Almond Butter-Quinoa Blondies

By ginasheppard

People likely won’t even notice that these delicately nutty, just a little chocolaty, blondies are gluten-free. They use quinoa flour, which you can find in well-stocked supermarkets and natural-foods stores, in place of all-purpose flour. To make your own quinoa flour, grind raw quinoa into a powder in a clean coffee grinder. (Adapted from Quinoa Revolution by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming.)

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup smooth or crunchy natural almond butter
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup quinoa flour (see Tip)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Details

Adapted from eatingwell.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch-square baking pan with parchment paper (or foil), allowing it to slightly overhang opposite ends. Coat with cooking spray.
Beat butter and almond butter in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in eggs, brown sugar and vanilla. Whisk quinoa flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Mix the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it, 25 to 35 minutes. Do not overbake. Let cool in the pan for 45 minutes. Using the parchment (or foil), lift the whole panful out and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 24 squares. Let cool completely before storing.

Nutrition

Per serving : 146 Calories; 9 g Fat; 3 g Sat; 4 g Mono; 21 mg Cholesterol; 15 g Carbohydrates; 3 g Protein; 2 g Fiber; 71 mg Sodium; 100 mg Potassium

1 Carbohydrate Serving