Vegan White Bean Blondies

I am a terrible baker.  I was before I became vegan too.  However, I have made it a personal goal to try to learn how to bake things.  So when I so this recipe for vegan blondies on No Meat Athlete, I had to give them a try. I am sure glad that I did!  These came out delicious and because they are made with white beans, they are high protein and relatively low fat.  I also used spelt flour rather than pastry flour which means that my version is Gluton Free too! 

Vegan White Bean Blondies
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups spelt flour
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup of light brown sugar
2 cups cooked white beans (I soaked and cooked my own, but you could used canned.  Just rinse well)
10 chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup dark rum (I used Mount Gay)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
1 cup chopped walnuts nuts
1 cup raw cacao chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and brown sugar; set aside. Process your beans in a food processor with the chopped apricots and rum.  Add the water and vinegar and process until a smooth puree forms.

Fold the bean puree into the dry ingredients with as few strokes as possible.  Stir in the walnuts nuts and cacao chips.

Grease a 9×13 baking dish with baking spray and spread the batter evenly into the pan.  Bake for about 25-30 minutes, turning the pan around in the oven halfway through.  A toothpick stuck in the center should come out clean.  Mine took 31 minutes to get nice and  brown along the edges and golden on top.

Let cool, then slice into 24 squares.