Chocolate Chip Maple Candied Pecan Blondies (Vegan)
These blondies are a beautiful marriage of chocolate, maple, and candied pecans with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. A delicious dairy-free autumn bake.
These moist, flavorful blondies bring lovely fall flavors together in an easy to prepare package. The candied pecans bring extra texture and flavor with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. The blondie batter also includes cinnamon and nutmeg, along with a splash of maple extract. A wonderfully easy and flavorful bake; your new fall go-to blondie.
What you will need:
Chocolate chips, pecans and maple extract are a must for this recipe. Everything else you will need for this bake are all basic pantry items.
- all purpose flour
- baking powder
- vanilla extract
- maple extract
- plant based butter with salt
- plant based yogurt
- cane sugar
- coconut sugar
- pecans
- chocolate chips – I use Callebaut 811
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- maple syrup
How to:
Let’s candy those pecans first. Measure out 1/2 cup of pecans and roughly chop them. Count out 16 whole pecans. In a small pot, add the sugar, maple syrup, water, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Place the pot over medium- to medium-low heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Heat the mixture long enough for it to thicken and become syrupy; this will only take a couple of minutes. Once the sugar syrup is ready, add the pecans, both chopped and whole, and stir until the syrup coats all the pieces. Pour the pecans out onto a parchment-lined pan, spread them out as much as you can, and allow them to dry. Once they are dry, separate out all of the whole pecan pieces and break up any clusters created by the smaller pieces. Set the pecans aside for later.
Now to make the batter. To a small bowl, add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg; whisk to combine and set aside. Melt the two sticks of butter and add it to a medium bowl. To the melted butter, add both sugars and whisk for 1 minute to fully combine. To the sugar/butter mixture, add the yogurt, vanilla extract, and maple extract and whisk for another 30 seconds to a minute. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, whisking until almost all of the flour is absorbed. Add the chocolate chips and the 1/2 cup of chopped candied pecans to the batter and fold them in until just combined.
Pour the batter into an 8×8 square pan lined with parchment paper, making sure to evenly spread it out. Scatter the 16 whole candied pecans over the top of the batter. Bake the brownies for 35 minutes. These blondies come out with golden brown edges and a set center. If you would like a gooey center, bake them for a little less time.
Once out of the oven, allow the blondies to rest in the pan for 20 to 30 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Allow the blondies to completely cool before storing them in an airtight container. They should remain fresh for 3 to 5 days.
Alright, let’s get started. Please make, bake and enjoy!
Chocolate Chip Maple Candied Pecan Blondies (Vegan)
Ingredients
Candied Pecans
- ¾ – 1 cup pecans – 1/2 cup roughly chopped + 16 whole pecans
- 2 tbsp cane sugar
- ½ tbsp maple syrup
- ½ tbsp water
- ⅛ tsp cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp nutmeg
Blondies
- 2 cups / 240 grams all purpose flour
- ¾ cup / 150 grams cane sugar
- ¾ cup / 150 grams coconut sugar
- 2 sticks / 226 grams plant based butter with salt
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ tbsp vanilla extract
- ½ tbsp maple extract
- ½ cup / 120 grams plant based yogurt
- the 1/2 cup of roughly chopped candied pecans – reserve the candied whole pecans for the top of the blondies
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
Instructions
Candied Pecans
- To a small pot, add the sugar, water, maple syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg; stir to combine. Set the pot over medium to medium-low heat. Bring the mixture to a boil and allow it to thicken and become syrupy – this will only take a couple of minutes. Once a syrupy consistency is reached, remove the pot from the heat and add all of the pecans (the roughly chopped ones and the whole ones). Stir to fully coat all of the pecans with the syrup and then pour them out onto a pan lined with parchment paper. Spread them out as best you can and allow them to cool and dry. Once they are completely dry, separate out all of the whole pecans and break up any clumps created by the smaller chopped pieces. Set the pecans aside for later.
Blondies
- Pre-heat the oven to 350F and line an 8×8 square pan with parchment paper.Melt the butter and set it aside.
- In a small bowl, add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg; whisk to combine an set aside. In a medium bowl, add the melted butter and both sugars; whisk for about a minute to fully combine. Add the yogurt, vanilla extract and maple extract; continue whisking for another 30 seconds to a minute. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients; whisking until almost all of the flour is absorbed. Add the 1/2 cup of roughly chopped candied pecans and the chocolate chips; fold them in just enough to incorporate them into the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, making sure to spread it out evenly. Scatter the reserved candied whole pecan pieces across the top of the blondies.Bake the blondies for 35 minutes. These come out with golden brown edges and a set center. If you are wanting a gooey center, bake them a little less. Once out of the oven, allow the blondies to cool in the pan for 20 to 30 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to completely cool.Store the blondies in an airtight container at room temperature. They will remain fresh for 3 to 5 days.
