Almond Butter-Millet Blondies Recipe (gluten-free)
We have survived the first week and a half of school and an early Jewish holiday! I started this year right by having my girls order their own school supplies and Mr. Picky helped me out by writing out a list of lunch box-approved foods. Not sure we’ve expanded the repertoire since last year, but at least I don’t have to think too hard. I am also so glad I was inspired to bake and freeze a few treats before school started this year. Those are coming in very handy for lunchbox and after-school snacks. Plus it has been so hot here, I can’t imagine turning on my oven to bake banana bread right now!
These Almond Butter-Millet Blondies are a new favorite around here. Don’t automatically say “my kids would never eat those!” Guess what? Your kids were probably at my house in the last 6 months and did eat these. Did I say, “Jimmy, would you like an almond butter-millet blondie?” What am I, a rookie? Of course, not. I ask the kids, “would you like a chocolate chip blondie?!” Only people that do not like chocolate ever say no.
Blondies are similar to a non-chocolate brownie. They are less spongy and a little denser than cake. I love them right out of the fridge so you can really sink your teeth into them. Because blondies don’t have the same lift and airiness of a cake, I tried these with two gluten-free flours, millet and quinoa. Even if you’re not gluten-intolerant, it’s a great idea to not overdo wheat and other gluten-containing grains. Gluten is not only hard to digest, but acid-forming and pro-inflammatory.
The quinoa blondies were not a hit because they totally tasted like quinoa. I love quinoa, but not as much in dessert form. Millet is much blander and really has no flavor to fight with chocolate. My kids and I had no idea the millet blondies weren’t made with wheat flour. I also tried the recipe separately with peanut butter and almond butter and not only were they both delicious, the blondies kind of tasted the same, as in both tasted a bit like peanut butter. Even though I give my kids peanut butter now and then, it’s actually not a fantastic choice. The fats in peanut butter are very pro-inflammatory and if you don’t buy organic, you are also consuming a lot of pesticides and fungicides since peanuts are very heavily sprayed. Even organic peanuts have a tendency to develop a mold called aflotoxin. In moderation, fine, but almond butter is far and away a better, more healthful choice. Did you know almonds are the only alkalizing nut? And if you have a solid food processor, you can make your own almond butter!
These blondies are awesome the next day, which is so nice if you have to bring a dessert to a potluck. If you have leftovers more than a couple days, it’s best to keep them in the fridge. And if you have no self control like me, you may want to just keep out what you need for the day and freeze the rest. Happy baking!
- ¼ cup (4 Tablespoons) unsalted butter or organic Earth Balance, softened + additional for greasing pan
- ¾ cup creamy or crunchy almond butter or other natural nut butter
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup coconut palm sugar (or brown sugar)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup millet flour*
- 1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan with butter and line the bottom with parchment paper so that the bars are easy to take out.
- Beat butter and almond butter in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in eggs, coconut sugar and vanilla until smooth.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the millet flour, baking powder and salt. 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, about 25 minutes. Let cool in the pan for at least 45 minutes before cutting into 16 squares. Leftovers can stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. These also freeze beautifully.
37 Comments
Made these today and used figs because I didn’t have chocolate chips. They are delicious. Thank you!
Great idea!
I just made these and they were soooooo delicious! Thank you so much for these. I make your Chia Almond Butter cookies all the time as well. Love your blog and all your advice!
Yay! Thanks!
Pamela, just returned from aforementioned lunch and happy to tell you that the Millet Blondies were a big hit. Everyone including me was amazed at the delicate lightness of the crumb and the wonderful flavor. Who would believe these were made from millet. Though I did tell everyone what they were made of beforehand, my husband’s two nieces (ages 7 and 9) simply loved the blondies and both said unprompted that they liked them more than brownies. The youngest asked me to make them every day! These will become a staple in my kitchen now. They are so light and not overly full of butter or sugar so they sit lightly in the stomach. Thanks again. Now keen to try out your Olive Oil-Rosemary-Dark Chocolate cake and then others – but before that – I am making another batch and freezing them to replenish the previous batch which was polished off in a flash. Great blog by the way.
What a lovely and generous comment to read! Thank you, Jenn. So nice to hear you had success. It is one of my kids’ favorite treats, as well! Let me know how you like the olive oil cake! xo
Certainly will do. If I have time will try it out on my father-in-law who is in town and who loves dark chocolate and rosemary. He is quite a connoisseur of good food. Thanks again for your great blog.
What a great recipe. I have just begun to explore the culinary possibilities of millet flour which is freely available here in the tropics and found your recipe. It looked so interesting that I was anxious to try it out. So glad I did. I am amazed that millet can be used in lieu of wheat flour with such excellent results. Was surprised to see that the blondies rose like a regular cake and had such a lovely fragrance. Glad too, to see the recipe calls for jaggery (palm sugar) which we also get very fresh here too. Well, I am going to try them out on my husband’s two young nieces today at lunch. I have no doubt they will be a great hit. Thanks again.
What a great recipe. II am just beginning to explore the potential of millet in baking and breads. Yours is the first recipe I have tried in terms of sweets and I was so pleasantly surprised to see the brownies rose nicely in the oven – which I did not expect. The fragrance too was lovely.
I live in the tropics where it is sometimes difficult to get ingredients easily obtained in the US, so it is great when I find a recipe which calls for things that are at their freshest and freely available here such as jaggery and millet.
those ladies have great taste!
I have to tell you my Blondie ( #3 in line ~8 year old super cute son ) asked me with these sincere eyes, “Mom will you share this recipe with my wife when I get married…someday?” OMG how cute was that? Thought you would love that story, and of course ask your permission to share this recipe 25 years from now….???
