One of my favorite parts about marriage is how I get to keep learning new things about my husband.  A few years after we got married I found out that banana bread is one of his favorite treats.  What’s even cooler is that I learned from tasting his one day that I liked banana bread!  I spent my whole life thinking I hated it only to find out that I actually just disliked the nuts in most versions.  Now I get to find all sorts of new ways to make banana-themed treats for us like these soft grain-free banana blondies!

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Tips & Tricks

Looking for ways to make life a little simpler?  Here are a couple of tips and tricks to make your grain-free blondies easier.

Make It Ahead

Isn’t it amazing when you find a treat you can keep stashed in your freezer for snack emergencies and sudden cravings?  These grain-free banana blondies freeze wonderfully and can be thawed at room temperature or popped in the microwave for a fresh-out-of-the-oven feeling.

Make It Ripe

Baked goods are a great way to use up very ripe bananas.  Sometimes you want a tasty treat when your bananas are still firm and yellow, without a speck of ripening brown.  Never fear!  Pop your unpeeled bananas in a 300*F oven for 15-20 minutes to get the soft, sweet banana that’s perfect for baking.

What You’ll Need

My goal is to keep recipes as simple as possible for you.  There are only a few special ingredients you’ll need to make these blondies.

Cassava Flour

The base of these banana blondies is cassava flour.  Cassava flour is a grain-free flour made from a starchy root vegetable.  My favorite brand of cassava is Otto’s because it has a smoother texture and lighter flavor than other brands.

Grain-Free Baking Powder

Most baking powder brands use some sort of starch as a buffer to keep the product from clumping.  Typically that is achieved with cornstarch, though occasionally other options like potato starch are used.  In the past people who needed to avoid corn and nightshades had to mix their own baking powder at home but a few years ago Otto’s began producing grain-free, AIP-friendly baking powder.  That’s what I used in this recipe with great results.

Smart Substitutions

Making substitutions is part of life with food allergies and intolerances.  The trick is not to randomly replace whatever ingredient you can’t have, it’s finding options that keep your food just as tasty as the original.  Figure out the purpose of the ingredient, then pick an alternative that fulfills that specific job.

Nut/Seed Butter

I made this recipe using tahini because the earthy and nutty flavors of sesame seeds balance great with the bananas.  Tahini is easy to find in nearly all grocery stores as well as online.  If you don’t have it available, or are allergic to sesame, feel free to substitute another nut or seed butter in place of the tahini.  One small note.  If you choose to use sunflower seed butter, it may give your blondies a bit of a St. Patrick’s Day theme.  A (completely harmless) chemical reaction between an acid in sunflower seeds and compounds in baking powder can cause baked goods to turn green.

Spices

The warmth of the cinnamon and zing of the ginger perfectly complement the sweet banana in these grain-free blondies.  If you want something a little different you can use all cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.

Grain-Free Banana Blondies

If you’re looking for a version of banana bread that’s quick, easy, gluten-free, and grain-free, make a batch of these soft banana blondies for your dessert tonight!