These Gluten-Free Lemon Blondies are the perfect balance of sweet, with a slight tang from the addition of lemon. The crisp exterior with a perfectly moist and slightly gooey centre is sheer perfection.
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Why we love this recipe:
Lemon desserts are one of my favourite things to make. I love the balance of sweet, with the freshness and brightness of citrus.
These Gluten-Free Lemon Blondies are a perfect balance – they’re the sweet you seek when you’re after something to serve with your tea, coffee or for dessert, with the addition of zesty lemon flavour.
Enjoy these as a snack for morning or afternoon tea, put in a lunchbox, or take on a picnic.
Ingredients in this recipe:
Please see the recipe card further along in the post for exact quantities of ingredients and the full method.
Butter – adds to the depth of flavour and texture of the brownies. We use unsalted butter in this recipe.
Brown Sugar – we use light brown sugar, which adds a lovely caramel flavour.
Eggs – I use large free-range eggs. The eggs add structure and richness.
Vanilla – for the best flavour, be sure to use naturally extracted vanilla, not artificially flavoured.
Gluten-Free All-Purpose/Plain Flour – our gluten-free flour blends contain either xanthan or guar gum to stabilise and provide structure to our recipes. If your flour blend already contains either of these gums, there is no need to add more. If you do not require the recipe to be gluten-free, you can certainly use regular flour.
Baking Powder – we add a small amount of baking powder to help with the texture.
Salt – a little coarse sea salt helps to enhance the flavour of the blondies.
Lemon – we use both the zest and juice of the lemon. Be sure to zest the lemon first, and then juice, as it is much easier to do this way.
White Chocolate Chips – work well with the lemon flavour.
Step by Step Instructions:
Start by pre-heating your oven and lining your tin with baking paper.
- Melt your butter, and add it to the bowl of a stand mixer along with the brown sugar. (Or, use hand-held beaters.)
- Whip the butter and sugar for five minutes, until thick and glossy.
- Mix through the vanilla and eggs, and then the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Lastly, fold through the white chocolate chips, lemon zest and juice.
- Pour the mixture into your prepared tin.
- Bake until just cooked – see notes on how to test.
What is the difference between a blondie and brownie?
Although these delicious sweet treats are similar, there are some slight differences between the two:
- Brownies contain chocolate, whilst the blondie generally does not;
- A blondie is flavoured from vanilla and brown sugar;
- Some recipes, like this one, contain chocolate chips. We have used white chocolate chips to complement the caramel flavour of the vanilla and brown sugar.
- According to Wikipedia, the blondie was enjoyed at least ten years before brownies were developed!
Tips for Success and FAQs:
In order for the best flavour to be achieved with this easy recipe for Lemon Blondies, we recommend you use:
- A good quality vanilla and white chocolate chips;
- Fresh lemon zest and juice.
Cooking times are a guide as all ovens vary. It is important to not overcook the blondie. Err on the side of caution; removing the blondie from the oven a little too early is better than a little too late. The blondies will continue to cook for a time after removal from the oven.
Room temperature eggs are best as they will more evenly incorporate into the batter. If you forget to remove the eggs from the refrigerator just place them in a bowl of warm water for about 5 minutes.
Yes, they freeze well. To freeze, wrap the slices in cling wrap then transfer them to an airtight freezer container. You can freeze them for up to three months.
Yes, absolutely – if you do not require this recipe to be gluten-free, feel free to use regular plain/all-purpose flour.
Once they are cool store the blondies in an airtight container at room temperature. The blondies are, not surprisingly, at their best on the first day. After about day three they start to lose some of their flavours.
More delicious recipes for you to try:
Love lemon desserts as much as we do? Be sure to try these recipes also:
- Creamy Lemon Pie
- Three Ingredient Lemon Marmalade
- Classic Lemon Curd
- Gluten-Free Lemon Madeleines
- Individual Lemon Curd Meringues
- Quick and Easy Lemon Ice Cream
- Belgian Lemon Tea Cake
- Gluten-Free Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes
Let me know when you try these delicious Gluten-Free Lemon Blondies – I would love to hear from you!
Alex xx
Gluten-Free Lemon Blondies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (250 g) unsalted butter – melted See Note 1
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs – beaten See Note 2
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups (300 g) plain/all-purpose gluten free flour See Note 3
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest See Note 4
- 2 tablespoon (40 ml) lemon juice See Note 4
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
Recipe Measurements:
For accuracy, we recommend weighing your ingredients. This will produce the best results.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 Degrees C (355 F).
- Line a 27cm x 18cm (11″ x 7″) tin with baking paper.
- Melt your butter in a small saucepan on the stove, or in the microwave.
- Add the melted butter and brown sugar to a stand mixer, or using hand beaters, whip for 5 minutes, until the mixture is thick and glossy.
- Remove the bowl from the stand mixer. Using a wooden spoon, add the beaten eggs and vanilla to the butter and sugar mixture, and mix well.
- Add the flour, baking powder and salt to the mixture, and stir to ensure all of the ingredients are combined.
- Fold through the lemon juice, zest and white chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
- Pour into the prepared tin and bake in the centre of the oven for approximately 40 minutes.
- To check when they are ready, use a very thin skewer or toothpick. You don't want it to come out completely clean, but the mixture should not appear raw. To achieve the desired fudgy centre the skewer needs to come out with a little stickiness. The blondie will continue cooking a little further after removing from the oven. Don’t look for the skewer to come out clean; the blondie will be overcooked at that stage.
- When cooked, remove the tin from the oven and leave the blondie in the tin until completely cool. Cut blondie into pieces and enjoy!
Notes
- Use unsalted butter to best control the salt in baking.
- Use room temperature eggs for best results. We use large eggs in this recipe.
- Use a regular all-purpose/plain flour if you require. (This has been tested, and works perfectly). Our gluten-free flour blends contain either xanthan or guar gum to stabilise and provide structure to our recipes. If your flour blend already contains either of these gums, there is no need to add more.
- The Australian tablespoon is 20 ml or 4 teaspoons. In many other countries, the tablespoon is 15 ml or 3 teaspoons. You may have to adjust your measurements accordingly.
- For the most accurate results when baking, we recommend weighing your ingredients using a kitchen scale.
- Please note, the nutritional information is based on the blondie being cut into 12 pieces, and one being enjoyed as a serve. It does not include what the blondie is served with.
Nutrition Estimate:
Nutritional Disclaimer:
The nutritional information is an estimate only, and is derived from online calculators. For accurate results, we recommend calculating the nutritional information based on the ingredients and brands you use.
Janet Annaian
Very nice love lemon perfect thank you.
Alexandra
Thank you, Janet!
Nancy
Hi Alex! Your lemon recipes are seriously the BEST!! I’ve been making your lemon curd for a while now but as soon as I saw you had a lemon blondie recipe I bookmarked it so I can make it. Well, let me just say, this is way better than I could have imagined. The lemon and white chocolate really take this to another level!! So good!
Alexandra
Nancy, I am delighted to hear that you have enjoyed some of our lemon recipes and are now enjoying the Lemon Blondies. Thank you for taking the time to let me know. 🙂