Blondies vs Brownies: What’s the real difference?

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Blondies vs Brownies: What’s the real difference?

Here is where we will set the record straight that blondies and brownies are indeed different although they are both similar!

These two bar desserts are the perfect choice when you want a small batch of chewy gems that will please any crowd!

We will take a look at the question, “Blondies vs Brownies: What’s the real difference?” and go over my favorite low carb gluten free recipes that celebrate both of these bar cookies!

A few similarities are obvious like how a chewy blondie and a chewy brownie have the wonderful chew, but the main difference is that one has cocoa and one does not.

It actually goes a bit deeper than that on how the sugars work together and how the combination of butter and other ingredients create each of these unique desserts presented in bar shapes!

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What are Low Carb Brownies?

Out of all of the brownies I have made, wether fudgy brownies, or thicker cakey brownies, they all start with cocoa powder.

This ingredient is what has brownie fans raving as the chocolate is the best part of this dessert treat!

Brownies are made with the basic ingredients of chocolate, butter, flour and a granulated sweetener.

The trick though is to get all of the wet ingredients whisked up well before you add in the dry ingredients.

The fudgy texture is maintained when you do not overmix them.

Of course my flour of choice is almond flour, so I stay gluten free and low carb, and this helps to hold all of the richness together.

For example my recipe for Little Melissa’s Fudge Brownies give you a semi-cakey base with the combination of almond flour and a little arrowroot powder.

Its fudgy ganache topping really adds a flair to the more cakey base.

Then in my Low Carb Fudge Brownies recipe I use only a small amount of almond flour and extra butter to keep it extra fudgy without needing a topping!

Its important to use room temperature butter so the brownie batter ends up smooth.

You could even add in an extra egg yolk to bump up the fudgy texture that would have any brownie lover raving!

These are the most delicious brownies ever that I have used in many different recipes like my Samoas Brownies, or use as a base in my Keto Brownie Pudding Delight!

So when you want a chewy cookie with the texture like a chocolate cake square, reach for a rich brownie made with chocolate!

Out of all of my brownie recipes, my easy recipe for Low Carb Fudge Brownies is the most popular and quickest to make when a craving strikes!

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What are Low Carb Blondies?

They have a chewy texture, but they do not contain chocolate and have a caramel butterscotch flavor to them.

I always thought of them as having a chocolate chip cookies base without the chocolate chips and loads of butter!

My easy blondie recipe features the main ingredients of nut butter and brown butter in combination with brown sugar to create the perfect chewy golden brown blondies.

The granulated sweetener, like white sugar or monk fruit, is not in this Keto Chocolate Chip Blondie to keep the texture chewy and not cakey.

The best way to maintain the gooey blondie layer is to add melted butter with the light brown sugar creating the thick blondie batter.

You can of course go with a dark brown sugar or my recipe for Keto Copycat Brown Sugar.

The notes of brown sugar are very prominent in traditional blondies as it is in this low carb version!

I even took my Keto Blondies a step further and created my Keto Bananas Foster Chocolate Chip Blondies and swirled my keto caramel sauce into the batter!

Don’t forget to add in the vanilla extract as this pairs well with the brown sugar and ample amounts of butter!

The key to making sure the blondies hold together and do not turn into a smooshy mess is to cool them for at least an hour on a wire rack so they mold themselves.

Otherwise you will have a hard time eating them as they will be too gooey to even pick up!

You may usually find blondies plain without any additions, but to tell the truth, I love adding in extras!

My favorite additions to jazz up these Low Carb Blondies are: butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, milk chocolate chips, nuts, dried fruit and many other ones your imagination can come up with!

Here is my most popular version of my Keto Blondies that has set the stage for many other recipe creations!

Some tips, tricks, and ideas for the best brownies and blondies

• Make sure you use an 8×8 inch pan for any of these recipes so you maintain the thickness and fudginess.
• If you happen to have any leftover, make sure you store them in an airtight container up to 1 week. They will stay fresh this way and are great for lunchboxes! Maintain freshness on-the-go when you wrap them individually with plastic wrap.
• Wether you are making the brownies or the blondies, make sure you have a prepared pan handy that is lined with parchment paper so you can lift out the cookie bars to cut on your cutting board. This helps to maintain their shape and make cutting into the gooey texture easier without making a mess of them.
• Go crazy and make both a batch of my Keto Blondies and a batch of my Low Carb Fudge Brownies and combine them to make brownie blondie bars! You can either layer them and swirl, or spread the brownie batter in the bottom of a square baking pan and then plop the keto blondie batter in a cobblestone pattern on top by using a cookie scoop.
• You can turn the Keto Blondies recipe into a White Chocolate Blondies recipe when you add in white chocolate chips instead of the regular chocolate chips.
• Switch out the neutral cashew butter in my Keto Blondies recipe with peanut butter to create a peanut butter brownie. The results will be like chewy peanut butter cookie bars! Just think of adding in some sugar free dark chocolate chips to give it a peanut butter cup flavor!
• Both of these recipes make the perfect treats for any bake sales you have coming up! These cookie bars wether with chocolate or not are the love language of many people!
• You can freeze them too if you want to make them ahead for meal prep or a special occasion coming up. Just cut individually, flash freeze flat on a baking sheet for an hour, then transfer to a freezer bag. You can also wrap each individually with plastic wrap to further prevent possible freezer burn.

Don’t forget to PIN the pinnable recipe card to your Pinterest board or print out the complete recipe card.

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