These blondies. I just can’t even.
Seriously, these blondies might be one of my favorite desserts ever! AND, they’re Paleo. And AIP-friendly. I rarely would choose a favorite dessert that didn’t contain chocolate, but my Paleo Pumpkin Blondies are just that good! They’re thick, dense, full of pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, and drizzled generously with naturally sweet coconut butter. They have all the flavor of pumpkin pie with a soft cake-like texture when warm and a firm, blondie-like texture when chilled.
This is the recipe that I plan on making and taking everywhere this Fall: Halloween parties, autumn gatherings, holiday meals etc. Plus, these can be made ahead and they keep wonderfully in the refrigerator or freezer. As much as I love eating them fresh out of the oven, I actually preferred them cold out of the fridge! You’ll have to eat them both ways to decide!
I could go on and on about my Paleo Pumpkin Blondies, but I’ll save my raves and just share the recipe so you can try them for yourself! Bet you can’t eat just one!
Since I’ve been eating strictly autoimmune paleo for the past few months, one ingredient I’ve come to love more than ever is pumpkin! I’ve been making pumpkin bars as an AIP treat for myself for awhile, so I’ve been determined to come up with my own version. While I love the texture of pumpkin pie, I was looking for something more along the lines of a blondie, since I’m unable to eat chocolate at this point. (And if you can’t have brownies, then blondies are the next best thing!)
After a couple tries, I think I got it right with these Paleo Pumpkin Blondies! I think I’ve made this recipe at least 3 times already since I developed it and I’m STILL not tired of eating these! In fact, I froze a blondie to reward myself after I finished my 2-week GAPS protocol! 🙂
In order to bake a delicious batch of Paleo Pumpkin Blondies, you’ll want to pick up some coconut butter, coconut oil, and of course, pumpkin. I LOVE Artisana Organics Coconut Butter, found at a great price at Thrive Market. Mix all these ingredients together in a bowl with some raw honey and set it aside.
Then, mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl and add the wet pumpkin goodness to the dry ingredients. Give it a good stir (it will be super-thick, but that’s okay) and add the apple cider vinegar so that it can react with the baking soda.
This is where the gelatin egg comes in! Thanks to the use of gelatin, my Paleo Pumpkin Blondies are not only grain-free, dairy-free, and nightshade-free, but they are totally egg-free, as well! Egg-free baking is a challenge for me, but I’m slowly learning how to utilize gelatin eggs to my advantage!
I know, gelatin eggs sound bizarre and kind of gross! But really, they won’t alter the flavor of your recipe and will actually help bind it together, like real eggs do. If you use too many, you’ll end up with a gummy texture, but just one worked like a charm in these blondies! I used the Great Lakes brand of grassfed gelatin
To make the gelatin egg: add 4 tablespoons of water to a small saucepan and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of gelatin over the top to soak up the liquid. I let it sit for a minute or two, then turned on the heat to my stove and “cooked” the gelatin on low heat while whisking it into the water. Eventually, it will get really foamy. That’s what you want! Once it looks like this, turn off the heat and pour the gelatin into the blondie batter.
Once the blondie mixture is stirred a final time, spread it into a prepared baking pan – I used parchment to get them out easily. Bake the Paleo Pumpkin Blondies for 30-35 minutes (mine took about 34 minutes) and then let them cool off before cutting them into squares.
To really push these blondies over the top, melt some more coconut butter to use for drizzling over the top and prepare to be blown away by how good these are!
I cut mine into 9 huge squares because it looked pretty for my photo shoot, but you could definitely cut them into 12 or even 16 mini blondies. Either way, I can guarantee you that they won’t last long! 😉
With Halloween quickly approaching, my Paleo Pumpkin Blondies are an easy, allergy-friendly, decadent dessert that makes a much better alternative to reaching for the candy that you bought for the trick-or-treaters! (And if you’re anything like me, once you bite into these, you won’t even miss eating chocolate!)
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted
- ½ cup coconut butter, melted
- 1-15 ounce can of pumpkin
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons raw honey
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ¼ cup arrowroot starch
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon cloves
- pinch of sea salt
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 gelatin egg (1 tablespoon grassfed gelatin + 4 tablespoons water)
- 1-2 tablespoons melted coconut butter for topping
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line an 8x8'' baking pan with parchment or grease with coconut oil.
- In a medium bowl, mix together wet ingredients except apple cider vinegar. In a large bowl, mix together coconut flour, arrowroot starch, spices, baking soda, and salt. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry. Add the apple cider vinegar and stir to incorporate.
- In a small saucepan, add 4 tablespoons water and then sprinkle 1 tablespoon of gelatin over the top. Let it sit for a minute, then turn on low heat and whisk gelatin and water until very foamy. Turn off heat and immediately add to the blondie mixture.
