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I think I might love blondies more than I love brownies.
Although, don’t hold me to that because normally I really love brownies– it might just be my pregnancy talking. Dark chocolate sounded totally unappealing to me during my first pregnancy, and this time around I’m pretty much feeling the same way. It could be due to the fact that even the small amount of caffeine in chocolate leaves me feeling jittery these days!
So, this blondie is totally up my alley right now. It packs the perfect combination of sweetness and saltiness, and when topped with a dairy-free Maple Pecan Glaze, it’s decadent enough to serve to company. Just don’t tell them about the secret ingredient I snuck inside: white beans!
After my success with the Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies last week, I just had to give this adding-beans-to-a-dessert-thing another try. Since pureed beans tend to add more moisture to a recipe, not to mention an extra dose of fiber, protein, and minerals, a rich blondie seemed like the next best step. As I was tasting the batter, the flavor reminded me a little bit of Nordstrom’s Maple Pecan Cookies, which I used to be slightly obsessed with around Christmas time. They are melt-in-your-mouth delicious. So, I added handful of pecans to the batter and took it an extra step further by adding a naturally-sweetened Maple Pecan Glaze over the top.
I love the result, and I hope you do, too.
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Vegan Maple Pecan White Bean Blondies
Makes one 9×9 pan
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cooked white beans, or 1 can, drained and rinsed
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup gluten-free oat flour
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon raw apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup raw pecans
1 batch Maple Pecan Glaze
Crushed pecans, for garnish
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 and line a 9-inch square dish with parchment paper. Process the white beans, coconut oil, and vanilla in a large processor until relatively smooth. Add in the coconut sugar, oat flour, salt, baking soda and vinegar and blend until until a smooth batter is formed. Add in the pecans and pulse briefly until incorporated.
Pour the batter into the lined baking dish and use a spatula to smooth the top. Bake at 350F until the top begins to crack, about 25 minutes. Allow to cool completely before slicing and serving.
Top with the Maple Pecan Glaze just before serving, along with an additional sprinkling of crushed pecans, if desired.
Ingredients
For the blondies:
- 1 1/2 cups cooked white beans , or 1 can, drained and rinsed
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup gluten-free oat flour
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon raw apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup raw pecans
1 batch Maple Pecan Glaze
Crushed pecans, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 and line a 9-inch square dish with parchment paper. Process the white beans, coconut oil, and vanilla in a large processor until relatively smooth. Add in the coconut sugar, oat flour, salt, baking soda and vinegar and blend until until a smooth batter is formed. Add in the pecans and pulse briefly until incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the lined baking dish and use a spatula to smooth the top. Bake at 350F until the top begins to crack, about 25 minutes. Allow to cool completely before slicing and serving. Top with the Maple Pecan Glaze just before serving, along with an additional sprinkling of crushed pecans, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Per Serving: Calories: 110, Fat: 5g, Carbohydrates: 15g, Fiber: 2g, Protein: 2g
I hope you’ll enjoy these blondies as much as I do. Keep in mind that when you enjoy one, you’ll also be one step closer to participating in the Pulse Pledge, which is a simple commitment to eating one serving of pulses (i.e. beans, lentils, chickpeas, and dry peas) each week. I’m proud to be an ambassador for the 2016 International Year of Pulses, because pulses are a sustainable and affordable way to get more people the nutrition they need– and I want to help spread the word. Sign up to take the Pulse Pledge with me today!
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by USA Pulses and Pulse Canada as part of my ongoing partnership to help promote the International Year of Pulses.
Reader Feedback: Do you have a preference? Blondies or brownies?
This is the best, most delicious bean blondie recipe by far! I omitted the glaze and added a few semi-sweet choc chips on top! I also baked them in muffin cups…Amazing! Thank you!
Can i use oats ( not necessarily gluten free) i turn into flour?
Just tried these and think I’ve found a way to have more beans!(ofc I prefer a regular Blondie or even better your peanut butter and chocolate chip blondie lol) I was feeling too lazy to do the icing and only had 1/2c of coconut sugar so I added some maple syrup to the batter one time and it came out great! All the flavours with a little less effort!
These are really good! I did it all in a vitamix and subbed the coconut sugar for 1/2 cup of granulated maple sugar (dried maple syrup) and replaced the pecans with walnuts because that’s what I had. Turned out great, a delightful afternoon or evening treat!
Baked mine at 400 because I hoped to achieve a crispy exterior. I left out the pecans due to allergy. Even when cooled this recipe has a very soft refried beans texture, edges included. Coconut sugar imparts lovely toasty notes to a lightly sweet bean “cake.” My taste buds would have preferred an oat crumble made with the ingredients sans white beans. I know. That totally misses the point.
I’ve had black bean brownies and loved them. But I happen to be crazy about the flavor of maple, so I think I may like these blondies even more than the black bean brownies. I’ll have to give them a try.