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
¼ cup pumpkin puree
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup + 2 tablespoons gluten free all purpose flour
½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon)
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ 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 ½ teaspoon vanilla)
- SNICKERDOODLE BLONDIES: mix ½ 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
Blondie
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup dairy free butter
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ¼ cups gluten free all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Himalayan sea salt
topping
- 3 tablespoons coconut sugar / vegan granulated sugar
- ½ 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 ½ teaspoon vanilla)
- SNICKERDOODLE BLONDIES: mix ½ 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
- ¼ cup pumpkin puree
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons gluten free all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon)
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ 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.
Paige is Running Around Normal says
Oh my taste buds. Those look ah-mazing!! Must make soon!!
spabettie says
Thanks Paige !! Let me know if you make them... you'll LOVE them !!
Jill@MyAdviceQuarterLife says
Joey makes a MEAN ginger cookie. It is to die for. Besides that, anything with peanut butter 🙂
spabettie says
Mmm... ginger is one of my favorites... maybe Joey and I can have a baking exchange?? 🙂 I make a GREAT peanut butter cookie... 😉
Aimee says
Wowzers! These look like they would be worth the effort. 🙂
spabettie says
they really are !! and if you don't want to make your own toffee, even easier!! 😀
Amy @ Second City Randomness says
I think you and I would be good friends.
Or enemies. Because we'd be fighting over the last of the toffee...
But then friends again when we decide to make more... 🙂
spabettie says
YES !! I LOVE this theory !! 😀 it is funny - I am NOT kidding - as I type this?? Jason ate the last one. Yep. without asking. Just did it. We would share, right ?? 😉
saltytooth says
Looks good! My favorite cookie is snickerdoodle. I haven't had them in forever, but I think they just made my Christmas cookie list. 🙂
spabettie says
I love snickerdoodles too ! the name has always been weird to me, but GOOD COOKIE ! 😀
Angela (the diet book junkie) says
butter toffee blondies might be my 3 favourite words.
as crazy as it sounds, i'm not much into cookies. i actually can't remember the last one i had. (i know, sad.)
spabettie says
Angela, I completely understand... I am really the same way - with all the baking I do, I really do not have much of a sweet tooth... but these... only lasted ONE DAY. 😀
Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat) says
Those look so amazing!!!
I love snickerdoodle cookies but now you've got me seriously craving toffee.
spabettie says
mmm... toffee is my FAVORITE. I've already made another batch for a friend 🙂
eatmovewrite says
Cool beans! I've never made blondies, but lately I've been wanting to. I'm going to make non-vegan, non-toffee blondies and call them inspired by you (ish). :p
spabettie says
YAY !! I can't wait to see them... blondies are SO good. I may have had one with breakfast...
biz319 says
Yep, toffee is definitely insulin worthy in my book!
These are my favorite cookies - I finally got the right balance of chew on these snickerdoodles!
http://mybizzykitchen.com/2009/11/15/it-was-a-mama-rinis-day/
spabettie says
I love snickerdoodles... those look good, I love the stack !!
Not a Rabbit says
Wow! Can you lend me your patience please, Seymour?
I tried to make cinder toffe twice last week for Bonfire Night, and both times it failed! (the first time took forever and then tasted burnt, the second batch was better but not right, and still tasted burnt!).
My favourite cookie would have to be chocolate chip (being British, and an oatmeal-raisin hater, that's the only cookie I like!).
spabettie says
I think it's a fine line of patience and timing... I took it off right as it turned slightly darker and was completely smooth...
your chocolate chip cookies today look perfect! 😀