- Spread blondie batter (it will be thick) into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
- Drizzle melted coconut butter over cooled blondies.
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Hi Joanna! The pumpkin blondies look delicious. Do you think it would work if I used an egg instead of the gelatin?
Hi Janine! Thank you! They’re my favorite! I think it should work with a real egg! I haven’t tried it myself, so let me know how it turns out!
Talk to me about the gelatin. My twins are allergic to eggs. I love to bake. They love to taste test. I have tried applesauce and yogurt. I find that those alter the taste too much somemes.
Hi Netty! I’m still relatively new to using gelatin, but it seems to be a good egg substitute in recipes where the egg is a binding agent, not a rising agent. I’ve found that the gelatin doesn’t change the flavor at all. You can’t always substitute gelatin “eggs” in place of real ones in all baking recipes, since they can alter the texture and make it gummy if you use too much. (I made the mistake of using 4 gelatin eggs in a cake that called for real eggs and it was awful!!) But, I’ve had success with them in bars like these, as well as muffins, and other AIP baking recipes that intentionally use gelatin instead of real eggs. I get the Great Lakes brand of gelatin, found on Amazon. (And a bonus is that it’s actually healthy- good source of amino acids!) Let me know if you have any other questions! 🙂
Hands down my favorite AIP dessert!! I make these often and I say that tonight is a “Blondie Night!” These are fantastic and I love them cold and they freeze well too! You gotta make them. So good!
Thank you so much! They’re my favorite, too! Great to know that they freeze well! Thanks for sharing!
These sound great! One question… Can I substitute anything for the coconut Butter that is added to the brownies themselves?
Unfortunately, I haven’t found a great substitute for coconut butter that’s AIP. But if you can tolerate nuts, almond or cashew butter might work, though I haven’t tested it. Thanks for asking!
Can I use tapioca flour instead of arrowroot starch?
Hi Skylar,
Yes, I think that substitution should work! I haven’t tried it myself but usually the two are pretty interchangeable. Happy baking!
Delicious! I know it’s not fall, but I was trying to find an AIP dessert recipe without cassava flour to make for Father’s Day. Turned out great! Thank you!!!
Thanks so much, Jessica! Happy to hear these were a hit! And there’s definitely no rule that they’re limited to the Fall season, so I’m glad you tried them! I think pumpkin desserts should be a year-round thing anyway! 😉
Hello Joanna. These look amazing! I plan to make these soon. Do you think I could substitute maple syrup for the honey?
Hi Lauren! Thank you! Yes, maple syrup should be a good substitute for the honey. You might want to add a touch more maple syrup to make sure it’s sweet enough, since I find honey to be naturally sweeter, but you can always taste the batter and see what you think! Enjoy!
I just made these last night and they are delicious! I will definitely be making these again!
I made it as written, just adding a bit more cinnamon (I adore cinnamon) and added a bit of mace too.
That’s awesome, Caroline! I’m so happy that you enjoyed them! 🙂
I made these last night with two changes: maple syrup instead of honey (same amount), a smallish real egg instead of gelatin egg. We loved the flavor, but they were more gooey than we’d like. I baked for 40 minutes, but they were still pretty wet in the middle. Could be the real egg? I’m thinking to add more coconut flour next time, or some ground flaxseed.
I’m going to find a fix or just eat them gooey. Thanks, Joanna, for the great recipe! My wife ADORES your carrot cake donuts. They’re vegetables, right, so we can eat them all the time!
Hi Elaine,
You’re welcome! Glad you still enjoyed the blondies, even if they didn’t turn out as you hoped. It may have either been the egg or it could have been the coconut flour. I find that different brands bake very differently, which is frustrating! But you’re right, just add extra coconut flour next time and they should result in a better texture. They’re also wonderful refrigerated for a more firm texture.
Thanks for the compliments on my carrot cake donuts, too! I like the way you think- they’re in the vegetable family, so eat up! 😉
I made it again with an added 1/4 cup ground flaxseed. Less gummy. Flavor still great.
I had a lot of problems with the coconut butter. How do you melt it? The first time I melted it in the toaster oven at 175 degrees, but it took forever. The second time I melted it on the stove top on low, but it burned rather quickly, then I had to start over. Plus whenever I melt a lot of it, I always end up with not enough, then have to melt more. I find it painful on the hand (and slow) to scrape out hard coconut butter shavings before melting. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Elaine
I just melt the coconut butter (in its glass container without the lid on) in the microwave for 20-30 seconds, give it a stir and it works great for me! Whatever you don’t use stays in the jar and hardens back up. If you don’t use a microwave, it’s a lot more time consuming and difficult to melt, unfortunately!
Thanks for the tip! Besides posting great recipes, you’ve been very helpful. Happy new year!
You’re so welcome, Elaine! Happy I can be of help! Happy New Year to you, too! 🙂