Tag Archive: Almond Flour

Hearty Grain-Free Chocolate Chip Muffins

Hearty Grain-Free Chocolate Chip Muffins

This month Stonyfield asked their Clean Plate Club to get creative with yogurt and some unconventional ingredients. We got some Barlean‘s items included coconut oil and ground flaxseeds. As a gluten-free baker, I like incorporating nut flour in place of regular flour when possible because it’s not just adding structure, it’s adding nutrients. 

I decided to make these healthy muffins as a grab-and-go breakfast for the week. They didn’t rise very much while in the oven which worried me a little. Still, they had the best texture of a gluten-free muffin I’ve ever had–moist and dense but not too thick or chewy.

While they were undoubtedly best straight from the oven, the flax and coconut oil kept the muffins from drying out even days later. And since it’s full of nuts and seeds instead of grains, it felt like a better breakfast, too. 

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In order to make these muffins a little healthier, try swapping out the chocolate chips for chopped walnuts or pecans. You could switch out the french vanilla yogurt for plain yogurt to cut out some of the sugar, but be sure to add a little vanilla extract if you do. 

Hearty Grain-Free Chocolate Chip Muffins

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 12 muffins):

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a small bowl, mix the Forti-Flax and water and set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon and mix until even.
  4. Add in the yogurt, maple syrup, eggs, and flax mixture and stir until it forms a thick batter.
  5. Lastly, add in the culinary coconut oil and mix until it’s fully emulsified in the batter.
  6. Evenly pour out the batter between 12 lined muffin wells.
  7. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top of the muffins are firm.

My Favorite Gluten-Free Cookie Recipe

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The toughest thing about being gluten-free is not knowing where to start out. You go from baking and cooking with “flour” to suddenly having to choose between 30 different flours and starches that you’ve never heard of before and have no idea what to do with. Most of the time you don’t even know where they come from(Sorghum flour? What’s a sorghum?).

These cookies are my favorite because you’d hardly know they’re gluten free from start to finish. They’re made with almond flour—everyone knows what an almond is—and don’t have any weird starches or gums you’d have to search high and low to find.

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Besides that, they just taste good. Soft, gooey, and pillowy like a classic Tollhouse cookie. What’s not to love? Whether you’re new to gluten-free, just dabbling, or an expert, this recipe is worth the try.

Change up the recipe by adding pecans or walnuts into the batter. This time around I used dark chocolate chips and miniature chocolate chips.

You can see the original recipe that I posted almost 3 years ago(!!) here: http://www.thewannabechef.net/2011/05/04/almond-flour-chocolate-chip-cookies/ There are plenty of useful reviews and comments to help you make the perfect gluten-free cookie.

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Almond Flour Dessert Recipes

It’s no surprise that I like making desserts with almond flour. It’s probably my favorite gluten-free flour to use. It’s great whether you’re trying to eat grain or gluten-free, has virtually no flavor, and has a perfect consistency in baked goods. You can buy it at most stores nowadays(I usually get the Trader Joe’s brand almond meal) or pulse almonds in a food processor to make your own at home(just be careful not to accidentally make almond butter).

Here are a few of my favorite dessert recipes with almond flour in them. A lot of them are readers’ favorites, too. You can read the comments on any of these recipes to find out what substitutions and success other readers had trying out these recipes.

The Basics:

Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies Baked

Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies: Everyone needs a good chocolate chip recipe they can rely on, right? This is definitely the one if you need to follow a gluten-free or grain-free diet. They come out flavorful and with just the right texture to match “regular” chocolate chip cookies. There are over 140 comments on the recipe page so it’s tried and true as well.

Almond Flour Brownies: Another readers’ favorite are these brownies. They’re also one of my favorites, too. I tend to make them or a variation on them monthly whenever I need a good brownie. They’re also gluten and grain-free, but you would never be able to tell from the taste or texture. They’re just a great, fudgy, chocolaty brownie.

A Little Different:

Gluten Free Cookie Dough Truffles newspaper

Gluten-Free Cookie Dough Truffles: Who doesn’t love eating raw cookie dough? That’s what these are, except covered in chocolate. And it’s all entirely safe to eat, gluten and grain-free. This recipe’s too good not to share. Almond flour is the perfect flour substitute in this one because the flavor is virtually undetectable.

