Over the years I have become very good at altering recipes so that I can make them around my food allergies. Even though I can alter almost any recipe, often the best are those that don’t require any altering. I tend to get excited when I find something that I can eat right off the bat. How cool is it to find a brownie recipe that I can eat without any changes? These blond brownies are great because there is no chocolate or cocoa to try to substitute or eliminate. For me, it is exciting to find a brownie recipe that does not require any chocolate, since I have never had real chocolate and I am not a fan of cocoa or chocolate flavored baked foods. This wonderful orange brownie recipe originated from Paula Dean and the recipe can be found on foodnetwork.com.

Orange Brownies

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter or margarine
2 tsps pure orange extract
1 tsp grated orange zest

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and then grease a 13x9x2 inch pan. Stir together the flour, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add in the butter, eggs, orange extract, and orange zest. Beat until well blended with a hand held mixer. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown and well set. Allow brownies to cool completely before slicing into squares.

There is a cream cheese frosting that can be used with this recipe. However, I love these brownies just as is; they are plenty sweat and yummy without any topping or frosting. I am sure you could also use a simple butter cream frosting with a little orange flavoring if you really want to frost these beauties. I also highly recommend trying these brownies with a little bit of vanilla rice dream. Enjoy!!