Paleo Salted Caramel Christmas Blondies – Gluten-free
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These gooey Paleo salted caramel blondies are made with almond flour and a spiced tangerine coconut caramel! The perfect blend of Christmas spices, salted caramel sauce, chopped dates, and nuts! The tangerine-infused dairy-free coconut caramel adds a festive twist! Gluten-free, paleo, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free.
The holiday season just screams tangerines, cinnamon, dates and nuts for me and I NEEDED to come up with a healthy dessert for the Christmas season.
Salted Caramel Christmas Blondies: gluten-free, paleo, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free.
I was tempted to call these Salted Caramel Blondies Santa Clause Blondies – or rather Saint Nicholas Blondies!
On the night of December 5 (in some places, the evening of Dec. 6), in small communities in Austria and the Catholic regions of Germany, German Santa (St. Nicholas) who resembles a bishop and always brings a rowdy friend ( Krampus) goes from house to house to bring small gifts to the children. These gifts always include tangerines, nuts and often also dates! So these flavors are for me, the first taste of Christmas.
These Salted Caramel Almond Flour Blondies are perfect for Christmas morning because they feature all those festive Christmas flavors.
Why these Salted Caramel Blondies are so good:
The base for the almond flour blondie recipe is almond flour, coconut sugar, coconut oil, eggs and plenty of warming spices as well as some tangerine zest. If you would like to make a vegan almond flour blondie a flax egg should sub in well here!
Of course, there’s no chocolate in these paleo salted caramel blondies! I’m actually quite fine with that so I am sure you will be as well because we have something better – salted tangerine caramel.
Salted Coconut Caramel for the win
We are basically making vegan & dairy-free salted caramel sauce using coconut milk and coconut sugar. To that, we add plenty of tangerine zest, sea salt, and vanilla! Christmas central!
There’s a little bit of fresh tangerine juice in the blondies too for that “extra” we all crave and if you don’t stick to any diet, feel free to add a splash of Cointreau instead! OOPS!
Let me tell you, there is nothing better than this tangerine caramel drizzled over a bowl of Greek yogurt so go ahead and double the amount!
Tips
- You can use grated orange zest to flavor both the blondies themselves and the caramel sauce if you don’t have tangerines.
- I decided to swirl about half the salted tangerine caramel sauce into the blondie batter itself right before baking, and save the rest to drizzle over the top to serve.
- After coming out of the oven, the salted caramel blondies will be super warm, soft, and gooey so you’ll want to cool them completely before cutting. Other than with most cakes, I find that chilling the pan actually makes these better and creates the perfect texture to cut them into nice clean squares.
- Feel free to use any dried fruit or nuts you have!
- So, the squares along the edges of the pan will be a bit cakier and the ones in the middle more gooey! I find this perfect and the middle part that has the most caramel will firm up after chilling.
- Once the blondies are done, the edges will be golden brown and pull away from the pan.
- I bake them for 25 – 28 minutes!
★ Did you make and love this Salted Caramel Blondies recipe? Give it your review below! And make sure to share your creations by tagging me on Instagram!
Salted Tangerine Caramel Almond Flour Blondies with Dates & Cashews - Paleo Christmas Recipe
These gooey Paleo salted caramel blondies are made with almond flour and a spiced tangerine coconut caramel! The perfect blend of Christmas spices, salted caramel sauce, chopped dates and nuts!
Dietary info: gluten-free, paleo, dairy-free, and refined sugar free.
Ingredients
Salted Orange Caramel Sauce
- ⅔ cup coconut milk full fat
- 1/4 cup organic coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp tangerine zest
For the Blondies
- 1⅔ cups almond flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tbsp tangerine zest
- 2 tbsp tangerine juice or use cointreau for a naughty version
- ½ cup organic coconut oil melted in the microwave and still warm
- ⅔ cup organic coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 large free range egg
- 1/4 cup chopped cashews
- 6 dates chopped
Instructions
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Combine the coconut milk with the coconut sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and whisk everything together while you wait for it to come to a low boil to make sure that all the sugar is completely dissolved. Continue cooking and whisking the caramel for about 5 more minutes, or until you’ve achieved that lovely golden brown color and the sauce is slightly reduced. it will thicken some more as it cools and as annoying as it is, you’re better off to keep an eye on it to avoid burning it. Put your phone in the other room.
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Once you’re removed it from the heat, stir in the salt, zest and vanilla, then leave it aside to cool.
For the blondies
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Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper.
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Combine almond flour, baking soda and salt in a medium-sized mixing bowl. I recommend sifting the baking soda into the flour, to make sure there are no lumps.
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In a separate mixing bowl, stir together the coconut oil, coconut sugar, and vanilla until smooth (remember to melt your coconut oil in the microwave first). Whisk in the egg, then slowly incorporate the dry ingredients a little at a time.
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Pour the batter into your prepared baking dish. Divide your caramel into two equal portions. Now, swirl one of these portions into the batter, swirling it in with the tines of a fork or a toothpick. Reserve the other portion for later
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Bake the blondies for 25 minutes or until you notice the edges crisping up the center is firm enough not to jiggle if you shake it a bit. The center may not look fully baked, but so long as it doesn’t jiggle at this point - you’re good. It will set further as it cools.
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Allow them to cool for one entire, excruciating hour, then drizzle the remaining caramel onto them. You can speed this up in the fridge - it will also make them easier to cut.
Recipe Notes
- You can use grated orange zest to flavor both the blondies themselves and the caramel sauce if you don't have tangerines.
-
I decided to swirl about half the salted tangerine caramel sauce into the blondie batter itself right before baking, and save the rest to drizzle over the top to serve.
-
After coming out of the oven, the salted caramel blondies will be super warm, soft, and gooey so you’ll want to cool them completely before cutting. Other than with most cakes, I find that chilling the pan actually makes these better and creates the perfect texture to cut them into nice clean squares.
- Feel free to use any dried fruit or nuts you have!
