Magic gluten free blondies are rich brown sugar bars with the extra chewy texture of corn flake cereal added to the batter. My favorite chips here are butterscotch, but the choice is yours.
What makes these the best gluten free blondies
Magic gluten free blondies aren't actual magic. I don't want to mislead you. You might know them as magic bars, or you might not know them at all.
They're really just blonde brownies with flaky cereal baked in. The cereal acts almost like oats do in baking, since they hold their shape and create a chewy texture.
Other than the cornflakes, brown sugar is the star ingredient in this recipe. Since there's so much brown sugar, it caramelizes beautifully and almost invisibly in the oven.
The baked edges of the bars taste almost like they're kissed with caramel. Listen, if you don't like sugar, or have to avoid it, this is not the recipe for you.
Cereal in these gluten free blondies makes them magical 💫
When I was a kid, we had “dream bars.” To this day, I can't figure out if that's a real thing, or if it was just a peculiarity of my childhood.
But everyone loved them, with their chewy texture and sweet brown sugar taste. Only many years later did I figure out that they were essentially blondies with Post brand Grape Nuts Flakes cereal in the batter.
But Grape Nuts flakes, if they still exist, are most certainly not gluten free. But we don't need them.
The cereal flakes in this gluten free blondies batter layer together, surrounded by that delightful mixture of brown sugar and vanilla. The cereal functions sort of like the oats in our homemade protein bars.
If you look closely at the recipe, you'll see that it has more brown sugar than it even does flour. That isn't an accident.
Selecting the right gluten free cereal
There are a number of available gluten free cereals that come in flake form, but most of the flakes are strangely very thick. Nature's Path gluten free corn flakes are relatively thin—although not as thin as Kellogg's.
There aren't many available brands of gluten free corn flake cereal. I used Nature's Path brand “Honey'd Corn Flake Cereal,” which is gluten free.
You can probably even use Corn Chex cereal, too, but they're more likely to splinter when you crush them. You want to crush larger flakes into smaller ones, not Chex into dust.
Gluten free blondies: ingredients and substitutions
Can you make gluten free blondies also dairy free?
There is dairy in this recipe in the forms of butter and the chips. In place of butter, you should be able to use vegan butter. My favorite brands are Miyoko's Kitchen and Melt.
Butterscotch chips and white chocolate chips have dairy in them. I've never been able to find a version of either type of chips that's dairy-free and tastes good.
Instead, I'd recommend using dairy-free chocolate chips. My favorite brand is Enjoy Life.
Can you make gluten free egg free blondies?
There are 3 eggs in this recipe. I'm afraid I don't recommend making this recipe with any sort of egg replacement.
If you're determined to try using an egg replacer, you'd do best with a legitimate “flax egg.” I'm referring to cooking flax seeds with water until a viscous liquid is created, from which the seeds are strained and discarded.
What sort of gluten free cereal is best in these gf blondies?
See discussion above about the gluten free cereal in the batter.
Magic Gluten Free Blondies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (210 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend I used Better Batter
- ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum omit if your blend already contains it
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ cups (270 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 ½ cups (120 g) crushed gluten free corn flake cereal See Recipe Notes
- 6 ounces butterscotch chips See Recipe Notes
- 10 tablespoons (140 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3 (150 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs lightly beaten, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease and line a 9-inch square baking pan and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, and granulated sugar, and whisk to combine well. Add the brown sugar and mix, breaking up any lumps. Add the crushed cereal and all but about 2 tablespoons of the chips, and mix to combine.
- Add the butter, eggs, and vanilla, and mix, pressing the back of the spoon into the mixture until all the dry ingredients have been absorbed into the butter and beaten eggs. Continue to mix until the batter is smooth, but it will be quite thick.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, and spread into an even layer using an offset spatula. Scatter the reserved chips evenly over the top of the batter and press gently to help them adhere.
- Place the pan in the center of the preheated oven and bake for about 35 minutes, or until the edges are brown, and the bars are set in the middle.
- Allow them to cool completely in the pan. To make them easier to cut, you can chill the cooled bars in the refrigerator until they’re firm.
- Remove the bars from the pan and place on a cutting surface. Using a large, sharp knife, slice into squares or rectangles and serve.
- Originally published on the blog in 2011. Recipe scaled up for thicker bars, text, video, and photos all new.
Notes
I used Nature’s Path brand “Honey’d Corn Flake Cereal,” which is gluten free. Their “Fruit Sweetened Corn Flake Cereal” tastes nearly identical, and works well, too. For the chips
I used Nestle brand butterscotch chips, which are gluten free (but contain dairy). I chose them at first because one of my children doesn’t like white chocolate chips, and fell in love with the flavor here. If you prefer, you can use white chocolate chips (a classic in blondies). You can also use dark chocolate chips, or whatever flavor chip you like best with brown sugar.