Just J.Faye

Hiking & Other Adventures

Almond Butter Cannellini Blondies (gluten free, vegan)

by

Almond Butter Cannellini Blondies.

Wait.

What?

Cannellini blondies.

almond butter cannellini blondies

I get it. It’s weird. Stay with me.

These blondies were never on my radar. I never thought about them nor did I ever dream about them. They just kind of happened.

What I originally wanted to do was make black bean brownies. You have heard of those before, right? The surprisingly delicious and healthy little faux brownies made with black beans and cocoa powder (among a few other things). That was my plan.

But when I went to go grab a can of black beans from my cupboard, I *GASP* didn’t have any. My inventory (which I manually track in my memory) must have been off. Whoops.

(insert nerdy supply chain joke about inventory discrepancies)

I spotted a can of cannellini beans, shrugged my shoulders, and switched directions. If brownies can be made with black beans, then blondies could be made with cannellini beans, right?!

Well…

almond butter cannellini blondies

Sure.

These cannellini blondies aren’t made with butter, flour, egg, or lots of sugar. Instead there is coconut oil, cannellini beans, flax meal, maple syrup, and only two tablespoons of brown sugar. They also have some almond butter, walnuts, and dark chocolate chips, because those things just seem to be involved in everything that I do.

The texture is a lot softer and resembles more of a moist quick bread than a regular blondie (like these brown butter bourbon blondies or these brown butter ginger peach blondies). The taste is, well, different. No, they don’t taste like beans. They taste like a tasty sweet treat that I don’t have to feel guilty about. Not even if I stress eat two in the same sitting.

almond butter cannellini blondies

But who even stress eats? I DO.

I’m running a marathon TOMORROW and kind of have been nonchalantly internally freaking out about it all week. I think I’m in denial that it’s even happening. After doing a bulk of my runs solo and struggling a lot with my performance this training season, it just doesn’t feel like I’ve worked hard enough for the marathon to actually be here. Plus, my recently diagnosed arrhythmia hasn’t helped the situation. I guess my heart beats to it’s own awkward drum?

The Cardiologist gave me a Zio patch (like this) and told me I could run it. I am thankful that none of my other muscles or bones are injured and that my whole family is driving up to Duluth to cheer me on and that everyone else in the Calhoun Beach Run Club is totally going to kill it and that the experience as a whole will be really fun and rewarding.

Annddddd…. Back to the blondies. I am thankful for these too. Did I mention they are gluten-free and vegan (if you use vegan-friendly chocolate chips)? Neat!

I guess I really shouldn’t even call them blondies, but I’m going to anyways. What’s done is done.

almond butter cannellini blondies

Have cherry walnut butterscotch blondies when you ate healthy salads all week and want to delight yourself by eating something sweet and sinful. Have these almond butter cannellini blondies when you want a healthy little treat during the week so that you can save your big indulgence for Friday night pizza.

Different situations, but both are great ideas.

almond butter cannellini blondies

So yeah, cannellini blondies are real and I like them… for regular healthy enjoyment and for stress eating.

Now I’m headed up to Duluth to get ready for a 26.2 mile run tomorrow. Wish me luck??

almond butter cannellini blondies

Almond Butter Cannellini Blondies (gluten free, vegan)
 
Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
These almond butter cannellini blondies might seem strange, but they are a healthy little treat. They are gluten free and vegan (if using vegan-friendly chocolate chips) and easy to make. These are perfect for a mid-day snack or for a post-dinner dessert without all the guilt of a classic blondie.
Serves: 9 blondies
Ingredients
  • 2 ½ tablespoon water
  • 1 tablespoon flax meal
  • 15 oz cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ almond butter
  • ½ cup chopped walnuts
  • ½ cup dark chocolate chips (use vegan chocolate chips if needed)
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350° F. Take two pieces of parchment paper and place them perpendicularly in an 8x8” baking pan. Leave some overhang so that the blondies can easily be lifted out of the pan. Lightly grease with butter or oil.
  2. In a small bowl, stir together the water and flax meal. Let sit for about 5 minutes. This is your flax egg.
  3. Add all the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor excluding the walnuts and chocolate chips. Process until smooth, 3-4 minutes.
  4. Add the walnuts and chocolate chips, reserving a little bit of each to sprinkle on top. Process a few times so that they get mixed into the batter and break up a little bit.
  5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Top with the remaining nuts and chocolate.
  6. Bake for 26-32 minutes. It will be will difficult to tell when these are done.
  7. Let these cool completely in the pan before removing and cutting.
  8. Leftovers will keep in an airtight container for a few days. I personally like them stored in the refrigerator and I bet they would hold up well in the freezer.

almond butter cannellini blondies

Share this:

Cherry Walnut Butterscotch Blondies

by

These cherry walnut butterscotch blondies were born from an “I want to bake right now” mood.

Cherry Walnut Butterscotch Blondies

On Tuesday night during my run I decided that I was going to go home and bake afterwards. Throughout my last few miles I was mentally going through my pantry, trying to figure out what I could make that would be simple, quick, and delicious.

Blondies, of course! That would be perfect.

Blondies are so easy to throw together. As long as you have butter, flour, sugar, and an egg you’re all set! And who is not consistently stocked up with these things?!

Cherry Walnut Butterscotch Blondies

One of the fun things about blondies is that you can add whatever mix-ins you have in your pantry. Luckily I had just stocked up on various nuts and dried fruits and knew I had some sort of chip (dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, or butterscotch) stored in my freezer.

After getting home and physically looking at my pantry I decided that cherry walnut butterscotch blondies were the way to go.

Cherry Walnut Butterscotch Blondies

But, PROBLEM. I was out of vanilla extract. How in the heck does that even happen?! Butter, sugar, flour, eggs, I had, but no vanilla. Gahhh. Oh well, I was too excited about the idea of these to give up, so I just nixed the vanilla.

And you know what? They still turned out amazing. The sweetness of the butterscotch and cherries made the vanilla unnecessary. Thank goodness.

(Note to self: add vanilla extract to my grocery shopping list. Flour too, just in case.)

Cherry Walnut Butterscotch Blondies

An awesome thing about baking blondies is that you don’t need a mixer. You can make them with a medium saucepan, a large spoon, and some measuring equipment. Cleanup is also super quick, which is always a bonus.

Cherry Walnut Butterscotch Blondies

These cherry walnut butterscotch blondies are perfect for those “I need to bake right now” moments (or even for planned baking events). They are gooey, full of texture, quick, easy, and so delicious!

Know who would really love and appreciate them? Your mom.

I mean that seriously, it wasn’t one of those “your mom” jokes.

Cherry Walnut Butterscotch Blondies

Cherry Walnut Butterscotch Blondies
 
Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Blondies are always quick, simple, and delicious. Add in some toasted walnuts, tart dried cherries, and butterscotch chips to make them extra tasty!
Serves: 16 bars
Ingredients
  • 1 cup walnuts, halved or coarsely chopped
  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • ¾ cup butterscotch chips, divided
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup dried tart cherries
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350° F. Take two pieces of parchment paper and place them perpendicularly in an 8x8” baking pan. Leave some overhang so that the blondies can easily be lifted out of the pan. Grease with butter or oil spray.
  2. Spread the walnuts on a baking pan and toast in the oven for about 5-10 minutes, stirring once or twice to ensure they don’t burn. Once toasted, set aside.
  3. Melt the butter and ¼ cup butterscotch chips in a medium saucepan.
  4. Mix in the brown sugar until smooth, then beat in the egg.
  5. Stir in the flour until just combined.
  6. Fold in the walnuts, cherries, and remaining butterscotch chips (feel free to save a little of each to sprinkle on the top).
  7. Place batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. It will be thick. Sprinkle the remaining walnuts, cherries, and butterscotch chips on top (if you remembered to save them) and pat down slightly.
  8. Bake for 23-25 minutes.
  9. Cool completely before removing bars from the pan. Then cut and enjoy!

