gluten free pecan blondies

After my last post, the recap of the blizzard of 2013, did you know we got another heavy storm one week later?
When it hit cape cod it was dubbed as a semi-major storm, and then as it moved up the coast towards Maine it became a blizzard?
AND, now they're saying we (the cape) might get another weekend storm? So that's three storms.
What is going on?
Tell me this is the prelude to nice, sunny, CALM, spring and summer?
If so I'll take it.
Did I tell you my cabin fever is at an all time high?
Have you ever had cabin fever?
Oh some of my friends in california don't even know the term (poor babies I should educate then firsthand right?)
I tell you, the older I get the harder it is to take these frigid winters with insane amounts of snow.
My bones, they feel weak when that blustery cold keeps hitting the body over and over.
No amount of hot showers can truly penetrate down to the bones, well, maybe a hot tub.
I had hoped to take a tax refund check and put in a bathtub or something similar one of these years, but it looks like we have other plans for that refund.
So with this last coastal storm we learned that we have a few trees that have to come down before hurricane season starts.
It's funny because one of the main reasons I bought this house was the fact that the previous owner had cleared a fair amount of the land of trees.
If you live on cape cod you know that wind is always a factor here and having trees close to the house is dangerous.
We have a couple trees left that aren't right up close to the house, but close enough that if they fell they'd do some damage.
But the main reason that I want to clear more trees is that I saw the aftermath of what fallen trees did to other peoples homes and it scared me.  Can you imagine a tree falling on your house? Going right through the home? In the middle of winter, a giant hole in your house?
Where do you go?  A hotel?  And for how long?  And surely your insurance won't cover it all?
It's scary when you really think it through. So all this and more is going through my head; aka the clutter and noise in my head.
With my tax refund I was hoping to save away for a nice half-house generator or a whirlpool tub.  Ahhh a tub to soak my old bones...yeah, not going to happen.
How many more days till summer?

With these tasty gluten free blondies keep in mind they are moist, very moist, tasty too.
I might have under-baked a bit, which is fine by me, but just watch the baking times; I think I should have added on another 4-5 minutes of baking time.
You don't have to add in the nuts, I did for texture and the buttery taste of the batter just begged for the addition of the pecans.

To be honest, I prefer the taste of almond meal over flour--it truly adds a nice flavor.
I just wish almond meal wasn't so expensive; I need to make my own.

gluten free pecan blondies

print recipe

10 TB unsalted butter, room temp

1 ¾ cup almond meal

1 (heaping) ts baking powder

3/4 ts salt

1 cup light-brown sugar (not packed)

2 large eggs

½  ts pure vanilla extract

½ ts butter extract

about ½ cup chopped, toasted pecans (optional but wonderful)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Grease up an 8-inch or 9-inch square baking pan with non-stick spray or butter or if you prefer using parchment paper then do so.

In medium bowl, whisk together almond meal, baking powder, and salt, set aside.

In a glass or cup, mix the eggs, butter extract and vanilla extract until combined.

In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or by hand; cream on medium speed until smooth and fluffy. 

Then add in egg mixture, mix well, then add in the dry ingredients and mix till combined.

By hand, add in the pecans.

Pour batter into prepared pan; spread with a rubber spatula.

Bake in oven for about 25-33 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into blondies comes out “almost” clean.  Okay to have a few bits of crumb on the cake tester. 

Cooking times vary depending on oven, so please check at 25-minute mark. 

Cool blondies at least an hour.

Cut into squares.  You should get about 10-12 squares depending on how you cut them.