Many Thank You’ s for all the recipes you share with our family. God Bless You.
That might be one of the cutest things I have ever heard! You just brightened my day. Thanks, Heather!!
I have made this four times since I finally got around to making them last week. Yes FOUR times. I have a big family, and I shared with friends…fyi. I couldn’t find millet flour so I had to grind myself and so ours had a little crunch which was still great. BEST part my children were sooo excited to get a treat in their lunches, as I am apparently the only mom who doesn’t pack a treat. ( I doubt that, but no longer if it is true) Thank you I am very happy with my new status, as “cool”, p.s. my hubby LOVED them too, and since he is diabetic the coconut palm sugar is better for him than honey and maple syrup. Oh and I only have one 8×8 pan, so I made another batch in a pie dish… I will do that again for an adult desert and fancy it up with a lil vanilla ice cream, a drizzle of cocoa syrup and chopped almonds. These are that good. . Lastly, they are awesome frozen too. thank you for sharing.
What a great comment, Heather! So funny, because a couple of ladies in my class today were telling me how obsessed they are with these! So glad you tried making your own millet flour and it worked well for you. Thank you!!!!
My son officially asked me to stop making dessert. Let me explain. I have attempted gluten free for a few years and I think some of my desserts have been acceptable. My 10 yr old strongly disagrees and has asked me never to bring a dessert to his class or any get together. I will not be discouraged. I tried this recipe and he asked if it was a “normal” recipe. Well, I guess it was “normal” enough because he loved it and gave me the green light to put it in his lunch box for tomorrow. Thank you! I feel like a mom again. I think the coconut sugar was a nice touch, I have never used it before. Do you think I could use millet flour in place of spelt in your apple pancake recipe?
Happy day! I’m so excited for you! You can use any pancake recipe you want for the apple pancakes and just add some cinnamon and nutmeg to the batter. But typically I like a combo of GF flours for pancakes. Try millet, GF oat and brown rice in equal amounts. Let me know if your son goes for it!
Do you think these could be made without eggs? Maybe a flax meal or chia jell? Can’t have eggs.
Haven’t tried it, but I do think it would work with flax or chia. You probably already know this, but anyone else reading this who doesn’t — a sub for 1 egg is 1 Tablespoon ground flax meal mixed with 3 Tablespoons warm water. Allow to sit for 15 minutes before using. Let me know if you try it!
Have you ever made these with Spelt flour? or Almond flour? Wondering if wheat free options would be any good. And if using almond flour, would you lower the butter measurment?
I have only made these with millet flour and quinoa flour which are both wheat-free and gluten-free. Since a reader below made them with wheat flour and said they turned out great, I am sure spelt flour would be fine. You are right, almond flour would need an adjustment of the butter. Haven’t tried this recipe with almond flour, though.
Hello – I’m currently doing the Candida diet and after having to turn down a bunch of fantastic-looking sweets at a conference, I was desperate to find something I could make for a little treat, without cheating! I remembered seeing some kind of almond brownie recipe on another blog, so I was searching for that… but ended up here instead. So glad I did! These are delish! I subbed xylitol for the sugar and omitted the vanilla extract (since it has alcohol, which is a no-no) and the chocolate (boo!!), and they were still great. I love the texture too! They’re not too fluffy and cakey, just kind of melt in your mouth!
I think they would be great with some kind of butterscotch chips…Mmmm… butterscotch chips and chocolate chips together! Will try that after the diet is over 🙂
Thanks for your comment, Katie! I am always so interested to know how readers change recipes to suit them since I can’t try all the substitutions I would like. Great to hear that xylitol worked well. By the way, butterscotch chips in oatmeal cookies are the best, but I have never found any natural ones out there. Let me know if you do! Thank you!!
Could we use spelt flour instead of millet?
Sure! Someone else left a comment that she used wheat flour successfully. It won’t be gluten-free, though. Enjoy!
I made these last night, when we had another family over for dinner. All four kids (between ages 4 and 6) loved them and asked for seconds. They had no idea there were somewhat healthy. Big hit with the adults too. I used sprouted millet flour and coconut sugar. Thanks for the healthier dessert options on this site!
All those chocolate chips help! Great to hear, Grace. Thank you!
I decided to make these Sunday evening before the school week started and realized I didn’t have millet flour. I substituted wheat flour and they turned out great. I am looking forward to trying with the millet flour next time. Thanks.
Great, Jane! I should have pointed out that everyone can use wheat flour here. Thanks!
Hi, Pamela! My aunt introduced me to your site a few months ago, and I have been an avid reader ever since. I’m wondering if these blondes can be made with roasted almond butter. (As opposed to raw). I have a large jar of it on hand. Thanks!
Hi Mary! I’m so glad your aunt introduced us! Yes, you can definitely use roasted almond butter, but the flavor will be more pronounced than if you used raw. Not that that’s a negative, it just won’t be as neutral.
Just made these using the roasted almond butter. Delish! Thanks so much!
Terrific! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
These were a huge hit with my kids and husband! I’ve tried a lot of healthier brownie/blondie type recipes looking for The One, but most of them get me looks of “Nice try, Mom.” Not these! They were great! The pan was empty by the end of the day. I’ll have to ration them next time…Thanks for the great recipe.
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I’m thrilled these passed the test!
These are so good! Everyone loved them. Now you’ll have to post some more recipes for the rest of the millet flour. 🙂
You’re right! In the meantime, you can make my traditional buttermilk pancakes with a little millet flour instead of all whole wheat pastry or spelt. Go halfsies if you want!
First of all, this post cracked me up (the top part at least). Secondly, I’m making these tomorrow!!
Too cute.