These gluten free vegan pumpkin blondies are a sweet cinnamon treat. tips for making small batch blondies and air fryer blondies.
recipe originally published November 11, 2010
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How to make vegan pumpkin blondies
Next to brownies and cheesecake, I really love a good vanilla blondie. What are blondies? Blondies are cookie bars, basically a brownie without the chocolate and cocoa. This recipe brings pumpkin and cinnamon into the mix, for a warmly spiced version of a vanilla blondie.
This recipe is egg free! This is also a gluten free blondie - if you are not gluten free, you can easily use regular all purpose flour.
This is a quick and easy recipe with a 6 ingredients that you may have in your pantry right now. It begins by creaming together (dairy free) butter and brown sugar, and then you add pumpkin to it. Blondies traditionally use brown sugar. (That is how I was taught in school.)
My tip is to use a mixer or hand mixer to cream together these ingredients. You can whip them by hand, but a mixer is worth the extra step here. Then I switch to a spatula or wooden spoon to mix in the dry ingredients.
Read on for a small batch blondies hack, and also an air fryer blondies option!
Why are my blondies cakey?
I feel like I can confidently answer this, as I have had many (still delicious) blondie fails. I love a dense blondie, not a fluffy cakey one. The culprit could be:
- too much flour
- too much leavening
- over baking
Tips for a perfect blondie
- increase the fat (in this recipe, the butter)
- small amount of leavening (baking soda or powder)
- no eggs (as vegans, our recipes have no eggs. in traditional baking recipes, eggs often add leavening and height)
Small Batch Blondie / Air Fryer Blondie
Sometimes you just want a small something without a bunch of leftovers sitting around like they'd make a great breakfast. In that case, I have done the math for you, and the small batch blondie can be baked, or cook them in the air fryer.
Half the recipe:
6 tablespoons brown sugar / vegan granulated sugar
6 tablespoons dairy free butter
ΒΌ cup pumpkin puree
Β½ teaspoon vanilla
Β½ cup + 2 tablespoons gluten free all purpose flour
Β½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon)
ΒΌ teaspoon baking powder
ΒΌ teaspoon Himalayan sea salt
Prepare according to instructions and transfer to small loaf pans or a pan that is air fryer safe and will fit in the air fryer. Bake for 20 minutes and check if done / air fry for 15 and check if done.
Recipe variations - add ins
When I first made this vegan pumpkin blondie recipe years ago, I added toffee pieces. Those sweet crunchy bites work so well with a vanilla blondie AND a pumpkin blondie, I continued to make them with toffee.
It wasn't until much later (and honestly, too lazy to make my toffee first) that I had these pumpkin blondies plain. But they are anything but plain. To make up for the lack of toffee, I added a cinnamon sugar topping, which gives a nice sweet crunch.
As with any dessert bar recipe, the add ins and toppings are many:
- nuts (candied pecans are lovely in blondies!)
- chocolate chunks or chips
- swirled cream cheese (combine 4 ounces cream cheese with 2 tablespoons sugar and Β½ teaspoon vanilla)
- SNICKERDOODLE BLONDIES: mix Β½ teaspoon cream of tartar into the flour before combining with the wet ingredients
Did you make these vegan pumpkin blondies?
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Pumpkin Blondies
these gluten free vegan bars get a warm spiced upgrade of pumpkin for a sweet treat. tips for making small batch blondies and air fryer blondies.
Ingredients
- ΒΎ cup brown sugar
- ΒΎ cup dairy free butter
- Β½ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ΒΌ cups gluten free all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon)
- Β½ teaspoon baking powder
- Β½ teaspoon Himalayan sea salt
- topping:
- 3 tablespoons coconut sugar / vegan granulated sugar
- Β½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F. Line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment.
- Add sugar and butter to a large mixing bowl. Cream together using a spatula or mixer / hand mixer. Add pumpkin and vanilla, mix to combine completely (this is where you may need a mixer).
- Add the flour to the pumpkin mixture but do not stir in. Add the pumpkin pie spice / cinnamon, baking powder, and salt to the flour. Stir these into the flour before folding the flour into the pumpkin mixture.
- If using any of the optional add ins, stir them in now (see notes about add ins).
- Transfer blondie mixture to the parchment lined baking dish, spreading into an even layer.
- In a small bowl, combine the 3 tablespoons sugar with pumpkin pie spice / cinnamon. Sprinkle the top of the blondies with the sugar mixture.
- Bake at 350 °F for 25-30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and cool completely before slicing into squares.
Notes
dairy, egg, soy and gluten free, vegan recipe
Recipe variations - add ins
- nuts (candied pecans are lovely in blondies!)
