorter period of time if you prefer them gooey or add a few extra minutes to the baking time to make them more cake-like.
By the way, this is what the batter looks like before you put it into the oven – remember to smooth out the top:
When you take the pan out of the oven, let it cool completely, then cut the blondies into pretty little rectangles.
That’s a cakey piece right there in the middle. If you look closely to the right, you can see one that’s a little more gooey – yummm. I really do prefer the gooey ones but they don’t photograph as well (things only food bloggers think about).
I bought the cashew butter, macadamia nuts and dried cranberries used in this recipe from ALDI. You might remember me telling you that they invited me to their corporate headquarters in Chicago last month. They found me through a blog post I wrote about them: Real Food at ALDI. Their chefs prepared an awesome meal for us and they even made sure I had plenty of gluten-free options:
For dessert, even though they were kind enough to put out some gluten-free cookies and almond milk hot chocolate – my eyes were glued to their cranberry blondies. I couldn’t eat those because they weren’t gluten-free so I was inspired to make them myself – paleo and all.
I think you’ll love these blondies regardless of the add-ins you choose (but if you create a killer combo, make sure to let all of us know in the comments). Bake these this holiday season or year-round 🙂
Ingredients
- 1 cup cashew butter
- 3 eggs
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips optional
- ¼ cup macadamia nuts optional
- ¼ cup dried cranberries optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Add the cashew butter, eggs, maple syrup, vanilla extract and baking soda to a large bowl.
- Using an electric hand mixer, combine until smooth.
- Fold in the chocolate chips, macadamia nuts and cranberries if using.
- Pour the batter into a greased 8x8 glass dish lined with parchment paper.
- Bake at 350F for 15-18 minutes.
- Allow the pan to cool, then cut and serve.
PAID ENDORSEMENT DISCLOSURE: Thanks ALDI for sponsoring this post! I love that you now carry so many gluten-free options for me & my readers!
Raj says
How do you store them?
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Raj, I keep them in an airtight container on the counter for a day or two, then I move them to the fridge. Hope that helps!
jayne weber says
Thank you for your amazing recipe and website. I only use one egg per batch because I prefer a more chewy/brownie like consistency. I love the way cashew butter tastes with this recipe.
My Heart Beets says
Thanks, Jayne! I’m glad you like these blondies 🙂
Navya says
Can maple syrup be replaced with honey or something else? If yes should it still be 3tbsp honey or can i put lesser than that as i am gestational diabetic.
Rayhanna Chothia says
Hi can the maple syrup be replaced with golden syrup?
Ginny B says
Just made these. So simple! I used my hand mixer to whip the ingredients together. I think this added extra air and helped the blondies to rise more and be lighter. Mine came out cake-like. I did add more sweetener as we like things sweet. Used more vanilla, too. I subbed sliced almonds for the macadamia nuts. My DH really likes them.
My Heart Beets says
Ginny, so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how they turned out for you 🙂
Jaylah says
Is the maple syrup required for the texture or can it be left out? My concern is that the syrup and vanilla together will make the blondies too sweet for my household’s tastes.
My Heart Beets says
I haven’t tried without it so I can’t say – hopefully another reader can chime in! If you try, please let us know how it goes!
joanna schupp says
These came out super delicious!! Mine were more like cake texture than blondie texture but they were still to die for. I used peanut butter and baked them for a little longer (25 minutes) because my toothpick was coming out gooey. Is that the goal? I will make them again and only do it for the suggested time to see if that is the key. Thanks again!!
My Heart Beets says
So glad you liked them! These blondies are both cake-like and also fudge-like! The edge pieces have more of a cake-like crumb and the middle pieces are softer and fudgier. Let me know if you try it again and what you think 🙂
Suchi says
i cant wait to try this recipe with macademia! my favorite nut!
My Heart Beets says
You will love them! Let me know what you think! 🙂
Sri says
Can any way suggest me to replace with eggs ; I am allergic to eggs
Suchi says
have you baked with gelatin eggs? – they are veggie/meat based options
My Heart Beets says
I haven’t tried that yet!
Mram says
Hi Ashley,
Just did a bath have of these blondies.
The middle was slightly too fudgey for my taste so sliced them and put it in oven and baked slow and low. – these are the best biscotti , even without trying.
Thank you so much.
My Heart Beets says
Wow, I’ll have to try making biscotti with them next time!
Linda says
The middle was too gooey for me also so i took the idea of remaking it into biscotti from the comment above (Mram) and they turned out so yummy!! Portioned it into 1″ x 3″ strips and cooked 325F 15 min on each side. Mram had the beat idea, it is perfect flavor for biscotti!
Zainab says
That was such a great dinner and I loved that they had food for everyone. These blondies look amazing!
My Heart Beets says
Thanks, Zainab!!
Carla says
I don’t think I have tried ALDI’s cashew butter. Love the sound of these blondies and can’t wait to give them a try.
My Heart Beets says
It’s amazing!! Hope you love them 🙂
Megan Gorsuch says
These sounds amazing! Do you think it would work with other nut butters, like almond or macadamia?
My Heart Beets says
Megan, one reader sent me a message saying that almond butter worked for her and another wrote on Instagram that sunbutter worked (but it made the blondies green due to the reaction between chlorophyll and baking soda). I haven’t heard anything about macadamia but I bet those would be amazing! If you try please let us know!
Jessica Carsrud says
I’ve made this recipe many times with almond butter and it has worked very well. Tahini works great too!
My Heart Beets says
Great to know almond butter and tahini work well too!! Thanks, Jessica 🙂