Speaking of moms, my mom and I are going to go run the Fargo Half Marathon! RIGHT NOW. It’s my 5th (I think?) half and my mom’s 1st! She’s going to be awesome. Then we’re going to go to the cabin and spend the rest of the weekend relaxing. It’ll be perfect.

Sending lots of love to all the moms out there! You’re amazing. xoxo

Cherry Walnut Butterscotch Blondies

Share this:

Brown Butter Bourbon Blondies

by

Brown butter bourbon blondies. This is real life. Do you love it? brown butter bourbon blondies Brown butter, walnuts, and chocolate chips are always a good idea. You just can’t go wrong. Bourbon on the other hand… you can go wrong with bourbon. I’ve learned that lesson once or twice (or more). However, you have no need to fret in this situation. There are two tablespoons of bourbon across 16 bars. I think (and hope) you can handle that.

On the other hand if you pour yourself a glass of bourbon (or two) whilst you bake, that is a different story. You may want to be careful. Just saying.

Now I feel that I need to clarify that I was not drunk (nor was I even drinking) while baking these bars.

brown butter bourbon blondies The mix of the brown butter, brown sugar, and bourbon give these blondies a nice caramel-y, nutty flavor. The walnuts help with the nutty flavor as well (for obvious reasons). The chocolate chips are there, because, well, chocolate. No need to explain further.

If you don’t want chocolate and nuts to get in the way of your butter and sugar you can go ahead and decrease the chocolate chip and walnut quantities from 1 cup to ½ cup. If you want to get crazy you can skip the measuring cup altogether and just throw in a handful or two of each. Do what you’re in the mood for.

brown butter bourbon blondies I know the recipe below is 10 bullet points long, but it is so, so easy. Once the butter is browned the remaining steps take approximately 2 minutes. You just keep adding things into the butter and stirring.

Then you bake. Then you wait. Then you eat.

brown butter bourbon blondies Brown butter bourbon blondies. If you don’t make them for your love of brown butter and bourbon, make them for your love of alliteration.

Also, share them with your friends. They will love you.

brown butter bourbon blondies

 

Brown Butter Bourbon Blondies
 
Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Blondies are delicious, but the addition of brown butter, bourbon, walnuts, and chocolate chips make them even better. Plus, they are so simple to make!
Serves: 16 bars
Ingredients
  • 1 cup walnuts, chopped
  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1 ice cube
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 tablespoons bourbon
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350° F. Take two pieces of foil and place them perpendicularly in an 8x8” baking pan. Leave some overhang so that the blondies can easily be lifted out of the pan. Grease foil with butter or oil.
  2. Spread the walnuts on a baking pan and toast in the oven for about 5-10 minutes, stirring once or twice to ensure they don’t burn. Once toasted, set aside.
  3. To brown the butter: melt butter in a medium saucepan. Whisk the melted butter until brown specks appear at the bottom. Watch closely and be careful not to burn. It should be a light brown color and have a nutty aroma. This should take about 5 minutes. Place brown butter in a large heat-proof bowl and whisk in an ice cube.
  4. Mix in the brown sugar until smooth.
  5. Beat in the egg, vanilla, and whiskey.
  6. Stir in the flour until just combined.
  7. Fold in the walnuts and chocolate chips (feel free to save about a ¼ cup of each to sprinkle on the top).
  8. Place batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle the remaining walnuts and chocolate chips on top (if you remembered to save them) and pat down slightly.
  9. Bake for 23-25 minutes.
  10. Cool completely before removing bars from the pan. Then cut and enjoy!

In other exciting news, it is my little sister’s birthday today! Jaci is… so many things: beautiful, intelligent, creative, hilarious (especially when crabby), and amazing in every single way. She is one of my favorite people on the planet. We fight. We laugh. We talk/text/email/snapchat everyday. We take a lot of sister pictures. We have a lot of fun. I love her so very much.

