Christmas Blondies (with Holiday Sprinkles)

These Christmas Blondies are soft and chewy with festive holiday sprinkles and loads of peanut butter. They’re gluten-free and dairy-free and perfect for gifting or adding to your Christmas cookie boxes!

If you’re a fan of blondies, you’ll love these holiday blondies with peanut butter and red, white and green sprinkles.

The recipe is actually a variation of my almond flour blondies, which are loaded with almond butter and dark chocolate chips. If you haven’t tried them yet, you’ll want to add them to your baking list!

If you enjoy baking with almond flour, you’ll also want to check out these vanilla almond flour cupcakes and this lemon almond flour cake. They’re both made with just a few ingredients!

But, for now, let’s focus on making some holiday blondies!

Why you’ll love this Christmas blondies recipe

• They have an irresistible soft and chewy texture.
• They’re dairy-free and gluten-free (as long as your sprinkles are).
• They store and freeze well, so perfect for making in advance and gifting.
• You can change up the sprinkles to match any occasion.

Details on a few ingredients

Brown sugar – I’ve learned from recipe testing that brown sugar is very important in blondies to help create that rich caramel flavour and chewy texture. For that reason, I don’t recommend substituting with another type of sugar.

Vanilla – The recipe calls for a tablespoon of vanilla extract, which is more than what most cookies and bars call for. It enhances the warm, caramel flavour of blondies so be sure to use real extract and not artificial vanilla.

Peanut butter – The peanut butter needs to cream together with the sugar and coconut oil, so I recommend using a smooth, natural peanut butter. (I haven’t tested this recipe with shelf-stable peanut butter). I also used salted peanut butter, so if you’re using unsalted, just add a pinch more salt to the blondie batter.

Almond and coconut flours – They work together to balance the moisture in the blondies and create that chewy texture. They also keep these blondies gluten-free.

Christmas sprinkles – I used a mix of red, white and green sprinkles, but you can use any mix of holiday sprinkles. If you need these blondies to be dairy-free and gluten-free, just make sure the sprinkles are dairy-free and certified gluten-free.

How to make Christmas blondies

Use an electric mixer to beat together the sugars, peanut butter and coconut oil until well combined.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla. Continue to beat on medium-high speed for a few minutes until the mixture turns from dark brown to a lighter golden brown.

Whisk or sift together the dry ingredients and, with the mixer on low speed, gradually add to the wet mixture until incorporated.

Stir in most of the sprinkles, reserving some for the top of the batter.

Line an 8-inch pan with overhanging parchment paper and spread the batter out into the pan. The batter will be thick and sticky.

Add the remaining sprinkles to the top of the batter and bake on 350F for 24-26 minutes, or until lightly browned on top. Let the blondies cool fully before cutting into bars.

Storage and freezing

These peanut butter blondies keep best at room temperature in an airtight container and should last for 5-6 days.

To freeze them, just layer the blondies between sheets of wax paper and place them in a freezer safe container. They can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let them defrost at room temperature before enjoying.

Key recipe tips

• Make sure your cold ingredients are brought to room temperature so they mix together easily. This will also help keep the coconut oil from firming up in the blondie batter.
• The batter will be thick and sticky. I like to spray a little bit of non-stick cooking spray on a sandwich bag and use it as a glove to help spread out the batter with my fingers.
• These blondies were baked in an 8-inch square pan. If you’re using a 9-inch square pan, just keep in mind that the blondies will be thinner and won’t need as long to bake.
• Blondies puff up when baking but sometimes sink in the middle when they cool. With this recipe, I find this happens when the batter isn’t aerated enough. So, make sure the sugars, butter and coconut oil are well creamed together and, once the eggs and vanilla are added, beat the batter until the mixture thickens and the colour lightens.
• Be careful not to over bake the blondies. They continue baking once you remove them from the oven, so you want to remove them when they’re just browned on top and even a little under baked in the middle. If you over bake, they will have a dry texture instead of soft and chewy, and the bottoms will likely burn too.
• Make sure you let the blondies fully cool and firm up before cutting them into bars.

Recipe variations

• Instead of sprinkles, use holiday chocolate chips (red, white and green), mint chocolate chips or white chocolate chips.
• Press some holiday M&Ms (red and green M&Ms) into the tops of the blondies as soon as they come out of the oven.
• Use birthday sprinkles to turn them into year-round funfetti blondies.
• Add butterscotch or peanut butter chocolate chips, which would complement the peanut butter flavour of these blondies.

More Christmas cookie bars

• Peppermint Mocha Fudge Brownies
• Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
• Chocolate Oat Bars with Chai Spices

If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below!

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