Snickerdoodle Blondies
It was a rough Monday.
I can’t describe the anguish of watching your child struggle with fear and pain.
There were tears, clutching of dolls, frantic searches mid-procedure for YouTube My Little Pony videos and gauze.
Lots and lots of gauze.
Followed by cuddles, ice cream and repeat viewings of Gigi’s favorite movies.
I realize that in the grand scheme of things, a little dental extraction isn’t a major life trauma.
It’s almost laughable to think of me clutching the edge of my little plastic chair in the dentist’s office, eyes full of tears and my heart being wrenched like a sopping sponge because one little baby tooth needed to come out a tiny bit early. Heck, losing it was one bike spill away.
But it still hurt to watch.
And maybe that’s the point.
I thought about the day I had Gigi and the twenty-one hours of labor.
I thought about how quickly that tiny, fussy baby grew.
I thought about trying to perfect her favorite snickerdoodles for her first birthday party.
I thought about how quickly that strong, opinionated toddler became this beautiful, gentle soul in a seven-year-old body.
I cued up Charlotte’s Web.
But I couldn’t make it past “Some Pig.” My heart couldn’t take it.
So I snuck off to the kitchen to whip up some snickerdoodles for my baby girl.
Our warm house filled with the smell of cinnamon as we cuddled under a blanket.
Gigi cried for a spider.
And I cried for her sweet heart, her even more toothless smile and the joy of loving someone so much it hurts.
Oh, but it hurts so good.
Snickerdoodle Blondies
Makes 18 blondies
***Click here for nutrition facts***
- 1 1/2 c. gluten-free oat flour*
- 1 c. white or brown rice flour*
- 1 t. baking powder
- 1/2 t. baking soda
- 1/2 t. salt
- 1 T. + 1 t. cinnamon, divided
- 2/3 c. vegan margarine (i.e. Earth Balance) or organic butter, melted
- 1 1/2 c. + 1 T. sucanat or stevia baking blend or a combination thereof, divided
- 1 c. non-dairy or organic milk
- 1/2 c. non-dairy or organic sour cream or unsweetened applesauce
- 1 t. vanilla extract
- 1/2 c. vanilla baking chips
*Note: you can substitute all-purpose and/or whole wheat pastry flour for the flours if you do not care to make this recipe gluten free. You may need to shorten your baking time slightly.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray a 9×13 inch pan with oil or cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and 2 t. of cinnamon.
Using an electric or stand mixer, cream together margarine or butter, 1 1/2 c. of sweetener of choice, milk, sour cream or applesauce and vanilla extract. Slowly add dry ingrediants, mixing until incorporated. Fold in baking chips.
Spread batter evenly in the bottom of the prepared baking pan.
In a small bowl, combine remaining 1 T. of sweetener and 2 t. of cinnamon. Sprinkle all over blondie batter.
Bake blondies for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow blondies to cool in pan for at least 15 minutes before cutting and serving.
I hope Gigi is 100% better soon!!! And thank you for making these blondies – my all-time favorite baked good
I still remember getting a batch of your blondies in the mail. I think it made my year. Say the word and I’ll send you some of these in return <3
Are you serious? I don’t want to be a pest, but that would be AMAZING!!!!!!! Ahh I miss you and our chats. I would be honored to be a recipient of your amazing baked goods, as long as it’s no trouble to you. I owe you.
Dead serious. I’ll bake Sunday
P.S. – just retweeted your blondies post too
too good not to share.
I just love blondies!! I hope Gigi is on the mend!
Salutations! (Salu-what?)
my own wisdom teeth surgery earlier this year is still VERY fresh in my mind… sending Gigi hugs and toothy smiles.
these blondies had to have helped… and watching sweet Wilbur too… “Humble. Humble has two meanings: it means “not proud” and and it also means “near the ground.” That’s Wilbur all over”
one of my very favorites…
I read Charlotte’s Web to my Kindergarten class every year. I cry every year when I read the line “no one was with her when she died.” SOB
I hope Gigi feels better.
Oh goodness, Tracey. Here I go again with the waterworks…
Snickerdoodles are my favorite cookie. I’ve so got to make these blondies! I hope Gigi is feeling much better today.
Such sweethearts… both of you! Those blondies would mend anything that hurts I’ll bet… {hugs}
I love snickerdoodle bars or blondies – so comforting with all that cinnamon and sugar. And I hope your little sweetie is on the mend and that things calm down for you guys!
hope she is doing better and you are too
I can say she has great taste in movies! My girls use to like those too. Now we would be watching Brave, Tangled, Madagascar 1,2 and 3 
guess that is my Christmas break viewing!
Hugs to Gigi and Hugs to you!
No teeth extractions here, but these will be made this week! We are in need of something comforting and this just fits the bill. Matheus likes snickerdoodles and there are few aromas I like more than something cinnamon-y baking in the oven!
Looks like another recipe that will be a winner at our house, can’t wait to try it!
Ana
I like these better than snickerdoodles. So cakey. Yum.
Charlotte’s Web is the ultimate tear jerker. But it’s just so beautiful!
The snickerdoodles look divine! Hope Gigi is feeling better!
I never felt the need to eat gluten free, but I’m hearing more and more about how we’ve genetically altered wheat so it’s not even good for us anymore. So I’m trying some gluten free recipes (I made your pumpkin bread a while ago, delicious!)
Have you found a dairy free white chocolate chip? If not, I might use chocolate chips. Wonder if that would taste funny, cinnamon and chocolate? (but chocolate can’t ever really be bad, right?)
I’ve used vegan white chocolate chips before but never really dug the taste. Katie has a vegan white chocolate chip recipe here: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/11/06/how-to-make-your-own-white-chocolate-chips/ Hope it works!
p.s. I LOVE Charlotte’s Web (makes me want to cry every time) and yet I’m terrified of spiders!
I just made these and they were DIVINE. I brought them into my office and they were gone in moments. Definitely one of my favorite recent recipes. Thanks!
Dang, Caity, you are fast! Glad they were a hit!
I read Charlotte’s Web when I was seven, too! I had a funeral in the backyard of my house for Charlotte using dried grass seedlings I had picked from the grass. It was a big thing for me, lol.
Hope Gigi feels better soon (for both of your sakes!)
That’s so sweet, Liz! Yes, she’s much better today.
Hoping Gigi is feeling better by now. I’m another Charlotte’s Web sob-sister. I LOVED that book as a kid, which is why my first dog was named–what else?–Charlotte.
I’d ask where the name Margot came from, but I know!
I hope Gigi is feeling back to her normal self!
And, of course, this recipe looks delicious, as always
Aww, poor Gigi. Hope she feels better soon!
poor gigi. I bet your snickerdoodles helped. It always helps! and you are my idol mom. Love your heart (and sarcasm) woman!
Thanks, sister.
aww!:( those snickerdoodles look amazing they had to help they would totally help me lol and i use to love the movie annie!
I remember having my teeth extracted – not fun!
I love how you love your girls
You love Wes the same way.
Poor little lady – I hope she’s back to her normal self very soon!!
Can you believe that I’m 35 years old and I had my first snickerdoodle last Christmas?! I will be making up for my many years of deprivation by making these over and over again.
No way! What a tragedy, Andrea. These will more than make up for it.
I only got a tiny bite…Jed really enjoyed them though! (you already knew that)
Guess I’ll just have to make my own. Darn! Glad your sweetie’s better today. Still marveling over the root. Wowsers!!!
I *almost* put Jed’s pic in this post, but then I got scared that he’d never send me pictures like that again and it kind of made my night…
See you in the morning!
Oh poor sweetheart that sounds like a big ordeal for a little one I hope she feels 100% again super soon:) I’m sure those incredible treats will smooth everything over! It’s incredible the love we mums have for our little ones they really are the embodiment of pure love:) we are so blessed xx
Yum! Those look absolutely delicious; I bet Gigi loved them!
Chills. I love how much you love your girls. And even though it’s not major, it IS major to a mama…I get it. Glad everything went well and equally glad that you made these blondies. They will be put on the menu immediately.
Poor Gigi! I’m sure she will be better than ever shortly. She’s swimming in a pool of love, which makes everything better.
I’d like to be swimming in a pool of these blondies. Oh my goodness! They look fantastic. I love that they’re GF. You rocked this!
I had at least 2 (maybe 4? I’m a little fuzzy on the details because of the laughing gas) baby teeth extracted when I was in elementary school. I do remember it wasn’t NEARLY as bad as I expected it to be, so Gigi shouldn’t be under the weather for too long. I think the worst part was that I couldn’t stop drooling the rest of the day from the numbing agent!
Ohh, poor Gigi – and poor you! It sounds like my family has the same jaw type as your husband (big teeth, small jaw), and my teeth also seemd to come in late and then fall out late. As a result, I had lots of teeth out before they wanted to fall out and retainers from mid-childhood, then braces in adolescence. The extractions were definitely the worst part. But, I have forgotten it all now, and am glad it was done as a child at least. I am sure Gigi will be the same!