The whole family is gathering in Sioux Falls today to celebrate Jaci’s birthday. We’re going to go to a beer festival. It’ll be funnnnnn.

Happy Birthday Jaci! I hope you have a great weekend!

PS – makes these blondies.

 

Share this:

Browned Butter Ginger Peach Blondies

by

Browned butter. It’s nutty, flavorful, and adds a completely different dimension to baked goods.

browned butter ginger peach blondies
Have you ever cooked or baked with it before? If not, you should go change that right now. Get out a stick of butter and start melting it! Or maybe wait until after you are done reading this. Sometimes multi-tasking is hard and you really don’t want to burn it.

Browned butter is exactly what it sounds like: butter than has been browned. Go figure.

browned butter ginger peach blondies
You essentially melt butter in a saucepan and whisk it until the milk solids are cooked and toasted. This is what makes the butter brown and gives off that nice, nutty aroma. It’s amazing. But for how amazing browned butter is, blackened butter is not. So watch it carefully and do not burn it, hence my previous warning about multi-tasking.

I am going to add this browned butter into blondies.

browned butter ginger peach blondies
Now let’s think about this: dishwater blonde is a hair color that is blondish-brownish. So if I use browned butter in blondies should I call them “dishwater blondies”?

That’s a hypothetical question. I am not going to call them that.

browned butter ginger peach blondies
Plus, along with the browned butter we are also going to add in some ginger and peaches. And what would you call that? These ingredients just throw an entirely different dimension into this hair color analogy, so I’m just going to stop. After all, this isn’t a salon. It’s a kitchen.

browned butter ginger peach blondies
Oh, and pecans. I can’t forget about the toasted pecans!

browned butter ginger peach blondies
So we’re just going to stick with this: browned butter ginger peach blondies.

The name is a bit long, but the product is a lot delicious.

browned butter ginger peach blondies

Browned Butter Ginger Peach Blondies
 
Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Browned butter give these blondies a whole new flavor dimension, but then adding ginger, pecans, and peaches turn them into one extremely delicious bar. They are packed with flavor, soft, and incredibly satisfying.
Author:
Serves: 24
Ingredients
  • 1 cup pecans
  • 15 tbsp unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), melted and cooled
  • 1 ¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 ½ cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 firm peaches, one diced and one sliced
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350° F. Take two pieces of foil and place them perpendicularly in a 13x9” baking pan. Leave some overhang so that the blondies can easily be lifted out of the pan. Grease foil with butter or oil.
  2. To toast the nuts: spread pecans on a baking sheet and bake for about 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Stir them around occasionally (every 5 minutes or so) to ensure they are not burning. Once toasted, chop roughly and set aside.
  3. To brown the butter: melt butter in a medium saucepan. Whisk the melted butter until brown specks appear at the bottom, it will froth and foam a bit. Watch closely and be careful not to burn. It should be a light brown color and have a nutty aroma. Place browned butter (should yield about ¾ cup) into a heatproof bowl and let cool slightly.
  4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and ginger. Toss in the diced peaches. Set aside.
  5. In a large bowl, whisk together the browned butter and brown sugar until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Fold in the dry ingredients until just combined; do not overmix. Fold in the nuts (feel free to save some to sprinkle on top).
  6. Spread batter into the prepared pan, place the sliced peaches on top, sprinkle with the remaining pecans and a few dashes of ginger. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
  7. Cool completely before removing bars from the pan.
Notes
The peaches make these bars super soft and moist, so a good, firm peach is ideal for this recipe. Pat the sliced and diced peaches with a paper towel before incorporating into the recipe to draw out some of the additional moisture.

I know you are probably prepping for a huge 4th of July picnic right now. I apologize for not bringing you something in the red, white, and blue color scheme. But at the same time, I don’t apologize at all. These are so, so good.

browned butter ginger peach blondies
Oh, and Follow my blog with Bloglovin!

Share this: