Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Blondies

Blondies are one of the most underrated baked goods. Their chewy, gooey, brown sugar goodness deserves way more credit than it receives. Essentially, they’re a chocolate chip cookie on steroids. Add peanut butter to the mix, and you have the ultimate treat. Oh yeah, they’re also gluten-free and dairy-free (like everything else I make).

I used a recipe from one of my favorite bloggers, Jenna Weber of Eat, Live, Run, substituting gluten-free ingredients and making a few secret tweaks. Head over to her blog for the base recipe, make substitutions to your liking and let me know how it goes! Getting these just right was definitely a trial and error process, and I’m curious to hear from you. Until then, I’ll be eating warm blondies, possibly topped off with So Delicious Coconut Milk Ice Cream – in moderation, of course –  I am a Holistic Nutritionist after all.

That being said, these blondies do provide a whole bunch of health benefits (surprised?)

• Peanut butter is a great source of protein, especially for vegans and vegetarians.
• Dark chocolate provides cancer-fighting antioxidants and reduces stress by stabilizing blood sugar levels.
• Gluten-free baked goods have a much lower glycemic index than their traditional counterparts, preventing energy crashes, exhaustion and cravings.

Enjoy!