Yep, retainer is next, then braces. But hopefully she won’t be too mad at us for too long.
The blondies look delicious, but your story makes them even more special. I remember the time that I had to get some teeth pulled when I was eleven, I think my mother’s reaction was very similar to yours. Hope Gigi enjoyed the blondies and wasn’t too scarred by the pain of getting teeth pulled
My 10 yr old son just had 8 baby teeth extracted last week and it hasn’t been fun. Know exactly what you’re going through. He’s doing better now, hope Gigi is too!
Oh, poor thing! Yes, we are all much better now.
Oh poor Gigi. Prayers for a speedy recovery. Your post made me think of how motherhood is SO not what we expect it to be, right?! That’s part of the challenge and the excitement. Take care and those snickerdoodles would make anyone feel better!
At the ripe old age of 27, I just had my last baby tooth pulled! I could have used these blondies but settled for pumpkin softserve ice cream instead
And a day of laying on the couch watching America’s Next Top Model (a whole season!).
Now that sounds kind of fun! Glad you’re better now, Katie.
bless her heart – i hope she’s feeling better!
I may have to go home and make these…i have everything but the vanilla baking chips – wonder if chocolate would taste just as good?
I would probably just leave them out. They’ll still be tasty!
Hope Gigi is feeling better soon! So hard to watch our kids hurt. This summer my daughter had her wisdom teeth out and 2 weeks later her tonsils. It was awful. Now dealing with the first broken heart. Maybe the snickerdoodle blondies will help ease the pain…
I hope Gigi is feeling better soon! I’m sure your snickerdoodle blondies will help in the recovery process
My older son had to have a root canal at 9 after he knocked out his adult front tooth and it was awful to watch the pain he was in 
Question are vanilla baking chips the same as the white chocolate chips? I am planning on making these squares as my boys love snickerdoodles (see it’s not just chocolate
)
Yup…white chocolate chips/white baking chips, no difference! If you can find cinnamon chips, you might try those too!
Sorry for all the pain! I hope she recovers quickly. Is there a reason not to use coconut oil instead of butter? These sound yummy but I don’t want to have to run to the store…
By all means, try the coconut oil if you like! Gigi hates coconut
They make me feel warm and gooey already. Snickerdoodles scream home to me.
Wow. I”m so not a sweets person – but these look INCREDDDDDIBLE, Sarah!!! i can’t wait!!
My three year old son had a tooth that had to be pulled this week too. I was more of a mess than he was. He cried once when they did the actual pulling, I was in tears the rest of the time. Its funny how something so routine can feel like such a big deal. He doesn’t remember half of it, but I still haven’t recovered!
I hope she heals quickly! That is one of the most adorable posts I’ve read ever. I send hugs and love! And I love snickerdoodle.
Okay, this post is even more tear-inducing than the last one I read. You are so sweet, and so are your girls. i hope Gigi is healing!
Where do you find vegan vanilla baking chips? I’m in Canada, but not opposed to ordering them from somewhere. I just lost our “safe” (dairy free) chocolate chips from Superstore. Now I have to buy the Enjoy Life brand ones for 3 times the price! gaaa, I hate allergies sometimes!
I just buy the Trader Joe’s chips, but I have seen vegan versions at specialty stores. You might try making your own? Katie just posted this recipe: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/11/06/how-to-make-your-own-white-chocolate-chips/
Good luck!
So sweet. I had to get teeth pulled as a kid and I never got such kind and caring treatment. Seriously, if anything my dental appointment was considered a nuisance. Your girls are so lucky.
What a lovely treat for your daughter! Whenever mine starts coming down with something, I haul out the herbs and vitamins, much to her distaste. I’m sure she’d appreciate something like this much more!
P.s. I’m not sure if you say your kids real names or not, but our nickname for our daughter is Gigi. Her real name is Jade, but her pronounciation of it sounded like ‘Gigi’ so the nickname just stuck!
Just wanted to let you know I made these! They were great. The texture surprised me; from the pictures, they looked somewhat cakey (as you might get from a fat-free baked good). I was delighted to find that, just by following your directions, they turned out to be delicious after all. I should have known better! The only thing I changed was that I used sorghum flour instead of brown rice flour (since I no longer bake with brown rice flour due to the high levels of inorganic arsenic).
Thanks for another hit recipe.
Thanks for the tip on the brown rice flour. So glad you liked the blondies!