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I’ve received a lot of requests for more coconut flour recipes since publishing my coconut flour cupcakes, and because I am loving baking with it, I’m happy to oblige.
Two additional requests have accompanied the coconut flour requests: egg-free and nut-free recipes. The egg-free request is tricky: coconut flour does not work like other flours–it absorbs far more liquid than grain flours–so simple substitutions (e.g., flax eggs in place of a regular eggs) can literally fall flat. But I’m finding that with some experimenting, some incredible treats can be made, treats that are healthy, incredibly easy, and free of grains, gluten, excess sugar and even eggs.
For example, my Banana Blondies. Quick and easy to make (blend, spread, bake), packed with wholesome ingredients, incredibly delicious, and kid approved (double thumbs up from the Nickster), they are just what we all need on hand to feel energized, satisfied and happy in the days and weeks ahead. And because they are Paleo, grain-free, gluten-free, nut-free, and vegan, you can share them with almost everyone on your list.
Did I mention that you can eat the batter? I schmeared my sleeve from wrist to elbow reaching to the bottom of the blender for the final scrapings of coconutty-butterscotchy-gooey goodness. It was worth it.
A quick note about texture: even if you love a warm, gooey blondie, these benefit from cooling completely before removing from the pan and cutting. They have a fudge-y texture that is amped up by a few chocolate chips. But honestly, these are so good you don’t even need the chocolate (yes, I said that). Enjoy!
Coconut Flour Blondies (vegan, nut-free, grain-free, Paleo)
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 16 1x
Ingredients
- 2 large bananas (very ripe!), peeled
- 1/2 cup tahini (well-stirred) or smooth sunflower seed butter
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup (or honey, if not vegan)
- 1/3 cup coconut flour
- 1–1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 tablespoons semisweet miniature vegan chocolate chips (e.g., Sunspire)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment or foil.
- Place all of the ingredients except the chocolate chips into a blender or food processor. Process, using on/off pulses, until mixtures starts to blend into batter (pulse to avoid overloading the machine). Process on High for 15-30 seconds until smooth.
- Spread batter into prepared pan, smoothing top. Sprinkle with chocolate chips, if using.
- Bake in preheated oven for 24 to 28 minutes or until golden brown and surface feel dry. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely in pan.
Notes
(1) You can use another liquid sweetener like agave nectar or coconut nectar in place of the maple syrup.
(2) Any other creamy nut or seed butter can be used in place of the tahini–it’s up to you and your dietary needs.
(3) Store the bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Category: Cookies, dessert, blondies, bars
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 square
- Calories: 98
- Sugar: 7.4 g
- Sodium: 48 mg
- Fat: 5 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 12.6 g
- Fiber: 1.9 g
- Protein: 1.7 g
- Cholesterol: 0
Wow, need to try these! But do they taste a lot of the bananas? I think banana is great to bake with but am not really looking for a banana cake.. Or do they just add sweetness? Would Sweet potato work instead if the banana flavor is superstrong?
Hi Sofia! I would suggest unsweetened applesauce in place of the banana. You will probably need to add a bit of sweetener, too (not much) since the bananas add a lot of the sweetness. Sweet potato would really change the consistency and texture. It could be good, but it would be a very different recipe (I cannot predict how they would taste).
Just baked your blondies and found them incredibly delicious. Polished off half the batch waiting for them to cool. To me these taste so similar to an old favorite that I haven’t had in years, Tollhouse Pie. Wow, really really good.
Used chopped 70% venezuelan chocolate on top (i’m in venezuela), and a mix of homemade tahini and coconut butter. This recipe appealed to me as I have an intolerance to eggs and have lots of coconut flour around as byproduct of making coconut milk. Will use less honey next time I make these lovelies…
Excellent recipe… Great job
Thank you
Hi Laura,
Thank you thank you! I am so happy you loved them. I have a cupcake/muffin recipe that uses chickpea flour with the coconut flour, too (no eggs)–it can be varied endlessly 🙂 Thanks so much for taking the time to post! Here is the link to those cupcakes: Freedom Cupcakes
Does anyone know if there is anyway to sub out the baking powder? I’ve made this recipe a few times before but I might be put on a specific diet that prohibits the use of Baking powder. I would love to be able to continue to enjoy this recipe so any help would be appreciated.
Does it include all leaveners? You can make your own baking powder with cream of tartar and baking soda (you can google for proportions). But without eggs in the recipe, I am not sure of other alternatives that would add lift.
I made these with traditional toasted tahini, pumpkin puree (1 cup) instead of banana and aded pumpkin pie spice and 13 drops stevia – they were a big hit and reminded me of a peanut butter cookie 🙂 thank you for the recipe!
Yum! I love your variation, Casey!
My comment should say “delish” not relish! LOL!
Hi! This recipe sounds relish! However I have a sensitivity to bananas – they give me a rash! Can you recommend a replacement for the bananas? Some people say applesauce or avocados would work.
Hi Sally,
You could do a puree of about 1/3 dates and 2/3 apple sauce 🙂
Hi Camilla. Thank you so much for such a delicious recipe, I made a batch of these last week and my daughter and I absolutely loved them. Unfortunately my son reacted very badly – either to the tahini or to the nuts previously crushed in the machines that made the tahini :-(. No more sesame for him until we find out for sure. My daughter has specially requested more so I’m going to make another batch tonight using sunflower seed butter.
Hi Sandy,
So glad you and your daughter liked them! But sorry to hear your son may have a sesame allergy 🙁 Have you tried sunflower butter? (one brand I really like is “sunbutter”–insanely delicious) My sister has a number of nut allergies, she uses sunflower butter as her go-to peanut butter replacement 🙂
Could you use regular flour or wheat flour instead of coconut flour?
