Have you ever had one of those special parties? The one that “everyone” talks about for an entire year after. We had our first when living near our friends at Lake Tahoe. The scene was a few weeks before Christmas, and a horrendous blizzard had moved in. Yet, every single guest arrived. We have some serious die-hard party friends. Lucky for them we had heaps of food, including these scrumptious dairy-free Snickerdoodle Blondies!
These Snickerdoodle Blondies are the Talk of the Dessert Table
My husband and I were fairly calm, certain that we had prepared enough food. Boy were we wrong. Apparently our friends have big appetites for more than just partying. For hot food, we had Roasted Veggies, Pulled Pork with Homemade Wheat Buns (I made them slider sized), From-Scratch Cheeseless Pepperoni Pizza (using the crust recipe in Go Dairy Free), Stuffed Mushrooms, Prosciutto-Wrapped Wild Prawns, and Chicken Satay (one peanut sauced and one more of a curry).
Easily the most popular savory item was the stuffed mushrooms. All night long people kept asking, “So everything was dairy-free? Really? Even the mushrooms?” I didn’t even bother telling them that they were also gluten-free, soy-free, and egg-free. I thought that might send some of them over the edge! I used 1.5 lbs of mushrooms, and they were still gone in minutes. In fact, everything was finished. Even the store-bought filler food we purchased (salsa, hummus, eggplant dip, tortilla chips, and blanched veggies) was completely devoured.
Fortunately, for those who still hadn’t eaten there fill, there was dessert. After all, what would any holiday party be without a delicious assortment of homemade cookies and bars?
I served three different types, including some sugar cookies, peppermint chocolate crispy treats, and these amazing Snickerdoodle Blondies. I watched as our guests attempted to guess what these wonderful bars were. One came awfully close when he said it tasted like snickerdoodles crossed with gingerbread. Needless to say, after I revealed their true identity, there were several recipe requests.
Special Diet Notes: Snickerdoodle Blondies
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, nut-free, peanut-free, optionally soy-free, and vegetarian.
Egg-free? Some people have had luck with making this recipe vegan, some have not. See our Egg Substitute Guide for suggestions. I have tested other blondie recipes egg-free, and find aquafaba works best (about 6 tablespoons = 2 eggs). But the result will still be crispy/crunchier on the edges and moister in the middle. As an alternative, you might try baking these as vegan cookies rather than in a pan. Or, try our recipes for peanut butter blondies, gluten-free almond butter blondies, or salted caramel blondies – they’re all vegan.
Gluten-free? Several readers have had luck with using all-purpose gluten-free flour, but the results will vary based on the flour blend you choose. Do not substitute a single flour (use a blend meant for 1:1 substitution), and definitely do not substitute coconut flour (for a coconut flour option, see my grain-fee snickerdoodles recipe). I have not personally tested this recipe gluten-free.
- 2⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon + 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 cups packed dark brown sugar
- 1 cup dairy-free buttery spread or sticks
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease a 9×13 inch pan or line it with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.
- In large mixing bowl, cream the buttery spread or sticks and brown sugar with a hand mixer.
- Add the eggs and vanilla, and beat until smooth.
- Stir in the flour mixture until well combined.
- Spread the batter evenly in your prepared pan. (I lightly greased a spatula or use a small piece of parchment paper to press the batter for easy stick-free spreading.)
- In a small bowl, whisk together the 2 tablespoons sugar and remaining 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- Evenly sprinkle all of the cinnamon-sugar mixture atop the blondie batter. (It might seem like a lot, but trust me, go for it!)
- Bake the blondies for 25 to 30 minutes or until the surface springs back when gently pressed. They will be firmer and raised around the edges, and will sink a little in the middle. No worries, this is how it should be.
- Let the blondies cool in the pan completely before cutting.
More Dairy-Free Baked Dessert Bar Recipes
Classic Lemon Bars
Frosted Pumpkin Bars
Old-Fashioned Apple Pie Bars
23 Comments
Thanks for another awesome recipe! I just baked these to take to a party. I should have made 2 batches. My husband and I don’t want to stop eating them. I may have to wake up early tomorrow to make another batch!
Thanks Alisa!!
You definitely deserve another batch all to yourself Kelli!
All I have to say is YUM! I am going to try them with the egg replacer next time.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Elisa! As noted in the post, egg subs are tricky with blondies. Just as a heads up!
These were totally yummy. I had to go dairy free because my son was having some tummy troubles and I have been craving something sweet. This was my first adventure into dairy free dessert! I didn’t have plain nutmeg, so I used a dash of pumpkin pie spice instead. And I had just bought some soy free Earth Balance, so it worked out perfectly. I was thinking these would taste yummy with white chocolate chips, but I am not sure they make those dairy free?
There are several brands of dairy-free white chocolate chips now! I need to do a post on this. Enjoy Life actually makes them now -> https://www.godairyfree.org/product-reviews/enjoy-life-white-baking-chips-reviews
You can also buy Great Value (at Walmart) is popular, and Tollhouse has an “allergen-free” variety, but they are hard to find!
One of our favorite recipes. Works gluten free, too substituting GF flour blend. Thank you!
I just have to comment on these. I have recently gone dairy-free, so I’m new to it all and trying to find treats I can make to satisfy my sweet tooth. I stumbled across these through the godairyfree site, and holy moly – they are fabulous!!! I think they are the new fave for my whole family, and I’m the only one that is eating dairy-free right now! They came out so moist and chewy, truly the consistency of brownies! Thank you soooo much for posting this!
Hello All,
Can you substitute the margarine with extra virgin olive oil?
No, you would need to make other recipe modifications for that to work. See our guide for how to sub oil for butter or margarine here -> https://www.godairyfree.org/news/how-to-substitute-oil-for-butter
These would be like cookies, but are more finicky.
These were delicious. Made the recipe exactly as stated using Earth Balance and fresh grated nutmeg. Definitely a keeper.
Wonderful! Happy the recipe worked well for you Ingrid and thank you for the feedback!
Hi, Donna. I have tried this with gluten-free flour(with added xanthum gum) and vegan butter(Earth Balance). The taste is delicious. However, I’m not sure if I added to much gluten-free flour for the sub or if I didn’t add enough butter to the recipe, but, they ended up a little on the dry side for me. Again, the taste was delightful and it even had a chew to it that reminded of an actual snickerdoodle cookie. I’m definitely going to try it again. The “start off” recipe is great!
Thank you for sharing your gluten-free trial on this recipe Katelyn! I’m sure it will be helpful for many people.
Do you hav other nutritional facts, calories, carbs, proteins?
No I don’t, but you can calculate them using Nutrition Data -> https://nutritiondata.self.com/
They’re straight up dessert! So I try not to think about the nutrition facts when inhaling 🙂
Could you substiture shortening for the margerine?
It might work, but I couldn’t guarantee the results. Shortening usually produces a cakier texture.
I guess not, I saw g-free mentioned, I thought. Hopefully you found something that worked for you 🙂
I Googled “vegan” too, so back to the drawing board for me!
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Did you use gluten free flour in these as well?
My question too! Can I use gf flour or shall I just experiment?
Hi Donna, I haven’t tested this recipe gluten-free as of yet.