I tried to hold out on the cookie dough truffle craze. I really did. But all the cookie dough recipes floating around blogs these days and now a whole cookie dough cookbook wore me down.

Anyone who’s tried gluten-free baking knows that—while the baked result may be delicious—gluten-free flours make the raw dough taste horrible. That’s a problem for truffles where the whole point is to be eating raw dough. Thankfully, almond flour has virtually no flavor and works perfectly in this recipe.

You can use almond flour or almond meal interchangeably in this recipe. You could even get away with 1 cup of almond butter in a pinch if it’s not too oily.

Gluten-Free Cookie Dough Truffles

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 24 truffles):

For the dough:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups almond flour or almond meal
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips or chocolate shavings

For the coating:

• 1 cup semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
• 2 Tablespoons coconut oil(butter or shortening would work, too)

Method:

1. Cream together the butter, brown and powdered sugars.
2. Mix in the vanilla, salt, and almond flour.
3. Fold the chocolate chips into the batter.
4. Roll ounces of dough into 1-inch balls and put them into the refrigerator or freezer to chill.
5. Melt the chocolate chips for the coating in your microwave or over a burner.
6. Add in the coconut oil and stir until smooth and runny.
7. One by one, dip the chilled dough balls into the melted chocolate and turn them to coat.
8. Place the truffles onto a non-stick surface to cool.
9. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Serve at room temperature.

Now I get what all the fuss is about.

It’s Girl Scout cookie time again. At first I wanted to resist it; but then seeing the flood of tweets and Facebook statuses about them I knew I couldn’t and would have to give in. If the Girl Scouts ever start selling a gluten-free cookie, I’d be happy to support them; until then I guess I’ll be making my own. That feels like dangerous knowledge.

My favorite Girl Scout cookie has always been the Thin Mints. Have you ever eaten one straight out of a freezer? That’s good stuff. I also liked the lemon cream-filled shortbread cookies, but I hear they stopped making those. That doesn’t seem like a smart business plan, Girl Scouts.

 To make these I used coconut and almond flour, which are two of my favorite gluten-free flours to bake with. They also happen to be grain-free and could presumably pass as a “paleo dessert” even though that’s a bit of an oxymoron. Remember to give yourself a little extra time making these because the dough needs to chill before it can be baked.

Gluten-Free Thin Mints

Prep time: 45 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes + more to coat

Ingredients(Makes 24 cookies):

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 stick(4oz) butter, melted
• 1 bag(12oz) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract, divided

Method:

1. Sift together the almond flour, coconut flour, cocoa powder, salt, and sugar until it’s all mixed.
2. Add in the egg, butter, and 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract and mix until it forms a dough.
3. Roll the dough into a log on some parchment paper and put in the refrigerator or freezer to chill.
4. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
5. When the dough is solid, using a sharp knife, cut out cookies that are roughly 3/8-inch thick. Lay the cookies out on a baking tray(don’t worry if they’re close together since they don’t really really spread)
6. Bake for 18-20 minutes.
7. Remove the cookies from the oven. Let them cool until they’ve hardened.
8. Make the coating by melting the chocolate chips and mixing in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of extract.
9. One by one, dip the cookies into the melted chocolate to coat both sides. The chocolate should be fairly runny and only coat in a small layer. If the chocolate is thicker, heat it up until it melts more.
10. Lay the cookies onto parchment paper and refrigerate to fully harden. These will keep 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

What’s your favorite Girl Scout cookie? While I love thin mints, Tagalongs are a close second. I get the sense I might have to try my hand at making those.

I’m not really a fan of Valentine’s Day. There are so many other holidays I’d rather celebrate, like Arbor Day or the Ides of March. But if celebrating means baking and devouring delicious red and black brownies, then I will reluctantly celebrate.

Starbucks used to(or maybe they still do?) sell these terrific fudgy brownies with raspberry sauce artfully swirled in on top and I would get them most days after school. I’d honestly choose raspberries and chocolate over peanut butter and chocolate most days; I think the pairing is that good.

For this recipe, I just used my standard gluten-free brownie recipe and added in the raspberry preserves to elevate it to those Starbucks brownies. If you have a favorite brownie recipe—gluten-free or not—you can always use that and just follow the last couple of steps to add the raspberry in.

Gluten-Free Raspberry Swirl Brownies

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 30-40 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 1 8 x 8 pan):

• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4oz baking chocolate
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup raspberry preserves

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together the almond flour, salt, cocoa powder, and baking powder.
3. Beat in the eggs, sugar, and vanilla until mixed.
4. In a separate bowl, melt together 4 ounces of chocolate along with the butter.
5. Slowly pour the melted chocolate and butter into the batter while whisking until fully incorporated.
6. Pour the batter in a greased 8 x 8 pan.
7. Drop the raspberry preserves on top and swirl around lightly into the batter to cover most but not all of the top(If you want to do this more artfully than I did, put the jam into a plastic bag, cut off one of the corners and squeeze it into lines across the top of the brownies. Then run a knife along the top in lines perpendicular to the jam to create a swirl effect).
8. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Let these cool completely before cutting in.

OK, maybe Valentine’s Day won’t be so bad. So long as I get to eat all the brownies.

Sunday night I realized I needed a secret santa gift in just a few days and that I hadn’t bought anything. Whoops. I raced around the house to see if there was anything I could pass off as a well thought out gift and couldn’t find a thing. Then it hit me: Homemade mixes. They’re easy, thoughtful, and I already had everything I needed. Plus, who wouldn’t want to get what essentially equal gooey brownies only for whenever you want them?

I based the ingredients in my mix off of my almond flour brownie recipe since they’re easily my favorite brownies ever. Theoretically you can use any brownie recipe you love, but if you use this one I promise you the gift recipient won’t be disappointed at all.

For the mix, you need:

• 1 18oz mason jar
• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• Enough chocolate chips to fill the jar
• 1 index card
• Ribbon to attach the card.

Method:

1. Clean and dry an 18oz mason jar
2. Add in layers the almond flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa powder, sugar, and chocolate chips.
3. Write on an index card the following:

“You’ll need:

1 mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup butter
4oz your favorite chocolate

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Melt and mix the butter and chocolate together. Work in the eggs and gently fold in the mix until it’s all combined. Pour in an 8×8 pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.”

It’s not quite as fun as baking brownies because you don’t get to lick the bowl. Go ahead and steal a few chocolate chips for yourself to compensate and feel good knowing you’re giving a thoughtful gift.

Tomorrow: Chocolate chip cookie mix!