No, not measure for measure. Coconut flour “works” very differently from wheat flour (you only use a fracton of what you would typically use for wheat flour).
Could you use regular flour or whole wheat flour in place of coconut flour?
Hi Rebecca,
No, this particular recipe needs to be made with the coconut flour, it is quite different from any other flour.
AMAZING recipe, Camilla. Thank you so much for sharing it! I fell in love at first bite and decided that since I wanted to eat it frequently (read: daily. *cough*) that I would play around with adding more banana and reducing the seed butter. It makes for a more fudgey experience, though if you add carob it thickens quite a bit. Thanks again for the inspo! Here’s my version:
3 large bananas (very ripe!), peeled
¼ cup smooth sunflower seed butter
⅓ cup pure maple syrup
⅓ cup coconut flour
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon baking powder
dash sea salt
30 semisweet vegan chocolate chips
Optional yummies:
¼ cup carob powder
½ teaspoon butterscotch flavor (Frontier brand)
12 cherries (lining the bottom of the pan, Trader Joe’s Dark Morello Cherries in the jar)
Sounds AMAZING, Lauren!!!:)
Hello, I was wondering if using coconut butter would be successful or strictly just coconut oil?
Just coconut oil, the butter will be too dense (fiber from the whole coconut in the coconut butter)
can you sub the bananas for anything?
thanks so mucH!
Hi Keira! I have not tried anything else, but based on other baking like this, you could probably sub unsweetened pumpkin. You’ll need to add a bit more sweetener (since the bananans add a lot of sweetness). Unsweetened applesauce could work, too–just keep in mind that I have not tried this before 🙂
My blondes are in the oven now but if they taste any where near as good as the batter they will be great. I have a very restricted diet (gluten, dairy, soy, egg, sugar free) so it’s great to find a recipe that isn’t overloaded with sugar (i actually used just a little rice syrup) anyway can’t wait until they are cooked.
Yay! I know, isn’t the batter yummy? Love the perk of being able to eat batter when the recipe is vegan 🙂
Hi! This recipe is amazing!! It’s like a delicious banana bread. And it’s AIP compliant if you sub with coconut butter and no chocolate (which it doesn’t need). Eileen from Phoenix helix has a recipe round up for AIP recipes and this would be amazing to share! Thank you again!
Thanks, Rebecca! ooh, so glad you tried it with the coconut butter 🙂 You are welcome to share it; I only ask that you provide the link back to my blog. Cheers! 🙂
Ok, making them AGAIN!! 🙂 It is much easier with an immersion blender. The batter is pretty thick for a blender. Even my high-tech Vitamix.
Good call with the immersion blender, kristyn! 🙂
Hello!!
Is there anyway next time you could make the measurements in a larger font??
~Amber
Hi Amber! I’ll see if I can– it’s an automatic recipe template, so I’m not sure, but if will try! Sorry for any inconvenience.
I am making these for the 4th time today. I use half tahini, and half of my homemade pecan/coconut butter. Sprinkled with some enjoy life chocolate chips. They are soooooo good! I can’t wait to pull them out of the oven now!
WOWEE, 4th time???!!! So glad you are loving them, Kristyn! And oh my goodness, homemade peca/cocnut butter? Have mercy!
I’m so trying this with lime!!
Ooh, yum! Great idea, Momo! 🙂
I have to write back to let you know they were yummy! Perhaps a bit on the dry side, but, since they were a hit, I tried to make them again today. I added a little water to the mix, and did half honey half coconut sugar. And sprinkled sunflower seeds on top (first ones I did plain – I have no chocolate 🙁 ). Much better! I ate 3 pieces over the course of the afternoon, haha whoops. Anyway, thank you for the great recipe 🙂
Phew, glad they worked out, Charlotte!!! 🙂
Hello! I just found this recipe via Google and thought id try it out. I have a batch in the oven right now but already I can tell they look different to yours 🙁 The batter was quite thick and spread thin in the pan. I just hope they taste yum!
Hi Charlotte! Oh, no, hope they turned out! The batter should be quite thick, as pictured (you can really see how thick it is in the photo with the yellow spatula). If using the 8 x 8 inch pan, they are about 1/2-inch thick in the pan, at most–the photo of the single blondie is a close-up–the blondie is only about 1/2 and inch thick. With it being vegan plus the use of coconut flour, you actually would not want them to be much thicker or they would be super-gooey. I hope that helps!!! 🙂
I made this with tahini and it was very bitter! I’ve never had tahini, but I tried making it myself, by grinding up sesame seeds and a little olive oil. I was hoping it would taste better in the brownies, but I had to toss them. I tried making it again with sunbutter and it was delicious! Maybe I did something wrong making the tahini?
Hi Anne! I have never made homemade tahini so I am not sure how that would work in these–but maybe the olive oil made them taste bitter? I know sesame seeds can go rancid very very quickly, too, so perhaps the seeds were a bit off? So glad you tried again with the sunbutter!!! 🙂
The bitter flavor would be due to the olive oil. Did you use EVOO? – that lends a bitter taste to e.g. homemade mayo too. I would suggest using a milder flavored oil…
Good luck
I was initially very excited to find this recipe! Grain AND nut free.
I am having an incredibly hard time finding dessert/breadie like recipes that are both grain and nut free. I have severe reactions to seeds of all things. That means no wheat, no nuts and….. No tahini.
Would this work with just omitting the tahini and maybe replacing with a little coconut oil?
It’s a bummer that usually when a recipe is grain free, they sub in nuts or seeds instead. Sigh.
Hi Raed–I’ve sent you an email message. Coconut butter could work in place of the seed butter!