Fall, Dessert, Gluten Free, Dairy Free

Chestnut Blondies

I may have mentioned this before, I’m the slowest grocery shopper in the world. Nice to meet you. 

It’s no secret that I have the attention span of a three year old at a business lunch. And yes, this short attention span is to blame for my ambling and weaving through every aisle of any market. The worst part? Sometimes I find really cool junk on the shelves. (Which is terrible because it just gives me a reason to defend my aimless shopping.) 

BUT JUST TODAY I FOUND SOMETHING GLORIOUS! 

The hippie-dippie coop in which I do all of my foraging started carrying cans of chestnut puree. And it’s French! That means it’s better! Right?! 

Oy. 

Condensed story:

  • Found the chestnut puree
  • Eavesdropped on a conversation about oatmeal cookies
  • Decided to make chestnut oatmeal ocokies.

An obvious chain of events I’d say. 

So upon cracking open the tin of chestnut matter (and promptly jamming a spoonful in my mouth), I worked up a batter for cookies. I wasn’t sure how the puree would change the texture, would it act like fat? Like liquid? I’m not a food scientist. I’m an eater. I’m best with a whisk in one hand a clean finger dipped in batter on the other. 

Whenever I make a new batter (be it cookie or muffin) I always bake off one or two scoops first to see how it will react to heat. If need be, I will then adjust the remaining dough. The practice round for these cookies told me two things:

  • The batter was delicious
  • These were not cookies

The texture was springy, almost like a quick-bread, and not at all caramelized and crisp as I had expected from the cookie. This time, instead of tweaking the batter I decided to shift the shape of this confection. Not a cookie? Fine. Baked into a 8×8 pan it turned out the most delicious chestnut-blondies. 

I’d serve this for breakfast tomorrow but I’m not sure any will be left. Pop open some vanilla ice cream and dump a few scoops on top of this cake, call me when you’re back from heaven.

Free of Gluten, Dairy, Corn, Soy, Nuts and Tree Nuts.

  • 1 ¼ cup GF Oats
  • ½ cup Sweet Rice Flour
  • ½ cup Millet Flour
  • ¼ cup Tapioca Flour
  • ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
  • ½ teaspoon Salt
  • 1 cup Palm Sugar
  • ¾ cup Oil (safflower, rice bran, sunflower…)
  • ¾ cup Chestnut Puree
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ teaspoon Vanilla
  • ¼ teaspoon Grated Nutmeg


Get Busy

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line an 8×8 or 9×9 baking pan with parchment paper.
  2. In a small bowl whisk together the oats, flours, baking soda and salt.
  3. In a separate bowl beat the sugar and oil together for 1-2 minutes, the texture will change as the two become one. Add the chestnut puree and continue to whisk until the mixture is well combined and smooth, another few minutes.
  4. Stir in the eggs, vanilla and grated nutmeg.
  5. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  6. Rock the breakfast cake.

Prep. Time: 10 minutes
Baking Time: 35-45 minutes