It's a time of reflection, and I love taking walks in the woods, drying leaves crunching beneath my feet. I enjoy the warmth of the sun as it plays through the tree tops, highlighting the branches adorned in leafy splendor colored in gold,reddish brown, and spotted green.
And I love to bake. Of course cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cardamom hold court in my kitchen throughout the year, but this time they're even more special. Their scents remind me of hazy autumn afternoons spent baking with my grandmothers. Those are some of the memories I cherish most.
Always looking for a way to satisfy my family's sweet tooth (okay, and mine), and incorporate more veggies and fruit into their diets, I recently created a recipe I call Autumn Bliss Blondie Bites.
Indulgent with spices, these blondies remind me of fall and the holidays.
Autumn Bliss Blondie Bites
Makes 18
These blondies are super moist. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge.
· 1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour
· 1 tsp baking powder
· 1/4 tsp baking soda
· 1 tsp sea salt
· 1 cup peeled, roasted and mashed sweet potatoes (about 1 large sweet potato)
· ¼ cup margarine
· ½ cup applesauce
· ¼ cup mashed banana
· ¾ cup organic coconut palm sugar
2 eggs, beaten
· 2 T. Bailey’s Cinnamon Dulce coffee creamer
· 2 tsp. vanilla extract
· 1 T. cinnamon
· 1 tsp. nutmeg
· ¼ tsp. cloves
· ½ tsp. cardamom
· ½ cup Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the first four dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
In another large bowl, mix together the sweet potato and other remaining ingredients. Add to the flour mixture and stir until everything is well combined.
Pour batter into an 8x11.5x2 baking pan (used the 11x7 Perfect Brownie pan this time), lightly coated with cooking spray.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center has just a few crumbs on it. These will be very moist blondies. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then cut, remove from the pan, and cool on a wire rack.