These quick and easy Keto Maple Pecan Blondies are made in a cast iron skillet and taste so good that no one will believe they are low-carb! The final result is a blondie with a crisp edge and a chewy center–just like mom used to make. These blondies can be part of a low-carb, keto, Atkins, or gluten-free diet.
Disclaimer: We are affiliate partners with Amazon. Some of the links on this site are affiliate links which means we make a small commission from any sales to help keep the recipes coming! You do not pay any more. Thank you for your support!
The recipe
I never knew that low-carb blondies could be this good! These cookies are seriously addictive with their soft chewy maple flavored centers, crisp edges combined with the crunch of pecans. These will definitely not stick around for long!
One advantage of this recipe is that it’s really easy to make and beginner-friendly. Perfect for when you’re just starting to eat low-carb.
This recipe doesn’t require a food processor, like some of my other cookie recipes. I do bake it in an inexpensive cast iron skillet, although a similar-sized oven safe baking pan would work as well.
The inspiration
Blondies were always one of my favorite cookies when I was growing up. I think I liked them even more than their brownie cousin.
I added maple and pecans because, why not? Let’s just take these blondies all the way to the top of the cookie chart!
I altered my recipe for myLow-Carb Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie in the actual creation of this recipe.
How to serve keto maple pecan blondies
These blondies can be eaten warm, room temperature, or chilled.
They make a great snack or dessert all by themselves. If you want to get another step closer to blondie nirvana, add some low-carb vanilla ice-cream to the top.
Now, what takes me into blondie nirvana is serving them warm, with the ice-cream. If you add some of my keto-friendly caramel to the top, and you might just explode in blondie happiness.
How do you know when blondies are done baking?
Knowing when to remove these blondies from the oven is the most difficult part of the recipe.
I like to remove them when the edges are brown and before the center springs back when lightly touched. If the center springs back, they will not have that chewy goodness in the center.
I live at sea level and take them out at about 18 minutes into baking. Mind you that the oven is completely preheated when I put them in. If you live in the mountains, you might find that you need to bake them a few minutes longer to achieve the same doneness.
How to store Keto Maple Pecan Blondies
You can store these blondies in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for about three days.
If you need to keep them longer than that, put them in an airtight container, but separate the layers with parchment so that you can easily remove one or two at a time if you like.
What is the difference between a blondie and a brownie?
Brownies and blondies have a lot in common–eggs, flour, vanilla, butter, sugar (or in this case, sweetener). Both are bar cookies.
So what makes a brownie a brownie and a blondie a blondie? The difference between them is the chocolate.
If the recipe creates a chocolate bar cookie, it is usually called a brownie. If the recipe doesn’t have chocolate, it makes a lighter-colored cookie, usually called a blondie.
Blondies can have a range of flavors including vanilla, butterscotch, browned butter, maple (like this recipe) and peanut butter. Sometimes people might call a blondie a blonde brownie.
Both brownies and blondies may have add-ins such as chocolate chips, white chocolate, or nuts.
Final words
This recipe for keto maple pecan skillet blondies is quickly becoming a family favorite. These blondies will make a delicious addition to a holiday cookie platter. Enjoy!
-Annissa
These Keto-Friendly Maple Pecan Blondies make a satisfying treat. Who else loves maple and pecans together?
Keto Maple Pecan Blondies
These quick and easy Keto Maple Pecan Blondies are made in a cast iron skillet and can be part of a low-carb, keto, Atkins, or gluten-free diet.
Ingredients
- 1 spray coconut oil (or oil of choice to prepare pan)
- 1 cup super fine almond flour
- 1/3 cup granulated stevia/erythritol blend Pyure (twice as sweet as sugar)
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon maple flavoring
- 1/2 cup pecans chopped
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350º Fahrenheit. Prepare an 8" round cast iron skillet by spraying with coconut oil.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, granulated sweetener, baking soda, and sea salt until well combined and free of lumps.
Add the melted butter to the dry ingredient mixture and whisk in. The mixture will appear mealy.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the egg, vanilla extract, and maple flavoring together. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.
Stir in the pecans.
Spread the mixture in the prepared skillet. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. I like to stick to the lower end of this range so that the blondie is chewy in the middle.
All blondie to cool for at least 5 minutes, the cut into six pieces.
These sound like the perfect treat, yum!
