Gluten Free Peanut Butter Swirled Blondies

I am the first person to spout off all the reasons why you need a KitchenAid mixer. So easy to use and convenient for millions of recipes.

Sometimes, though, you just don’t need it. Some gooey, sugary concoctions require just a bowl and a spoon. No creaming, no beating to stiff peaks, no heavy lifting at all. These Gluten Free Peanut Butter Swirled Blondies are the perfect example of a one bowl dessert.

I’ve told you about my love for The Pioneer Woman and Sally’s Baking Addiction, but the other blogger who I’m borderline too obsessed with is Averie at Averie Cooks. Her recipes never disappoint. I’ve tweaked this recipe of hers to make these GF Peanut Butter Swirled Blondies.

As you can see, some of the star ingredients in these squares of melty bliss are chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and of course, peanut butter. The other ingredient that I foolishly didn’t include in this photo is dark brown sugar. It’s the exclusive sugar used in this recipe and it gives the blondies such a deep, molasses-y taste that I love. If you don’t love dark brown sugar, light brown sugar would work just as well here and give the peanut butter even more chance to shine.

Start to finish, these babies took less than 30 minutes. They stay together really well and taste incredible after you’ve let them fully cool. But who really has time for that? Slice into this pan when the blondies are still warm and experience the taste sensation that is rich, gooey, peanut buttery…sorry, I’m getting a little distracted thinking about my next bite of these as I write.

Customize these however you want. All chocolate chips, Nutella instead of peanut butter (or both? oh god), light brown sugar, you name it, these blondies can make it taste delicious.

Take one last look at them, make sure you’ve got some vanilla ice cream in the freezer to serve them with, and go preheat your oven. The walk to the kitchen will take longer than mixing them together, trust me.

GF Peanut Butter Swirled Blondies
Prep: 5 minutes    Cook: 20-25 minutes    Makes: 8×8 pan

Ingredients:
1 stick butter, melted
1 egg
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed (light brown sugar may be substituted)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup gluten free all purpose flour (I used Jules’ AP Gluten Free Flour)
1/2 cup peanut butter chips + 1/2 cup chocolate chips (or any combination of chips)
1/3 cup peanut butter, melted

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8×8 pan with foil, spray with cooking spray.
2. Melt the butter in a large bowl in the microwave. Let cool for a few minutes.
3. Add the egg, brown sugar, and vanilla to the butter and stir until smooth.
4. Add the gluten free flour and stir until combined.
5. Stir in the peanut butter and chocolate chips.
6. Pour into pan, smooth the top.
7. Drizzle melted peanut butter over 5 wide, pan length lines. Draw a toothpick or knife through the lines perpendicularly to create marbling.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the center looks just set. A toothpick in the center should be clean or with a few moist crumbs.

Recipe adapted from Averie Cooks.