Grain Free Blondies

Anthony comes home from his deployment tomorrow and I wanted to make his favorite dessert:  blondies.  Unfortunately, the original recipe is full of refined sugar and flour.  Several months ago, when he went gluten free I recreated the recipe with Pamela's Gluten Free Baking Mix (see here).  Now that we are both completely grain free, I recreated the recipe for a second time using almond flour.  Honestly, this might be the best of the three:  perfectly sweet and chewy with a bit of crunch from the toasted walnuts.  Who says going grain free leads to deprivation?!  Not me! 

You won't believe these are grain free!!  They are that good!

Ingredients:
1 1/2c blanched almond flour
5tbs organic butter, melted
3tbs amber agave nectar
1/8tsp baking soda
pinch salt
1 large egg, omega-3 enriched
1tbs vanilla extract
1/2c shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2c chopped raw walnuts, plus more to sprinkle on top
1/2c semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips, plus more to sprinkle on top

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Line an 8x8 pan with nonstick foil. 
2. In a large bowl, stir almond flour, baking soda and salt. 
3. In a glass bowl melt butter.  Stir in agave nectar and vanilla.  Pour into the dry mixture and stir well.  Add egg and continue to stir until evenly combined.
4. Stir in shredded coconut, 1/2c walnuts, and 1/2c chocolate chips.
5. Spread evenly into lined pan.  Sprinkle the top with more walnuts and chocolate chips, pressing them into the batter slightly.
6. Bake in the center of a preheated oven until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean (took me between 15-20 minutes).  Let cool, remove from pan, and slice into squares.  Enjoy!