Easy Dairy-Free Blondies Recipe is a simple, delicious recipe for soft, chewy, and rich blondies packed with warm vanilla and brown sugar flavors, made without butter or milk.
Love vanilla? Avoiding chocolate?
Easy Dairy-Free Blondies are simple to make with basic pantry ingredients and require no special equipment.
The secret to their rich, chewy texture and caramel-like flavor is vanilla and brown sugar combined with oil. No butter and no margarine.
Be careful not to overbake them; blondies are meant to be soft and slightly gooey in the center when you take them out of the oven, as they will firm up further as they cool.
For clean, neat squares, let the blondies cool completely in the pan before slicing.
Feel free to fold in dairy-free chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, or pecans for an extra layer of texture and flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for dairy-free blondies
Can I use coconut oil instead of vegetable oil?
Yes, you can use melted coconut oil in place of vegetable oil. Just ensure your other wet ingredients are at room temperature so the coconut oil doesn’t solidify when mixed. Note that there may be some coconut flavor added to the blondies.
How do I know when the blondies are done baking?
Bake until the edges are golden and set, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached rather than wet batter. Be careful not to overbake to keep them soft and chewy.
Can I make these blondies ahead of time?
Yes, you can bake the blondies a day in advance, let them cool completely, and keep them stored in an airtight container at room temperature until you are ready to slice and serve.
How should I store leftover blondies?
Store baked blondies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or keep them in the refrigerator for up to a week. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
Can I add mix-ins like dairy-free chocolate chips or nuts?
Yes, you can easily fold in up to one cup of dairy-free chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, or pecans into the batter right before pouring it into the baking pan.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for baking:
Why do recipes have salt in the ingredients of baked goods?
Even though salt tends to make foods, well, salty, it actually plays other roles in baking as well.
For example, the right amount of salt balances flavors in baked goods; it can bring out the sweetness of sugar and, at the same time, prevent them from tasting overly sweet. It also can help dull the bitterness of cocoa.
Salt prevents baked goods from tasting bland, while it balances the richness of the fats. It also helps develop flavor in yeast breads and works with proteins to strengthen gluten and make it more elastic.
Salt also slows down yeast fermentation because it prevents the yeast from eating up the sugars too quickly, which otherwise would cause the dough to rise too fast and then ultimately collapse, causing bread to come out flat instead of fluffy.
Salt helps baked goods stay a little fresher for a little longer and helps delay mold from growing on them.
What is the difference between white granulated sugar and brown sugar?
The short answer is that while white granulated sugar is just pure sweetness, brown sugar is white sugar with molasses mixed into it.
Here is how that change affects your baking:
- White sugar is neutrally sweet. Brown sugar tastes like rich caramel or toffee.
- White sugar makes things crisp and light. Brown sugar traps moisture, making baked goods (like brownies) dense, soft, and extra chewy.
- Brown sugar is dark and wet; white sugar is dry and clear.
Tip: If a recipe calls for brown sugar and you’re completely out, you can make your own by thoroughly mixing a tablespoon of molasses into a cup of regular white granulated sugar, and that will give you light-brown sugar. If you want dark brown sugar, you need to mix in more molasses.
Can I substitute honey for white granulated sugar in baking?
The short answer to this question is yes.
However, there are some things to consider, because the substitution is not 1:1.
Honey is denser and contains more fructose than white granulated sugar, so it is sweeter. Also, honey contains almost 20% liquid, so adjustments must be made for these differences.
First of all, the glucose and fructose in honey make it sweeter than granulated sugar, so you would use only ¾ of the amount of sugar in the recipe’s ingredients. Second, since honey already contains liquid, you should reduce the amount of liquid that the recipe calls for by 25% to maintain consistency.
Honey is also naturally acidic, whereas granulated sugar is not, so in order to neutralize the acidity you will be adding to your baking, you can add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda per cup of honey to the ingredients.
Lastly, since honey contains simple sugars that caramelize and burn at lower temperatures than granulated sugar does, you should lower the temperature by 25 degrees from that required in the recipe. This is to help prevent the outside from baking quicker than the inside of your baked goods.
Note:
There are a few additional things to note about substituting honey for sugar, though.
First, if you use honey rather than granulated sugar for baked goods that are supposed to be crispy, they will come out softer.
Second, you cannot “cream” if you replace granulated sugar with honey, so recipes that are meant to come out light because of creaming butter with sugar will come out denser.
Lastly, honey is still a sugar, and it has approximately 30% more calories than granulated sugar does (but this will be somewhat compensated by the fact that you will be reducing the quantity of honey versus sugar in the recipe).
What is the difference between baking soda and baking powder?
Baking soda and baking powder are both synthetic leavens that help baked goods rise, but there is a difference between them.
Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate, which needs another ingredient that is acidic in order to be activated. When the baking soda touches the acid, it creates a carbon dioxide gas, which helps the baked good rise. Baking soda is between 3 and 4 times stronger than baking powder, and if too much baking soda is used, your baked good will end up with a metallic flavor.
Baking powder is baking soda that is already mixed with an acid and a stabilizer and will be activated by moisture and heat. Nowadays, baking powder is called double-acting because it activates twice—once when it gets wet (when you mix the ingredients together) and again when it heats in the oven.
Replacing one with the other can be tricky, and it’s not recommended. However, if you have no choice, then do solid research for substituting one for the other for the baked good you are preparing so you don’t ruin it.
What do eggs do in baking?
Eggs are made up of two parts: the whites and the yolks (the yellow).
Egg whites are made up of protein that sets when heated and helps baked goods hold their structure. The yolks are made up of fats and vitamins and help ingredients bond.
Eggs also help baked goods rise as well as keep them moist.
It is important to have the right amount of eggs when baking, because if there are too many eggs in a recipe, this can cause a rubbery, dense texture, and if there are too few eggs, this can cause a crumbly, dry texture.
The different parts of the egg will provide different textures to baked goods; using the entire egg in baking will provide moisture and help the baked good rise evenly, using extra yolks will create richer, denser textures, and extra whites will add fluffiness but may create a drier texture.
Should I sift flour before I use it?
Unless you are concerned about bugs or clumps from moisture, the need to sift depends on your recipe.
For example, you don’t need to sift for dense baking like muffins or quick breads, where lumps won’t ruin the texture. But you should sift for recipes that rely on air bubbles, such as sponge or angel cakes or soufflés.
You also should sift your flour if you are making baked goods with a high fat content, such as brownies, because it is important that the fat be absorbed throughout all of the flour, and having flour clumps could prevent this.
Sifting the baking powder and/or baking soda together with the flour and salt before mixing in the other ingredients may be able to help prevent cakes from coming out lopsided, where one side may be somewhat higher than the other.
What is the difference in using oil vs. butter or margarine?
Both margarine and butter are solid fats at room temperature, and both contain more saturated fats than oil.
While margarine and butter will change from a solid to a liquid when heated, they will change back to solids when cooled again. Oil stays liquid at all temperatures. Oil also coats flour better in the preparation process before baking.
Butter “creams” better than margarine, but one cannot cream oil at all.
When converting a recipe from butter or margarine to oil, the general conversion rate is 1 to ¾ (although if you are doing more than one batch, you might need to reduce the oil because I have found that baked goods come out oily in this case).
And when converting from oil to margarine or butter, typically the ratio is 1 to 1¼.
What is the difference between real vanilla extract and imitation vanilla?
Real vanilla is made from soaking vanilla beans in alcohol, imitation vanilla is synthetic, and real vanilla costs quite a bit more than imitation. Whether or not there will be a taste difference in your baking depends on the baked good, so do some research before you decide.
I personally always use the imitation as long as I have a really good brand because it’s not worth it to me to spend the extra money.
Baking and Dessert Pantry Essentials
In addition to baking equipment, there are baking ingredients that I try to keep in the house at all times:
- flour
- white granulated sugar
- brown sugar (light/dark—I usually keep dark)
- confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
- salt
- baking powder
- baking soda
- cocoa powder
- ground cinnamon
- ground nutmeg
- ground ginger
- ground cloves
- baking chocolate
- chocolate chips
- instant dry yeast
- vanilla and/or vanilla sugar
- cooking oil/cooking spray
- margarine or butter
- eggs
- honey
- instant coffee
- various extracts (real or imitation)
I also make sure that I have the following on hand to be able to make a variety of fillings, frostings, and toppings:
- whipping cream
- powdered pudding mix
- powdered sugar
- a good chocolate spread
Then, there is the following to make last-minute quick desserts:
- packaged pie dough or ready-made pie crusts
- puff pastry dough
Lastly, it’s not a bad idea to keep fun toppings, such as chopped walnuts, raisins, and the oh-so-important container of sprinkles.
Like chocolate?
Try brownies!
Easy Dairy-Free Chewy Brownies
Easy Dairy-Free Chewy Fudge Brownies
Easy Dairy-Free Chocolate Fudge Brownies
Dairy-Free Blondies
Chewy and delicious, easy blondies without butter and without milk.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of all-purpose flour
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1-2 tablespoons water (optional)*
Instructions
- Mix flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Add salt, egg, oil, vanilla, and water and mix well.
- Pour into an 8" x 8" lined or greased baking pan and gently spread out all over evenly.
- Place in an oven that has been preheated to 350° F and bake for approximately 20 - 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and the top is slightly firm.
- Let cool before cutting.
Notes
* This recipe is very thick, so I add a little water to help it spread in the pan easier (approximately 1 tablespoon). You can add more, but the more you add the more cakey the blondies will come out.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
9Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 213Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 186mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 0gSugar: 20gProtein: 2g