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.
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 8x8 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.