One of the things I love about creating recipes is all the additions and changes that readers suggest. I feel equally happy about recipe testing and happy accidents.
When a reader, Bhavna, told me about adding a cup of coffee to my blondies recipe, I immediately thought I need to try that! I only had crunchy roasted almond butter on hand, so I went with what I had and I’m glad I did.
This recipe is only slightly different from my original blondies recipe, but the flavor is has a caramel tone and the crunch of the almonds reminds me of a toffee candy bar. The only addition is coffee and I used crunchy almond butter instead of smooth. So here’s my new favorite blondie recipe.
For the key ingredient here, coffee, you have a few options. I use freeze-dried decaffeinated coffee and add a bit of hot water to it before adding it to the batter. Or you can go the way Bhavna did, and add a full cup of coffee to the batter. She did end up baking it a few more minutes to remove the extra liquid but said it worked. One thing you want to make sure of it that the freeze-dried coffee is completely dissolved so that it can combine well with the thick batter.
Almond Toffee Brownies
Yield 16 servings
If you prefer another kind of butter, you can use any other nut or seed butter. And, of course, you can use maple syrup instead of honey if you're not following SCD.
For the coffee, I use freeze-dried because it's easier to have at a moment's notice. If you prefer, you can use a shot of espresso or a cup of very concentrated source of coffee. Another option is to use a cup of strong coffee to the batter. You may need to bake it a few minutes longer to get rid of the extra liquid. And you can use regular coffee too!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons freeze-dried decaffeinated coffee
- 2 tablespoons hot water
- 8 ounces (227 g) unsalted crunchy almond butter (roasted or raw)
- 1/2 cup (170 g) honey
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C, or gas mark 4).
- Line an 8 inch x 8 inch (20.32 cm x 20.32 cm) baking pan with parchment paper, or grease it generously.
- Combine the coffee and hot water in a cup and stir to dissolve the coffee.
- Add all the ingredients to a large bowl and mix until well blended.
- Scoop the batter into the baking pan, and spread it across the pan. It will even out when it bakes.
- Bake the blondies for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
- Cool and slice. Store covered for a week or in the refrigerator for a few weeks.
Charlotte Moore
February 17, 2019 at 4:26 amLooks delicious!
Erica
February 17, 2019 at 1:58 pmThey are to me 🙂 Hope you try them!
Gina Baker
February 17, 2019 at 1:45 pmYippee! I’ve told you how my son considers the blondies a staple; he makes them every week. And he LOVES coffee flavor, so I’ll forward him this recipe. Can’t wait to try it myself 🙂 The blondie recipe works perfectly already, but the addition of coffee flavor sounds yummy.
Thank you so much for your recipes!
Gina
Erica
February 17, 2019 at 1:58 pmYou’re welcome! I think he’s in for a treat 🙂
Leah
February 20, 2019 at 5:21 pmJust made these and they are so delicious! My only issue is they should come with a warning because they are so good that they’re addictive. LOL! Thanks for the great recipe.
Erica
February 20, 2019 at 7:05 pmI’ll consider the warning idea 🙂 Thank you for the kind words!
Shayna
February 21, 2019 at 10:48 amHey Erica! Could I use creamy almond butter instead of crunchy? I’m so excited to try these!
Erica
February 21, 2019 at 6:58 pmYes, absolutely!
Heather
March 4, 2019 at 10:32 amOh my word. These are barely cooled and are absolutely incredible. No joke that they should come with an addictive warning! Thanks for this! 🙂
Erica
March 5, 2019 at 9:45 pmI’ve been warned 🙂
Nishta
March 20, 2019 at 11:40 pmHi..can I omit the honey for health reasons..I am on scd diet
Erica
March 23, 2019 at 9:55 amSCD allows honey only, so you’re good there. But, if you just want to omit honey the recipe wouldn’t work without substituting another sweetener. I haven’t tried dates yet but you could make date syrup and use that in place of honey.
Chloe
March 26, 2019 at 5:09 pmSounds amazing! Is there no kind of flour needed?
Erica
March 27, 2019 at 8:06 pmNo flour needed 🙂
Kristi Batchelor
April 7, 2019 at 11:53 amHas anyone tried this without coffee? I know coffee is scd legal, but I don’t do well with it.
Erica
April 7, 2019 at 12:19 pmWithout the coffee, it’s just my blondies recipe, here:https://comfybelly.wpengine.com/2017/10/blondies-almond-butter/
Susan Woodroof
May 21, 2019 at 5:10 amHow much carbs in the brownie per serving?
suzanne
June 17, 2019 at 8:10 amAny ideas on what the measurements would be if I just wanted to make enough for 2, like in a small custard dish? I cannot make that whole recipe, because I would eat the whole thing in a day!
Erica
June 17, 2019 at 11:35 pmI totally understand! You can probably do without the egg and quarter the recipe. I haven’t tried it though.
Pattie
June 22, 2019 at 10:32 amWhat is Scd
Erica
June 23, 2019 at 4:48 pmSpecific Carbohydrate Diet: https://comfybelly.com/2011/09/what-is-scd-specific-carbohydrate-diet/
Jen
July 3, 2019 at 12:15 pmWhoops! I used 8 oz. of double-strength brewed coffee, and it made the batter absolutely soupy. So I added a second egg for body (in retrospect, maybe not necessary) and about 5 heaping tablespoons of coconut flour. I could have easily added more – the batter was still quite thin. The resulting brownies were more cake-like than I think the recipe intended, but have good flavor. I baked them for 35 minutes, but they were still moist toward the center, so I probably could have let them go another 10 minutes. Still an easy, tasty recipe. I had to freeze half the batch so I don’t eat them all at once!
Erica
July 7, 2019 at 9:07 pmThanks for sharing! Lots of changes but glad it all worked out 🙂