Almond Flour Banana Bread: Banana bread is one of my favorite snacks when it’s around the house, especially with a cup of tea on a rainy day. This banana bread is very moist and reminds me of the kind you get at Starbucks. If you have a few browning bananas laying around the house this is a great go-to.

Almond Flour + Coconut Flour:

Gluten-Free Thin Mints

Gluten-Free Thin Mints: Until the Girl Scouts start making gluten-free cookies, the best kind are the ones you can make in your oven. Almond flour and coconut flour give these a great texture while chocolate and mint give them that perfect flavor; you won’t be able to taste the difference!

Gluten-Free Chocolate Flag Cake Finished

Gluten-Free Flag Cake: I made this last year and think I might have to make it again. If you’re looking for a good, basic chocolate cake recipe without the grains or gluten this is simple enough for anyone to whip up. Personally I like this with a vanilla cream cheese frosting but you can let your imagination go wild.

Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

When you find a recipe that just works, you never want to stray from it. This is the third time I’ve posted about these cookies; I didn’t realize that the original recipe post is almost 2 years old until I sat down to write this one. In that time a lot of commenters have made these and enjoyed them and I hope a lot more will continue to.

I’ve tried to make other gluten-free cookie recipes in the past and ended up with a tray of flattened, cooked dough; thankfully I’ve never had a problem with these. They bake and spread just like regular chocolate chip cookies. This time I mixed some chopped pecans and walnuts into the batter. I didn’t think that they could actually get better but that proved me wrong.

Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies Cup

I’ve now made this recipe with almond meal(finely ground almonds) and almond flour(finely ground blanched almonds) and can tell you it doesn’t make much of a difference. The ones with almond flour were a little softer as they baked and lighter in color but the end results were pretty much the same.

Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 12 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 12 cookies):

  • 1 1/2 cups(6 ounces) almond flour or almond meal
  • 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup chopped nuts(optional)

Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies Baked

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
  3. Gradually beat the egg into the butter and sugar mixture.
  4. Add the almond flour, salt, vanilla and baking soda in with the other ingredients and mix well.
  5. Add in the chocolate chips and nuts if using and fold them into the batter.
  6. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and press them down gently onto a non-stick baking surface.
  7. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the cookies rise and the edges have browned.
  8. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool before moving. Store at room temperature in a sealed container.

Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies Serving

Gluten-Free Thin Mints & Other Girl Scout Cookies

Gluten-Free Thin Mints

Needless to say Girl Scout cookie season is a lot less exciting when you can’t have gluten. You feel a little bit guilty walking past the 10-year old girls trying to get you to overpay for charity while secretly wishing you could have some Thin Mints or Samoas.

Last year I made these gluten-free thin mints. After the page started being active again thanks to plenty of google searches for people looking for the same, I remembered to make them again this year. I’m not sure why it took me a whole year to make this recipe again because these are cookies I’d gladly eat any month or season.

Gluten-Free Thin Mints Stack

The recipe(found here) is made with coconut flour and almond flour, so it’s grain-free as well as gluten-free. It’s not quite paleo as some commenters have pointed out because of the sugar content. But if that’s not your thing and you’re just looking for a sweet treat then this is easily for you.

Here are some other Gluten-Free Girl Scout cookie recipes from around the web I’ve been eyeing:

Your move, Girl Scouts

Gluten-Free Chobani Pancakes

Gluten-Free Chobani Pancakes

Pancakes are always a good breakfast choice. I’ve never found a recipe though where the first one or two comes out as good as the last; mine are always misshapen and burnt. But by the 3rd pancake the pan is seasoned and magic starts happening and they come out the perfect color and texture every time. Maybe that’s just a feature of pancake recipes in general.

This recipe uses almond flour, which gives it a slightly nutty flavor. I prefer using almond flour here to most other gluten-free flours because it doesn’t have a strange flavor when you taste the raw batter(and somehow that always ends up happening). Besides that there’s just Greek yogurt and eggs; it couldn’t be much simpler.

Gluten-Free Chobani Pancakes Flavors

Chobani sent me their newest flavors to taste and play around with in the kitchen: banana, pear, raspberry chocolate chunk and pineapple with caramel bits. I really couldn’t pick one that I preferred over the others; they were all amazing. I made this recipe with the raspberry chocolate chunk and it had a hint of those flavors. I could imagine that any of these would be good in the pancakes. It all depends what you’re in the mood for!

