Carrot Cake Blondies

I realized recently that my blog doesn’t feature much in the way of desserts.  When I first became vegan, desserts were my specialty, so that is what I did the most. At that time, they weren’t very healthy – vegan yes,  but laden with sugar and fat.  Over time, as my culinary expertise has expanded, I’ve learned to make desserts that are healthy as well as delicious.

Today’s amaze-ment:  carrot cake blondies.  All the yumminess of a traditional blondie with the added benefits of shredded carrots, walnuts, cinnamon and nutmeg.

1/4 cup plain unsweetened non-dairy yogurt

1/2 cup non-dairy milk

2 Tablespoons coconut oil

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups spelt flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips

1/2 cup shredded carrot

2 Tablespoons chopped walnuts
Preheat the oven to 325. Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the yogurt, milk and coconut oil. In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg, then mix into the wet ingredients. Don’t over mix.

Stir in the chocolate chips, carrots, and walnuts. Pour into the baking dish and spread it over the bottom. If it doesn’t go all the way into the corners, that’s fine as it will spread during baking.

Bake for 30-35 minutes and let the dish cool for about 30 minutes before removing the blondies.  Cut and frost/glaze if desired.

These came out more like a cake than a brownie. If you want a chewier brownie-like result, adding more oil and reducing the baking powder by half would probably do it.  I think these are healthy and filling enough to be great for breakfast, along with some fresh fruit.