These Gluten-free blondies have a crisp shiny top and a cookie dough center. These gluten-free cookie bars are dairy-free, egg-free, and vegan, but no one will know the difference. With 10 common ingredients and 10 minutes of prep before baking, this is an easy must-try recipe for any gluten-free baker!
These gluten-free blondies are great year-round, and especially when you want to make gluten-free chocolate chip cookies but are too lazy to roll them into balls. It's a great potluck recipe, Friday night treat, or kid-friendly dessert.
For a similar recipe, check out my amazing fudgy Vegan Gluten-Free Brownies. For more gluten-free cookie recipes, check out my Coconut Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies, Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies, Maple Brown Sugar Cookies, Gluten-Free Monster Cookies, Paleo Molasses Cookies, and Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies.
New to gluten-free? Check out my How to go Gluten Free and Gluten Free Grocery List posts to help you get started.
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How to make it (with photos)
Ingredients Notes + Substitutions
You need just 10 common ingredients to make these vegan and gluten-free blondies!
All Purpose Gluten-Free Flour
I used Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour Blend for this recipe, but most all purpose gluten-free flour blends will work. Using a flour with xanthan gum or guar gum can help hold the blondies together, but it's not required for this recipe.
Coconut Oil
I recommend refined coconut oil over other oils since it is solid at room temperature, which gives the blondies that fudgy doughy texture. It also has a buttery taste, and refined coconut oil doesn't taste much like coconut.
You can also use vegan butter or butter as a substitute.
Brown Sugar
Traditional Blondies are a brown sugar cookie bar, and therefore light brown sugar is essential for that authentic taste! If you'd like a version without refined sugar, check out my paleo blondies recipe.
More Ingredient Notes
- hot water - Hot water helps to dissolve the sugar for that super smooth bakery-style gluten-free blondies batter.
- almond milk - Almond milk or other plant-based milk (or even dairy milk, if you tolerate it) will all work in this recipe.
- starch - Potato or Corn starch helps to keep the edges of these egg-free blondies crisp and holds them together.
- gluten-free baking powder - Rumford and Clabber Girl are gluten-free baking powder brands that I like in the USA.
- semi-sweet chocolate chips - I use Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips. They are dairy-free, vegan, and have a rich flavor that's fantastic for baking.
You also need white sugar, vanilla extract, and salt.
See the recipe card for a full list of ingredients with quantities.
Variations
I made gluten-free chocolate chip cookie bars with the recipe as listed, but here are some ways to vary this gluten-free blondies recipe.
- Mix in a different type of chip: Instead of chocolate chips, try butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, or chocolate chunks.
- Add nuts: Instead of (or in addition to) chocolate chips, add chopped walnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, or almonds.
Looking for a similar recipe but in cookie form? Check out these amazing Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies or Coconut Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Learn how to make gluten-free blondies in four easy steps!
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9x9 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- Dissolve the sugar: In a medium microwave-safe bowl, add both sugars, coconut oil, hot water, and almond milk. Whisk by hand or with an electric stand or hand mixer for 3 minutes or until the sugars completely dissolve and you have a smooth sugar syrup (if you smear some between your fingers, you should feel no sugar granules). Don't skimp on the whisking -- this is what makes that shiny crackly top! If needed, microwave the mixture for 30 seconds, then stir to combine. Continue microwaving in 15 second intervals, whisking in between, until the sugar dissolves completely. See notes for tips without a microwave.
- Dry ingredients: Add the gluten-free flour, baking powder, and salt to a medium mixing bowl and whisk together. Then add the gluten-free flour mixture to the bowl of wet ingredients and mix until well combined. Add the remaining chocolate chips and stir until well mixed.
- Bake: Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40-50 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean or with a few chewy crumbs. Cool: Cool completely before removing from the pan and serving.
Hint: Dissolving the sugar is what gives these gluten-free blondies that shiny crinkle top!
Expert Tips
Make amazing vegan gluten-free blondies on the first try with these expert tips!
Take the time to dissolve the sugar.
If you make this recipe exactly as listed, the sugar will dissolve. The dissolved sugar is what give these blondies a shiny crackle top.
Keep them doughy in the middle (don't over bake).
I was super skeptical about the cookie dough center the first time I saw this in a traditional blondies recipe. But it is an absolute treat! Try baking them with a crackle top and a nice dough-y center the first time, and if you don't like it, I will be blown away!
Recipe FAQs
Here I answered some frequently asked questions about this gluten-free blondies recipe. Don't see your question? Leave it in the comments at the end of this post and I'll answer within two business days.
Allow the gluten-free blondies to cool completely before storing leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
This gluten-free blondies recipe does not need any eggs or egg replacement. Once cooled, the blondies will stay together just fine. It's actually beneficial to make a vegan blondie because you can leave the center gooey!
Dissolving the sugar is what makes that shiny crinkle top!
You can continue to cook these blondies through until they have a cake-like center, rather than a gooey cookie dough center.
Blondies are supposed to be gooey in the center like cookie dough, with a shiny top and well-cooked outside. While skeptical at first, I found that I really like them this way! I recommend giving it a try. Since this recipe is vegan, you don't need to worry about uncooked egg in the gooey center.
Related gluten-free baking recipes to consider...
Looking for more gluten-free baking recipes like these gluten-free blondies? Check these out:
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📖 Recipe
Gluten-Free Blondies (vegan)
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup light brown sugar , lightly packed (250 grams)
- ½ cup sugar (100 grams)
- ¾ cup coconut oil , melted
- ⅓ cup hot water
- ¼ cup warm almond milk or other plant-based milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ½ tablespoons potato starch or cornstarch
- 2 ⅛ cups gluten-free all purpose flour (295 grams, 2 cups plus 2 rounded tablespoons)
- ½ teaspoon gluten-free baking powder like Rumford or Clabber Girl brands
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup chocolate chips plus more to sprinkle on top (140 grams)
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9x9 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- Dissolve the sugar: In a medium microwave-safe bowl, add both sugars, coconut oil, hot water, and almond milk. Whisk by hand or with an electric mixer for 3 minutes or until the sugars completely dissolve and you have a smooth sugar syrup (if you smear some between your fingers, you should feel no sugar granules). Don't skimp on the whisking -- this is what makes that shiny crackly top! If needed, microwave the mixture for 30 seconds, then stir to combine. Continue microwaving in 15 second intervals, whisking in between, until the sugar dissolves completely. See notes for tips without a microwave.
- Dry ingredients: Add the gluten-free flour, baking powder, and salt to a medium mixing bowl and whisk together. Then add the gluten-free flour mixture to the bowl of wet ingredients and mix until well combined. Add the remaining chocolate chips and stir until well mixed.
- Bake: Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40-50 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean or with a few chewy crumbs. Cool: Cool completely before removing from the pan and serving.
Wendy says
I don’t have almond flour at home but I do have GF flour and tapioca flour. Can I use my GF flour instead of the almond flour? It’s a mix of rice flour, potato flour, pea fiber, tapioca starch & xy gum…..
Jamie says
Hi Wendy! Unfortunately almond flour cannot be directly substituted with gluten-free flour blends. I'll put in a request for a blondie recipe with gluten-free flour for the future! In the meantime, the gluten-free chocolate chip muffins are delicious and use a GF flour blend. Not quite the same but they are very tasty!
Celiac Nana says
So good! I used a flax egg since I'm sensitive to eggs - delish!!