Almond butter blondies.

It’s insanely hot in New York (and across much of the country) right now, but late last night Evan and I were struck by cravings for dessert so intense that we decided turning the oven on for while was worth the increased temperature. Despite being limited by the meager contents of our pantry, we managed to put together a pretty tasty treat—almond butter blondies!

(This recipe is a variation on Isa’s recipe for peanut butter blondies. I’ve never tried making them with peanut butter, but I’m sure that’s awesome too!)

ALMOND BUTTER BLONDIES (vegan)
Makes 12 blondies (or 4 if you have a generous “slicing hand”)

3/4 cup unsalted almond butter
1/4 cup grapeseed or canola oil
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup almond milk (soy or rice milk would be fine, too)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

Preheat your oven to 350°F. If it’s already a million degrees in your kitchen, have a refreshing beverage on hand.

Since there was no way I was going to hand-stir refrigerated almond butter at 10PM, I used the food processor. I have really weak arms, though, so if you’re stronger (or if you’re willing to wait for your almond butter to soften at room temperature), you could just use a fork/spoon and a bowl.

1. Combine the almond butter, oil and sugar.
2. Add the milk and vanilla.
3. Mix in the flour, salt and baking powder.

The dough is going to be really thick, almost like a paste. Spread it into an 8×8″ baking pan (very lightly oiled if it’s not non-stick), and put it in the oven for about 25 minutes. When the edges are looking crispy and the top is bubbly, it’s done.

LET IT COOL COMPLETELY. Not warm, COOL. No, really. I mean it. I know it’s late at night and you really want to have a blondie NOW, but don’t do it. We made the mistake of trying to cut and eat ours after only half an hour last night, and we had a goopy, greasy mess on our hands. We should have been patient and waited.

Here’s my advice: Make the blondies at night and let them cool down. Before you go to bed, cut them into squares and wrap them up in paper towels and foil and stick them in the fridge. In the morning, you will be greeted by BLONDIE AWESOMENESS. Isa describes hers as being kind of “fudgy”, and she’s not kidding. This is serious business. I had a sliver this morning with an iced coffee on the side, and…yeah. Pretty much the best breakfast ever, if not the healthiest.