River ~ Are you Team-Brownie or Team-Blondie? It's a tough choice! While I love chocolate just as much as every other choco-holic, I might have to side with Team-Blondie, especially if they are made with a rich nut butter.

Team-Brownie fans will love my recipe for vegan Eureka Brownies, but the decadent recipe that follows may just cause you to question your loyalties. These almond butter blondies are dense and fudgy with bits of chewy almond paste and soft chocolate chips. You can replace the almond butter with peanut butter for a more classic flavor combo, though you might want to skip the almond extract and almond paste if you do that.

This recipe is adapted from my wheat-based almond butter blondies, and it's the result of many test batches and many gluten-free flour combinations. The almond butter works as a natural binder, which means there is no need to add any xanthan gum. Enjoy! ...

Gluten-Free Almond Butter Blondies

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1/3 cup almond or rice milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 2 tbsp golden flax seeds, ground
• 3/4 cup sorghum flour
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 2 tbsp tapioca starch
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate or carob chips
• 2 tbsp almond paste chunks (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and spray an 8 by 8 inch metal baking pan with cooking spray.
 
2. Use a blender or food processor to grind the sugar into a powder. Grinding the sugar is what will give the blondies that lovely crusty top.
 
3. Add the oil, almond butter, 1/3 cup of milk, vanilla extract, almond extract, flax seeds, and blend or process until smooth.
 
4. Combine the sorghum flour, almond flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, and salt in a medium sized bowl.
 
5. Pour the almond butter mixture on top of the dry ingredients. Using a hand blender, beat on high until a smooth dough forms. If the batter is crumbly or too hard, add a tablespoon of milk. The batter should be fairly thick but just thin enough to pour out of the bowl.
 
6. Stir in the chocolate or carob chips and the almond paste chunks.
 
7. Pour the blondie batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the blondies comes out with a few moist crumbs. Take care not to over bake them or they will be too crumbly. Let them cool completely before cutting them into squares. 

Article, recipe and photos by River of Wing it Vegan. River blogs loads of "vegan grub, craftiness, and geekery."