Maple pecan is one of my favourite flavour combos!! My favourite coffee store used to sell maple pecan danishes and I would get them every time I got coffee. Now I can make these instead 😉
I could just eat this non stop
I don’t own an 8-inch cast-iron skillet, so I doubled the recipe and made in a 12-inch skillet instead. Works perfectly, and a good use for a cast-iron skillet, too. 🙂
Wonderful idea! Thanks for reporting your results back!
-Annissa
These do look like a tasty alternative to brownies. Sounds like it might take a little (tasty) practice to get the center cooked right as you describe.
Actually, it isn’t difficult to get the center cooked correctly, but may need to fight the instinct to think they aren’t done because the center doesn’t bounce back.
-Annissa
It looks so yummy! I don’t have a cast iron skillet, Did you try it with a pyrex 8×8 ?
I haven’t yet, but I might try it this way soon. I might double the recipe because An 8” square has more volume than an 8” skillet. I have a feeling it will work, but it might take some extra time to bake.
-Annissa
I have always preheated my skillet before baking but it looks like you didn’t,,,,,so does the bottom get done enough?
Judith,
I don’t preheat mine. It probably wouldn’t hurt if you prefer to do that. I like my blondies a little chewy, so I like the recipe as written.
-Annissa
When using Swerve, do I double the amount?
I think if you doubled the amount, you might have solubility issues and may have more of an issue with an erythritol cooling effect. The safest course of action would be to use just a little more, but expect them to be a little less sweet.
-Annissa
Super easy and delicious recipe. Love it!
Not currently on Keto, so I used 2/3 cup brown sugar, the batter was a little more “oily” but the finished product was AMAZING!
This recipe is fabulous. My sister makes regular blondies packed with whit flour and brown sugar. They taste so good but are definitely not Keto friendly. I was delighted to find this recipe. (I think the maple flavoring gives it that brown sugar taste.) The dough was delicious and the cookie even better! Follow the recipe EXACTLY and you wont be disappointed! I always check reviews before I try a recipe and it is so frustrating to read reviews that haven’t even tried the recipe or either modified it so much, it doesn’t even sound like the dish as written. Resit the temptation, all you creative cooks! Cook it first, then if you think it needs tweaking,put your creative juices to work on the next batch. But I seriously doubt you will. I can assure you, These will satisfy your longing for a delicious blondie and not throw you out of ketosis. ENJOY!
Thanks so much for the feedback! Glad you enjoyed the recipe. I agree that the maple flavoring does give it the brown sugar taste.
Annissa
Hi,
Thank you so much for this recipe, I am about to go and make this, I am going to try this in an 8×8,
as I find as I grow older I can no longer do the lifting of a cast iron pan, I shall let you know.
Thanks again to you and your daughter for bringing us all these great recipes.
cheers, Linda
You’re welcome. You will probably need to bake it a bit longer if you use a glass pan.
Annissa
I absolutely love this recipe. I used erythritol and it turned out perfect. I also baked it for 22 minutes in an 8 inch glass pie dish since I don’t have cast iron. I made a whipped topping which consisted of 1/2 cup of Heavy Whipping Cream, 1 T Erythritol, and 1/2 t Maple Extract.
I love the idea of that topping!
-Annissa
This is most definitely one of the best keto dessert recipes I’ve tried! The recipe was easy and had most of the ingredients on hand. That said, I did have to make a couple of tweaks (because of on-hand ingredients). I followed the recipe exactly except for the maple flavoring (I didn’t have any, so used a caramel flavoring same measurement), and had a mix of chopped pecans and walnuts (always have some chopped up for recipes) so used the mix – same measurement 1/2 cup of combined chopped nuts. I also do not have any cast iron, so opted for a 23cm x 18cm ceramic baking dish, which worked perfectly. Took the blondies out at 18 min (perhaps should have taken them out at 17 min a tiny bit dry, but still ok). I made a butter/cream cheese KETO frosting to top them off after they cooled in the pan. They were a bit difficult to remove from the baking dish in the beginning, but wrapped all up in the baking dish, put in refrigerator overnight, then cut into 16 2-bite pieces and removed them easily from the baking dish. I placed them in an airtight container, separating the layers with parchment paper and stored them in the refrigerator. They are wonderful! 2-bite pieces of heaven. The blondies are not super sweet, but nutty and tasty with the butter/cream cheese frosting topping them off with its creamy sweetness. Thanks for the great recipe! Will be making these again very soon I’m sure.
So glad you enjoyed them! You have me drooling at the suggestion of adding the frosting. Yum!
-Annissa