Gluten-Free Chobani Pancakes

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 1 serving):

  • 1/2 cup almond flour
  • 4oz flavored Chobani greek style yogurt
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Gluten-Free Chobani Pancakes Ingredient

Method:

  1. Heat a frying pan over low-medium heat with a little oil or non-stick cooking spray.
  2. In a medium-sized bowl, beat together all of the ingredients until mixed.
  3. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the center of the pan. Cook for about 30 seconds until the bottom is set and bubbles come through the center.
  4. Flip the pancake and cook the other side until it’s cooked through. Remove from the pan.
  5. Continue cooking until all of the batter is used up.
  6. Serve hot with butter and maple syrup.

Gluten-Free Chobani Pancakes Eaten

I would definitely recommend doubling or tripling the recipe for a crowd. You can substitute any nut flour for almond flour in a pinch but not coconut flour since that’s something different entirely.

White Chocolate Peppermint Brownies

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I don’t often try to mess with perfection when I think I’ve found it. For almost two years now I always return to this brownie recipe because I haven’t tried any that are better. But lately I’ve been on a white chocolate kick and needed a way to enjoy that along with my favorite brownies.

These are basically that same brownie recipe with some white chocolate thrown in. I also added peppermint because even though it’s almost March the temperatures have been below freezing and there’s snow on the ground so it feels a lot like December. Besides, white chocolate and peppermint just go together; I’m pretty sure there are about 10 Starbucks drinks that confirm that.

white chocolate peppermint brownies writing

These grain-free brownies are made with almond flour to keep them moist and fudgy. They’re very rich and keep well refrigerated or frozen for an anytime treat.

White Chocolate Peppermint Brownies

Prep time:

Cook time:

Ingredients(Makes one pan):

  • 3/4 cup almond flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup white chocolate chips

white chocolate peppermint brownies Pan

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Mix together the almond flour, salt, cocoa powder, and baking soda and set aside.
  3. In a separate bowl, melt together the 1/2 cup chocolate chips with the butter.
  4. While the chocolate is melting, beat together the eggs, sugar, and peppermint extract.
  5. Slowly pour the melted chocolate and butter into the egg/sugar mixture while whisking until fully incorporated. Don’t go too fast so that the raw eggs don’t cook upon contact.
  6. Add the chocolate mixture in with the dry ingredients and mix completely.
  7. Pour the batter in an 8 x 8 pan.
  8. Sprinkle the top with the white chocolate chips and gently press them into the batter.
  9. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Let these cool completely before cutting in.

white chocolate peppermint brownies serving

Perfection

Grain-Free Pumpkin Muffins

Grain-Free Pumpkin Muffins Serving

A lot of people debate what the difference between a muffin and a cupcake is. Some say it depends on whether it’s frosted or not while for others it’s about the texture. For me it’s about nutrition. Is it healthy enough that you’d want to eat it for breakfast? Then it’s a muffin. If it’s a sugar and fat bomb even without frosting, you’re probably looking at a cupcake. 

These muffins are dense, chewy, and hearty. The best way to eat one is warm with some peanut butter or cream cheese smeared inside. It’s not incredibly sweet but has a nice flavor from all of the pumpkin spices. It definitely passes the breakfast test.

Grain-Free Pumpkin Muffins Sliced

If you don’t have 3 cups of almond flour, you can make your own by grinding 3 cups of almonds in a food processor like I did. Make sure to run it for a really long time to avoid getting larger pieces of almonds.

Grain-Free Pumpkin Muffins

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 10 muffins):

  • 3 cups almond flour or meal
  • 1 cup pumpkin
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 3/4 cup maple syrup
  • 6 eggs
  • 2 Tablespoons tapioca starch
  • 2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the almond flour, pumpkin, vegetable oil, maple syrup, and eggs until there are no clumps left.
  3. Mix in the tapioca starch, spice, salt and baking soda.
  4. Pour the batter into lined muffin tins.
  5. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Turn the oven off and let the muffins cool in there with the door slightly cracked open.
  6. Store at room temperature for 2-3 days or freeze them to make them last longer.