- chocolate chunks or chips
- swirled cream cheese (combine 4 ounces cream cheese with 2 tablespoons sugar and Β½ teaspoon vanilla)
- SNICKERDOODLE BLONDIES: mix Β½ teaspoon cream of tartar into the flour before combining with the wet ingredients
Why are my blondies cakey?
I feel like I can confidently answer this, as I have had many (still delicious) blondie fails. I love a dense blondie, not a fluffy cakey one. The culprit could be:
- too much flour
- too much leavening
- over baking
Tips for a perfect blondie
- increase the fat (in this recipe, the butter)
- small amount of leavening (baking soda or powder)
- no eggs (in traditional baking recipes, eggs often add leavening and height)
Half the recipe:
- 6 tablespoons brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons dairy free butter
- ΒΌ cup pumpkin puree
- Β½ teaspoon vanilla
- Β½ cup + 2 tablespoons gluten free all purpose flour
- Β½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon)
- ΒΌ teaspoon baking powder
- ΒΌ teaspoon Himalayan sea salt
Prepare according to instructions and transfer to small loaf pans or a pan that is air fryer safe and will fit in the air fryer. Bake for 20 minutes and check if done / air fry for 15 and check if done.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
9Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 213Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 189mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 1gSugar: 14gProtein: 2g
nutrition calculations results vary by calculator, are for informational purposes only, and are not intended to replace medical advice or treatment.
about Kristina:
Kristina is spabettie! She found cooking at an early age, and created spabettie in 2010 to share vegan recipes. Kristina turned her culinary training into sharing vibrant vegan food! Read more...
spabettie / Kristina Sloggett is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Carrie C. says
Can I make these without pumpkin? Or substitute something? I want to make them right now, ha! maybe yogurt?
Kristina Sloggett says
ha! good question, Carrie! I bet a dairy free yogurt would work, something with a similar amount of moisture. let me play with it and let you know. (if you try it before I do, give us an update?)
Janet says
love your blog, thank you!
spabettie says
thank YOU, Janet!!
Averie (LoveVeggiesAndYoga) says
candy making is very precise, i.e. butter sugar boiling pot = need to watch it!
and i love that this is vegan and GF...omg i love love love toffee. And cookies/blondies.
perfect recipe!
Deb (SmoothieGirlEatsToo) says
Looks amazing. I've never had a blondie either!!
My first attempt at toffee was a disaster because-as you said- I needed (and lacked)patience. Once I finally let the mix carmelize, it was heavenly! And now my go-to gift for home-made treats.
Christina (Dinner at Christina's) says
I definitely hear ya on the patience part! I made a few batches of my pumpkin seed brittle and one was more chewy than crisp b/c I was sick of waiting for it to reach temp! But when you DO calm down and wait for it - so worth it!!
I've never made blondies - these look yummy! Thanks for linking them to Friday Firsts!
spabettie says
yes! once again, thank you for HAVING me! π
[email protected] 21st Century Housewife says
I'm visiting via Dinner at Christina's Friday Firsts. This is a wonderful, mouthwatering post. I love toffee and I'm so glad you have shared your delicious recipes!
spabettie says
Hello April!! Thank you for visiting! I love toffee also, and this was pretty easy... have you made your own before? π
Theresa @ This is my Hungry Face says
Yum! These look amazing. I love toffee, but I've never tried to make it for myself! I might have to give it a go π
spabettie says
you should!! it's really pretty easy... I've already made another batch for someone else! π
Jeni Treehugger says
Oh toffee tastic!
I want toffee and I want toffee blondies!
spabettie says
Hi Jeni Treehugger !! (love it!) thanks for reading! the toffee is pretty easy to make - almost instant gratification, much better than waiting for a vegan to be shipped ! π
Kris | iheartwellness.com says
I am drooling over here!! These look amazing!
Did you know they have soy free earth balance now? omg, I have never ever purchased the regular one before because of the soy...but I saw the soy free the other day and loaded up!
xxoo
PS. It was Hudson's 3rd birthday today....we spoiled him π Snuggles to Basil!
spabettie says
YES that is the one I use too !!! love it.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETIE HUDSON !! <3
Candice @ ChiaSeedMe says
These look delicious! And I don't even care for toffee that much. I do like blondies, though.
I almost picked up some Ener-G replacer tonight. I've never used it, but always wish for it. Do you think it works much better than a flax egg?
I think my favorite cookies are chocolate chip peanut butter. I used to make this one recipe all the time, and everybody always loved it. But then I stopped using dairy in my baking and I have yet to try and veganize it. I need to do it asap!
spabettie says
Candice, the egg replacer is easier to me than flax... unless you have it for other things.. I haven't always had flax to use, and this is easy... the box lasts a LONG TIME and it is easy!
you are not the first person who has said they don't really care for toffee but these look good ! π π
that said, I need to bake something chocolate SOON !! π