Lemony Peach Blondies with Peach Frosting

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There are certain things in life that seem to capture memorable moments just perfectly.  These blondies?  They capture summer, warm weather, happiness and comfort in each square.  Every bite is as sweet as can be, with a calming peach flavor and refreshing hint of lemon.

Chewy, ultimately rich and undeniably decadent.

While you can reminisce the summer at any time, wouldn't you like to taste summer all year around?  Well now you can, because these blondies are made with canned peaches!  Just as flavorful and just as nutritious as fresh peaches themselves, but without the wait for summer fruit to come along.

This is a must-make recipe if you're looking for sweet indulgence without the butter, sugar, excess calories and guilt!

Lemony Peach Blondies with Peach Frosting:  [sugar free, eggless, GF, vegan]

(makes 9 blondies)

   Blondies:

      two 15oz cans Sliced Peaches (in 100% juice)

      96g (1/2 cup) Granulated Erythritol (or dry sweetener of choice)

      42g (3 tbs) Grapeseed Oil (or any other neutral oil)

      2 tsp Lemon Zest

      3/4 tsp Stevia Extract*

      160g (1 cup) Brown Rice Flour

      120g (1 cup) Oat Flour (GF if you like)

      1 tsp Xanthan Gum

      scant 1/4 tsp Salt

   Frosting:

      180g (1+1/2 cups) Powdered Erythritol

      1/4 cup + 2-3 tbs Peach Puree, reserved from puree made for blondies

*I used 1 tsp and these were very sweet.  Perfect for me, but probably too much for most people.  If you like mildly sweet desserts, omit the stevia but definitely keep the frosting!

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 9" brownie pan with parchment paper both ways and set aside (or spray with cooking spray)

2.  Drain the canned peaches as best you can (just shake the strainer, do not rinse) and puree in a blender or food processor until smooth.  Measure 1+1/4 cups of the puree and pour into a large mixing bowl.  Reserve the extra puree!

3.  Whisk the erythritol, oil, lemon zest and stevia into the peach puree.

4.  In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the brown rice flour, oat flour, xanthan gum and salt.  Dump into the wet ingredients and fold together (batter should be thick, doughy and sticky).

5.  Scoop batter into the prepared brownie pan and spread to the edges**.  Bake for ~30 minutes, or until the edges have browned and surface is firm (my blondies formed a weird bubble layer in the oven which deflated when cooling, it was not detectable when eating though, so no need to worry if you see the same thing!)

6.  Let blondies cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then remove to cool onto a wire cooling rack (they will be bendable as of now but will firm up when completely cool)

7.  For the frosting, add the erythritol to a bowl, top with the peach puree and stir.  Start with 1/4 cup and add more puree as needed.  Spread onto the cooled blondies, refrigerate for 10 minutes to firm the frosting, then slice!  Store covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.

**I am super OCD/anal and it took me a solid 5 minutes to spread the batter out perfectly flat.  But these blondies were so good, despite the hassle, that I would certainly make them again!

Note:  Okay, confession time.  I used canned peaches because, well, I'm scared of fresh peaches.  They're fuzzy, they have a giant pit in the center, and I had a bad experience with one as a child (aka, I bit into a rotten one) which I will never forget!  If you want to utilize the fresh peaches that are in season as of now, I would recommend using very ripe peaches and make sure to peel them.  When pureeing the peaches, look for a nice and silky texture with the viscosity of a smoothie, not super thick like a milkshake.

These blondies look and taste so incredibly unhealthy, it's hard to believe they are only 200 calories each.  Not to mention, each square contains 3g of fiber, 4g of complete protein, and only 7g of natural sugar from the peaches.  

Enjoy!