Grain-Free Pumpkin Muffins

Don’t skimp on the pumpkin spice blend; that’s where all the delicious pumpkin muffin flavor is.

Readers’ Favorite Brownies

almond flour brownies pan

The best recipes on food blogs are always the ones filled with comments from readers who loved it as well. I’m lucky to say this is one of those recipes.

A lot of readers have stumbled onto my almond flour brownie recipe through google or Pinterest or word of mouth and I get excited every time another person has said they tried them and loved them. I(and most of you) think they really are that good.

Almond flour brownies whisk

What makes this brownie recipe great is that it doesn’t taste “special”; you couldn’t eat these and tell that they’re made with almond flour or are gluten-free at all. They just taste like a really good, fudgy brownie recipe.

One of my secrets to good brownies is using melted baking chocolate instead of melted chocolate chips in the batter; it’s more reliable for even, smooth melting and has a more decadent chocolate flavor. Another is adding a little bit of coffee into batter just to perk up the flavor.

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We had a party a couple weeks ago so I jumped at the chance to make these for the first time in ages, partly because I wanted to take new photos of them but partly because I was just craving brownies. There weren’t any leftovers and I was kicking myself for not making more.

Almond flour brownies

My favorite brownies? They’re actually grasshopper brownies, but I will happily “settle” for these any day. Just be sure to double the batch, especially if you’re expecting company. Oh, and bring ice cream. And caramel sauce.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Flag Cake

Gluten-Free Chocolate Flag Cake

Happy (almost) 4th of July! I know I’m five days early, but consider this my obligatory patriotic post.

A few weeks ago I went to an American citizenship party for some friends who recently passed the citizenship test. There was grilling and beans and red, white, and blue napkins so of course there had to be flag cake.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Flag Cake Collage 2

A family friend at this party recently had to cut gluten out of her diet; one of her favorite foods is chocolate cake so naturally I knew the cake I made had to be chocolate. I’d never experimented with almond flour and coconut flour in the same recipe but I thought I’d give it a shot. The texture was just like any good ol’ fashioned American sponge cake. You’d never guess it was gluten-free and grain-free.

The frosting also got a lot of praise, too. Then again, how can something with butter, cream cheese, and a pound of sugar not be good?

Gluten-Free Chocolate Flag Cake Slice

Make sure to use fresh fruit and to assemble it as close to serving as possible. The more the cake sits out, the more the juices from the strawberries runs into the frosting, and no one wants a runny flag.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Flag Cake

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 1 9 x 12 cake):

For the cake:

  • 3/4 cup chocolate chips
  • 1 1/4 cup almond flour
  • 1/2 cup coconut flour
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup oil
  • 6 extra large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons hot water

For the frosting:

  • 1 4oz stick of butter, room temperature
  • 1 8oz block of cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1lb box of powdered sugar

 Fruit topping:

  • 1 half pint blueberries
  • 1lb fresh strawberries

Gluten-Free Chocolate Flag Cake Collage 3

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave.
  3. While the chocolate is melting, mix together the almond flour, coconut flour, sugar, and oil.
  4. Mix the melted chocolate into the flour mixture completely.
  5. Crack the eggs into the batter and beat each in.
  6. Add in the vanilla, baking soda, and salt.
  7. Add in the hot water and mix until the batter is smooth and slightly runny.
  8. Grease a 9 x 12 baking pan. Pour the batter in in an even layer.
  9. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the center of the cake has set. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely before frosting.
  10. Combine the butter, cream cheese, vanilla extract, and half of the sugar in a large bowl.
  11. With an electric mixer, beat together the ingredients until the sugar is entirely incorporated.
  12. Slowly add more sugar into the mix until all of it is mixed into the frosting.
  13. Spread a few tablespoons of powdered sugar on top of the cake and brush it all around to prevent the frosting from tearing the top of the cake.
  14. Spread the frosting out all over the cake in an even layer and around the sides.
  15. Make a square of blueberries in the top left corner of the cake.
  16. Remove the stem from each strawberry and cut each in half. Lay them out top to bottom in horizontal lines in a flag pattern.
  17. Refrigerate until ready to serve.  

Gluten-Free Chocolate Flag Cake Finished

There were practice American citizenship tests at the party. I scored a 12/20. I think that’s good enough not to be deported, right? Too bad how to make a flag cake isn’t part of the test.