Maple Cassava Blondies (Primal)

Hello all! And welcome to my first post of 2019. Can you believe it?! 20-NINTEEN. Wow, time flies when you’re having fun (or working hard, focusing on multiple projects, moving cities, and doing a bunch of stuff)!

This recipe is for grain-free blondies… perfect for all your gluten free or celiac pals. The best part is that all of my grain-loving, sugar fiend pals ALSO loved them! I had to make two batches in the one week I was home in San Diego just to satisfy those around me.

In this recipe I use a whole lot of butter. Are you still afraid of butter? Well, if you are not sensitive to dairy (don’t worry, the mutation is all of us who can tolerate dairy— the gene that produces lactase, the enzyme that chops up lactose (in milk) doesn’t switch off, allowing us to still be able to have dairy past typical “weening age”). If you can have butter, it is actually a vitamin rich substance with many benefits when coming from healthy cows that haven’t been pumped with antibiotics and other things. If you can’t have dairy, you can most definitely substitute in coconut oil for this recipe. But if you can do butter, the butter here just works.

And you’ve hit the daily double: you ALSO get a cocktail recipe to pair this with!

Don’t worry, the cocktail is made with GF bourbon. So this indulgent experience is totally gluten free, refined sugar free, and oh so rewarding.

These maple cassava blondies are made with cassava flour, real maple syrup, coconut sugar (unrefined and has a lower glycemic index than sugar), vanilla, and grass fed butter. Guys, these are soo good! I had the idea to make them because I was in San Diego craving some brownies…. when I realized that my mom doesn’t do so well with chocolate (I KNOW, RIGHT?! TRAGIC). So I knew I had to make something else for the family that she could also enjoy. And as luck would have it, I made them the same day my mom was dying for some pecan dessert– it was such a coincidence!

I am posting these cassava blondies today because I believe that they are the PERFECT dessert to bring on your skii trip! They can be easily transported, are better the day after (yes, I said it), and go so well with some bourbon 😉 I mean it is winter after all!

CASSAVA BLONDIES (Primal)

Pecans:

3/4 cup pecans

1 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp melted grassfed butter

Pinch sea salt

Blondies:

1 stick grass fed butter (8 tbsp)

1.5 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup coconut sugar

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 large egg

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 cup cassava flour

Pinch salt

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For the pecans:

Toss pecans in a bowl with melted butter, salt, and maple syrup. Place pecans on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 350, or until starting to brown (watch them carefully!).

For the blondies:

Melt butter. Mix the coconut sugar and butter together in a medium sized bowl. Add the egg, vanilla, and maple syrup. Add the baking soda and salt, and then slowly incorporate cassava flour. Pour into a greased brownie or cake pan, and bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven, and let cool COMPLETELY before cutting or serving (seriously, it will just disintegrate). Finally, add the pecans on top! (The maple syrup will help them stick to the blondies). Serve & enjoy!!

TIP: Make these a few hours or a day ahead of when you want to enjoy them! I found that they keep best in the refrigerator.

And since you guy’s are already here, I have a bonus cocktail for you! It is OH SO EASY, and pairs perfectly with the pecan blondies (tested and approved, I promise).

BONUS COCKTAIL: The Dirty Chamomile (makes 2)

1 cup chamomile tea

2 tsp honey

4 oz bourbon (gluten free)

Orange (for garnish)

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Brew 1 cup chamomile tea, add 2 tsp honey while warm. Set the tea aside.

Peel two slices of orange rind & twist them. Place one in each glass. Add 2 oz bourbon to each glass, and 3-4 ice cubes. Finish it off with the cooled chamomile tea! This can also be served hot. Enjoy responsibly!!

Let me know if you end up trying these! I seriously had family begging me to make more, and family friends dying for the recipe!

I had so much fun with this photoshoot, taking photos in a beautiful San Diego kitchen with Ashley from Beschell Photography. She is such a funny and nice girl… and so smart. She is an engineer by day, and a photographer by night (was that weird phrasing?). She also does Boudoir shoots– and they are all about celebrating women in all that they do. Definitely check her out….or at least follow her on Instagram, because again, she’s a hoot.

Wishing you all a happy and safe January! Make good choices!!

-Alexis