Blondies

Michael Eisenwasser

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A chewy brown-sugar blondie with a gluten-free flour blend, vanilla, and your choice of dark chocolate chips or walnuts.

Prep 15 min

Cook 25 min

Serves 16

Gluten-free

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 1/4 cups (250 g) packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups (210 g) gluten-free flour blend
• 1/2 cup (85 g) dark chocolate chips or white chocolate chips, optional (see tips)
• 1/3 cup (40 g) chopped walnuts or pecans, optional

Makes 16 blondies in an 8-inch or 9-inch square pan. One serving is 1 blondie.

Instructions

Mix the Batter

1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line an 8-inch or 9-inch square pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides for lifting.
2. Whisk the melted butter and brown sugar in a large bowl for about 1 minute, until the mixture looks like wet sand with no dry pockets of sugar.
3. Let the butter-sugar mixture cool for 2 to 3 minutes so it doesn't cook the eggs, then whisk in the vanilla and the eggs one at a time.
4. Sprinkle the salt and baking powder over the batter and whisk to distribute, then add the flour blend and stir with a spatula until no streaks remain.
5. Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts if using.

Bake

1. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. It will be thick.
2. Bake on the middle rack until the top is golden, the edges are set, and a toothpick in the center comes out with moist crumbs, not wet batter. An 8-inch pan takes 24 to 28 minutes; a 9-inch pan bakes thinner and faster, 20 to 24 minutes. Err on the side of underbaking for a chewier texture.
3. Cool in the pan on a rack for at least 45 minutes before lifting out and cutting into a 4x4 grid. Chilling for 20 minutes in the fridge gives the cleanest cuts.

Tips & Substitutions

• Pick a safe chocolate chip. Enjoy Life, Pascha 70% or 85%, and Guittard Extra Dark have no inulin or polyols. Most standard semi-sweet chips (Ghirardelli, Nestlé Toll House Dark) are fine at 1/2 cup across 16 blondies. White chocolate chips are higher in milk solids, so check the label for inulin or added chicory root fiber and keep the amount to 1/2 cup total across the pan. Always scan for inulin, chicory root fiber, and sugar alcohols before buying.
• Skip any "sugar-free" or keto chip. Lily's, ChocZero, and most keto chocolates sweeten with xylitol, sorbitol, maltitol, erythritol, or add inulin and chicory root fiber. Those are high-FODMAP and can push a single blondie over the limit.
• Nut swaps. Walnuts are low-FODMAP at 10 halves (30 g) per serve, and pecans are low-FODMAP at 10 halves (20 g) per serve. A third of a cup of either across 16 blondies is roughly 2 to 3 g per blondie, well inside the serve. Skip pistachios and cashews, which are high-FODMAP at small amounts.
• No honey. Honey is high-FODMAP even at a teaspoon. Brown sugar carries the caramel flavor, so don't try to substitute honey, agave, or high-fructose corn syrup for part of the sugar.
• Dairy-free version. A 1:1 vegan butter stick (Miyoko's, Earth Balance soy-free) works with no other changes. Refined coconut oil also works but makes the crumb slightly softer.
• Dark brown vs light brown. Dark brown sugar has more molasses and gives a deeper caramel note. Both are low-FODMAP; pick by flavor preference.
• Cut bigger squares at your own risk. The Monash serves here assume a 4x4 cut (16 pieces). A 9-piece cut roughly doubles the chocolate and nuts per blondie, which may be too much for a single sitting.

Why This Works

Brown sugar carries the flavor. Brown sugar is mostly sucrose, which is not a FODMAP, so it's safe in normal dessert serves. That said, these are still a high-sugar, high-fat bar — if sugar or fat is a personal IBS trigger, start with one square and see how you tolerate it.

Dark chocolate chips at a safe serve. Monash tests dark chocolate as low-FODMAP at 30 g per serve. Half a cup of chips split across 16 blondies is about 5 g per blondie, which leaves plenty of room for the rest of your meal.

Walnuts and pecans fit the serve. Both nuts are low-FODMAP at 10 halves per serve. A third of a cup across 16 blondies keeps each square well under the threshold.

Butter math. Butter is low-FODMAP at 1 tablespoon per serve because it's almost pure fat. Half a cup across 16 blondies is roughly 1/2 tablespoon per blondie.

GF flour blend holds the chew. The gluten-free flour blend is rice-and-starch-based with xanthan gum, so no extra binder is needed. If you swap in a store-bought blend, pick one without inulin, chicory root fiber, or chickpea/legume flours, which can push the bar into high-FODMAP territory.

Storage

Store cooled blondies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to a week. For longer storage, wrap individual blondies in plastic, then freeze in a zip-top bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes, or microwave from frozen for 15 seconds for a warm, chewy center.

Not sure about an ingredient? FODMAP Tracker includes a database of 1,000+ foods with FODMAP ratings to help you cook with confidence.