Deliciously fudgy Peanut Butter Blondies shot through with white chocolate chunks. Gluten free and optional dairy free. Easy to make.
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Peanut Butter Blondies with White Chocolate – A recipe borrowed from ‘Cake Angels’
These Peanut Butter Blondies were my first attempt at blondie-making… and actually, blondie-eating! I first posted them on the blog way back in 2013. At that time, and having no idea what a blondie should actually be like, I decided to use someone else’s recipe. I needed to get a feel for how they ‘should’ be and ‘should’ taste.
I had on my shelf a copy of ‘Cake Angels – Gluten, Wheat & Dairy Free Cakes’ by Julia Thomas. It’s a great book with all cakes being both gluten and dairy free. If you haven’t seen it, I would definitely recommend it. We actually have another recipe from the same book adapted on the blog (a Chocolate Fudge Cake made by Miss GF), which is equally divine.
Anyway… the book has an incredibly simple and extremely quick recipe for gluten free peanut butter blondies. And since we love peanut butter at GFHQ, it seemed a great place to start our blondie exploration.
Having made them, they were so good, that there then seemed little point in messing further. So, the recipe for the gluten free blondies presented here is pretty much as in the book. The key difference being that as we aren’t dairy free, they are made with good old-fashioned butter (and some extra dairy-based chocolate). And I’ve used my Gluten Free Alchemist flour blend A to make them. If you can’t eat dairy, just do a straight substitution and use dairy free spread and dairy free chocolate instead. They should work with other flour blends too.
What is a Blondie?
To the uninitiated, a blondie is just a light-coloured brownie right? Wrong! They have lots in common, but there are also important differences. Yes… they both have an amazing fudgy, dense texture (somewhere between a cake and a cookie). And yes… they are both ‘tray-baked’ and cut into squares. But a blondie is not just a ‘blonde’ brownie.
Although both have similar ingredients lists, a basic blondie recipe contains no chocolate. Instead, it uses brown sugar and vanilla for flavour and texture. Carefully balanced, the combination used still produces the same squidgy-chewy texture that you find in a brownie. And you can still expect rich, bite-sized chunks of yumminess. But blondies offer an amazing backdrop of ‘butterscotch’ that comes from brown sugar rather than chocolate.
So, what if you do add melted white chocolate to the mix? Wouldn’t that be a blondie? Apparently not. What you then have is termed a ‘White Chocolate Brownie’.
…But there IS white chocolate in this Peanut Butter Blondie recipe
Yes… I know! The observant will be questioning the addition of white chocolate to these gluten free blondies and asking whether they are actually white chocolate brownies. But the answer is still no. Although these Peanut Butter Blondies do have extra white chocolate chunks thrown into the mix, they are merely decadent add-ins. Not a fundamental part of the basic blondie recipe.
But whatever you think they should be called, one thing’s for sure. These peanut butter blondies are soft, slightly chocolate-sweet, caramelly, squidgy and very peanutty. Definitely worthy of a smile.
Made Peanut Butter Blondies?
If you make these peanut butter blondies, let me know! They are so delicious, it would be great to hear that other people are enjoying them too.
Leave a comment below, or tag me on social media (my social media links are at the top right of the page). #glutenfreealchemist.
Other recipes you might like…
I am hoping to get some new gluten free blondies made soon, but in the meantime, we have a load of amazing brownie recipes on the blog. You can check out our dedicated Tray Bakes Index for inspiration. They are all amazing bakes. I think our favourites though, are the seriously grown-up Coffee Brownies, the somewhat more virtuous Beetroot Brownies and Pear & Walnut Brownies, the simple Perfectly Fudgy Gluten Free Brownies and the Chocolate-Orange Brownies (made with orange chocolate). But actually, why stop there? The Chocolate-Banana-Coconut Brownies are equally divine, as are the epic Toblerone Brownies and the fruity, gooey Chocolate-Cherry-Pecan Brownies. Decisions… decisions!
If it’s peanuts that make you happy, we love to celebrate these too at Gluten Free Alchemist. From really easy Peanut Butter Cookies and Peanut Butter Brownies, to light, sweet and crunchy Ful Sudani (Sudanese peanut macaroons). We also have Dark & chewy Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cookies on offer, some easy Peanut-Chocolate Chip Biscuits and also Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Crumble Bars. We even have a Peanut Butter Chicken Curry!
For everything else, why not browse our lovely Gluten Free Recipe Index? It’s full of drool-worthy photographs to tempt you.
Peanut Butter Blondies with White Chocolate
Key equipment
- 8 inch/20 cm square baking tin
- Oven
- sharp knife
Ingredients
- 100 g unsalted butter or dairy-free spread softened
- 150 g crunchy peanut butter
- 1 large egg UK large
- 175 g soft light brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 125 g gluten free plain flour blend I use Gluten Free Alchemist Mix A – see NOTES
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tsp GF baking powder
- 100 g white chocolate chunks/chips dairy free if needed
Instructions
- Base line a 20cm/8 inch square baking tin with baking paper.
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 C/350 F/Gas 4.
- Beat the butter and peanut butter together in a large mixing bowl using an electric whisk until pale and fluffy.
- Add the egg, sugar and vanilla extract and continue to beat until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, weigh and mix the flour, xanthan gum and baking powder so that they are evenly blended.
- Gradually fold the flour mix into the wet mix using a large spoon or spatula until completely combined.
- Lastly fold in the chocolate chunks/chips until even throughout the batter.
- Spoon the mixture into the cake tin and smooth down the surface with the back of a spoon or spatula.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown and firm to the touch. It is better to slightly under-cook rather than over-cook.
- Remove from the oven and leave in the cake tin to cool completely.
- Once cool, take the brownie out of the tin and cut into squares using a sharp knife.
Notes
Nutrition
© 2019-2023 Kate Dowse All Rights Reserved – Do not copy or re-publish this recipe or any part of this recipe on any other blog, on social media or in a publication without the express permission of Gluten Free Alchemist
Thank you. I made these to take to a party and they were really yummy. No one noticed they were gluten free.
Fabulous! That’s always great to hear. Thank you so much for letting me know x
I love the sound of this recipe. I think I prefer blondies to brownies and peanut butter is such a great baking ingredient.
Absolutely Janice. Peanut butter is amazingly versatile x
Kate I need these right now! I think they’d be perfect with some ice-cream and hot chocolate fudge sauce! Ahhh… just to work out the best vegan egg replacer for these! Thanks so much for linking up with us at Fiesta Friday this week! Enjoy checking out what everyone else is sharing!
Thank you! And thanks for hosting. I always love perusing what other people are sharing x
They look absolutely yummy!
Thank you Kat. Peanut butter and white chocolate are such a good match! z
Thanks Katie. The texture is very 'brownie-like'. And the peanut flavour really shines!
These look delicious and seem to have a very fudgy texture. Love the peanut butter addition
Thanks Aimee. Definitely make these! They are so moreish………..
They look perfect 🙂 The textures and the flavours sound to-die-for… nomnomnom!