Gluten-Free Blondies (dairy-free & nut-free options)

Chewy, gooey, chocolate-loaded gluten-free blondies made with one bowl in under an hour. Dairy-free & nut-free options included!

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of anything resembling a chocolate chip cookie, including gluten-free chocolate chip cookie bars – aka blondies.

Previously on TBG I've shared recipes for gluten-free congo bars with coconut and rum, GF chestnut cranberry blondies, lime & white chocolate blondies in my book Alternative Baker, and coconut flour blondies in GFF Magazine. But today I'm sharing a classic gluten-free blondie recipe that's adaptable to whatever ingredients you happen to have on hand.

With these gluten-free chocolate chip blondies, you get all the addictive salty / sweet / butterscotch notes of my favorite gluten-free chocolate chip cookies without having to worry about scooping, shaping, or spreading. 

What are blondies? 

Sometimes called blondie brownies, blondie bars, or cookie bars, blondies are essentially chocolate chip cookie dough baked in a pan and cut into squares or rectangles. Sometimes they don't contain chocolate at all, while others use white chocolate or butterscotch chips.

Blondies aren't just brownies without the cocoa. They actually predate brownies, with references from the late 1800's, while brownies weren't invented until 1905. (Thanks Wikipedia!)

My Best Gluten-Free Blondie Recipe

I originally adapted these gluten-free blondie bars from Cook's Illustrated, which got the ratios of flour, butter, eggs, and brown sugar just right. I've tweaked and tweaked the formula over the years and ended up with these ultra-satisfying gluten-free cookie bars.

The result? Chewy brown sugar-laced dough doused with vanilla, a good hit of salt, and loads of dark chocolate chunks. GF blondie bliss. 

GF Blondies Ingredients & Substitution Suggestions

Just a handful of pantry-friendly ingredients make up these gluten-free cookie bars. 

• Gluten-free flours: A blend of sweet rice, oat, and tapioca flours give these bars the texture of a wheat flour blondie. Sweet rice flour and tapioca add sticky chewiness, while oat flour helps fluff them up, adding some nutty notes too. You could try using Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 GF AP flour in place of all of the flours by weight. Or swap out the oat flour for teff, buckwheat, or almond flour to play up the earthy flavors. For a grain-free option, try using cassava flour and tiger nut flour in place of the sweet rice and oat flours.
• Brown sugar adds toffee notes to the batter. I prefer organic dark brown sugar for the most flavor, but any brown sugar will work. If you're avoiding refined sugar, try using coconut sugar subbed by weight. This may change the consistency of the blondies. 
• Oil or melted butter moisten the dough. Choose melted butter or neutral oil (such as grapeseed, avocado, or sunflower oil) for a classic flavor. Or add a flavor boost with nut oil (toasted hazelnut, walnut, pecan, or peanut). Or get sophisticated with olive oil. The blondies here were made with roasted hazelnut oil.
• Egg and baking powder fluff up the batter. If you need to ditch the egg, try 3 tablespoons aquafaba, or 1 tablespoon flax meal mixed with 3 tablespoons water. (I haven't tested these, so please let me know if you experiment!)
• Vanilla and salt sharpen the flavors. I like to add flaky salt to the tops as well for salt cronches.
• Lots of bittersweet chocolate chunks add earthy flavor. I prefer dark chocolate with at least 70% cacao mass, and I like to chop up my own chocolate. But feel free to use any chocolate bars, wafers, or chips that you love. Dark milk chocolate or good-quality white chocolate, or any combination thereof, will also work beautifully.
• Nuts of your choice make these extra chonky. Here I used toasted hazelnuts to complement the hazelnut oil, but toasted pecans are the classic choice. Or omit the nuts altogether for nut-free blondies. 

How to Make Gluten-Free Blondies

This recipe could hardly be simpler.

Blondies Without Butter

I made these gluten-free dairy-free blondies with oil instead of butter and it works beautifully. I originally used roasted hazelnut oil when I developed the recipe for an IG post with La Tourangelle. But these work just as well with the traditional melted butter. Or for extra flavor, brown the butter with vanilla bean first like in my gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipe. 

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars for All 

These easy gluten-free blondies can be in and out of the oven in under an hour, and they'll handily satisfy your fiercest chocolate chip cookie cravings. Their portable shape makes them good for sharing. Here are a few suggestions for how to blondie:

• Try some of the variations in the recipe card below: change up the oil or butter, play with different types of chopped chocolate or nuts, or try some of the ingredient swaps suggested.
• Top warm blondies with ice cream and vegan tahini hot fudge sauce for a decadent blondie sundae.
• Bring them on a hike, picnic, or pot luck.
• Bake a batch for a friend or neighbor. 
• Bake blondie batter in a skillet for a gluten-free chocolate chip skillet cookie. Top with ice cream and attack with spoons. 

However you make them, I hope you love this gf blondie recipe as much as we do! 

Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this gluten-free blondie recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.

More Gluten-Free Blondie Recipes

• Gluten-Free Congo Bars
• GF Chestnut Flour Blondies with Cranberries
• Coconut Flour, Lime & White Chocolate Blondies in Alternative Baker
• Coconut Flour Blondies in GFF Magazine
• Almond Flour Blondies and Almond Butter Blondies from Snixy Kitchen
• Gluten-Free Coffee Chocolate Blondies from Heartbeet Kitchen

More Gluten-Free Cookie & Bar Recipes

• Thick and Chewy Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Gluten-Free Chocolate Cookies
• Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies (gluten-free, grain-free, paleo)
• Vegan Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Gluten-Free Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with Tahini and Maple
• Vegan Gluten-Free Almond Butter Cookies with Buckwheat and Oats
• Gluten-Free Brownies
• Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate
• Gluten-Free Chocolate Desserts

5 from 4 votes

Gluten-Free Blondies (dairy-free, nut-free options)

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Get your chocolate chip cookie fix in a flash with this easy blondie bar recipe. You'll never guess they're gluten and dairy-free!

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total: 40 minutes

Servings: 12 bars

Ingredients

• ½ cup (110 g) toasted and cooled nuts, such as pecans or hazelnuts, plus a few more for garnish (optional)
• 1 large egg
• ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (115 g) dark or light brown sugar (preferably organic)
• ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (90 ml) cooled melted butter, plant butter, or oil (sunflower, olive oil, grapeseed oil, or nut oil)
• 2 teaspoons GF vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (80 g) sweet white rice flour (or AP flour such as Bob’s 1 to 1)
• ¼ cup (25 g) GF oat flour (or try teff, buckwheat, or almond flour)
• 2 tablespoons (15 g) tapioca flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 cup (6 ounces / 170 g) bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, plus more for garnish (or chocolate chips)
• flaky salt, for sprinkling

Instructions

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375ºF. Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment on the bottom and sides.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the egg and sugar. Whisk in the melted butter or oil and vanilla.
• Sift in the flours, baking powder, and fine salt and stir until just combined.
• Stir in the chocolate and nuts (if using).
• Spread the batter in the prepared pan and top with more hazelnuts, chocolate, and a few pinches of flaky salt. It will seem like not enough batter, but it will puff up as it bakes.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs, 18-22 min. Take care not to overbake.
• Cool until warm or room temperature. Slice into bars and devour!

Notes

Do-Ahead: Measure out and sift together the dry ingredients. Chop the chocolate. Toast the nuts if using.

Storage: These blondies are best when fresh from the oven, but they keep for several days, airtight, at room temperature. You can double-wrap and freeze blondies for up to a month or two; refresh them in a warm oven before enjoying.

More Blondies: Double the recipe and bake the batter in a 9x12-inch pan. 

VARIATIONS

Chocolate Hazelnut Blondies: For a Nutella vibe, as shown here, use toasted hazelnut oil and toasted hazelnuts. 

White Chocolate Blondies: Swap the dark chocolate for good-quality white chocolate.

Triple Chocolate Blondies: Use 2 ounces each dark, milk, and white chocolate. 

Peanut Butter Cup Blondies: Use roasted peanut oil in the blondies and chopped up dark chocolate peanut butter cups in place of the chocolate chunks. 

Brown Butter Blondies: Brown the butter with vanilla bean before adding it to the batter.

Nutrition facts are for 1 of 12 servings. 

Nutrition

Calories: 207kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 2gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 107mgPotassium: 132mgFiber: 1gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 27IUCalcium: 28mgIron: 1mg

Making this? I'd love to see!Tag your snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet!