Wow, we’re already about halfway into August. How did that happen so quickly?

August has always been my least favorite month of the year because it seems so anti-climactic and plain. Like, nothing really happens during the month. A close second to August on my least favorites would probably be February because that’s always the month when I start getting sick of the cold and snow.

Other than those two, every other month of the year has something redeeming about it that I really like. From March to July is full of Spring/Summer fun, events, parties, and warm weather. There’s tons of fresh fruit in season and everything just seems so bright and happy. Then from September to December it’s my favorite season. I adore everything about Fall and the holiday season and I just get so into it. That just leaves January. Even though that can be a sad month with the post-holiday crash, I usually enjoy the motivation and feeling of freshness for the new year.

Anyway, over the past few months of Summer we’ve had so many friends and family in and out of town to stay with us. Because of that, I’ve been revisiting some old favorite recipes and realizing how much they could use a little update. That’s what we’re doing here today.

These bars were something I created ages ago in an attempt to compete with all chocolate focused desserts. These are for the vanilla lovers and they’re such a hit.

I made them with gluten free flour just because I enjoy trying things with alternatives and seeing how well they work. The filling takes a quick extra step to cook it until it’s thick, but it’s so worth it. Other than that, these are extremely simple to make and they really are great for parties and events.

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Browned Butter & Condensed Milk Blondies
Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours

Yield: 16 bars

These dreamy blondies are perfect mesh of sweet, nutty, and creamy in one bite. Perfect for all the vanilla lovers in the crowd.

Ingredients

Condensed Coconut Milk:
1 can full-fat coconut milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon arrowroot starch (or cornstarch)
Blondies:
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 cup granular sugar
1/2 cup coconut cream*
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups gluten free flour blend (or all purpose flour if not gluten free)
1/3 cup white chocolate chips or chunks (dairy free)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
Icing:
1 tablespoon coconut water or water
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions

Condensed Coconut Milk:
Combine coconut milk, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan and place over medium low heat. Bring to a boil while gently stirring and cook, about 10 to 15 minutes, until it starts to thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and stir the cornstarch with about a tablespoon of water to make a smooth paste. Now quickly whisk in the cornstarch mixture and return pan to a boil for about a minute until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla then set aside.
Blondies:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F (180 C) and lightly grease a 8x8 inch baking pan. Pour the coconut oil into the bowl of stand mixer and add sugar and coconut cream. Beat together until combined, then add baking powder, salt, vanilla, and almond; mix until smooth. Add flour one cup at a time and beat after each addition. Stir in white chocolate and nuts then divide dough in half.
Press one half into prepared pan in an even layer and bake on the top rack of oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from over and pour your condensed coconut milk on top. Crumble the remaining dough over condensed milk and place pan back in oven but on the middle shelf. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the top is starting to turn golden brown on edges. Remove from oven and cool for at least 1 hour before cutting into bars.
Icing:
Whisk together ingredients for icing until smooth then drizzle over cooled bars using a pastry bag or just a spoon. Allow icing to dry before serving
Store in an airtight container.
Notes

The coconut cream is a different product than coconut milk. You can buy it on it's own at some stores but if it isn't available you can use a can of full fat coconut milk (you'll probably need 2 to get 1/2 cup). Just place it in the fridge and allow it to chill so that the cream separates from the rest. Use a spoon to gently scrape the cream layer and then save the rest of the can for another use. It's great in smoothies.

ALL CONTENT IS MINE AND ORIGINAL! All of these food photos were taken with my Nikon D750 and my favorite Lens, the Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G. You can find out more in my INTRO POST.

And, by the way, to all the minnows out there, my intro post did a huge $0.21. The key to success on Steemit is to be consistent and persistent. Click on the link below for some great tutorials on how you can also succeed on the steem blockchain:

Master Toolkit: Steemit Resource Guide Illustrated by @sndbox

Also, a huge shoutout to @rigaronib for designing my logo!

If you're looking for more recipes check out some of my other recent posts!

1. Tropical Strawberry Mango Smoothie Bowl
2. Chocolate Oat Pancakes
3. Meatless Tri-Color Quinoa Chili (V+GF)
4. Carrot Cake Baked Oats
5. Vegan Almond Pudding Jars

Also, I've been starting to vlog in case you missed it.

1. Montana Travels Glacier National Park
2. Vlog #4 Grocery Shopping with Gringalicious at Trader Joe's
3. Hiking to Snow Creek Falls + I Hit 17k Followers!
4. Vlog #3: Looking for a New Gym + Meet My Baby
5. Vlog #2 Rock Climbing With @hotrod, @fullofhope, and @whiteknight20 + What I ate Today