{Sweet Victory} Part 2 - The Great Brownie Trial

I have said before that I don't crave chocolate BUT my husband and mother do, so when Jesse came across a recipe for flourless brownies posted by the wife of Mark Gungor Show co-host Ross Allen Skorzewski, I decided to put my new starch and sugar-free baking skills to the test.

I find it amazing how much I've learned about an entirely new chemistry process with just a few recipes. The differences between almond flour and coconut flour have become very obvious and the modifications that can be made to each for texture have become a growing curiosity "what if I added this to that?!"

The three that you see above are all variations of this recipe from homemademommy.net.   The first recipe was the closest to the original with butter instead of coconut oil and 1/2 cup xylitol instead of coconut sugar.  Click here to read an article about rethinking the use of coconut sugar (aka coconut palm sugar, palm sugar or coconut syrup).

Recipe two had a bit of coconut flour and applesauce thrown in, but the WINNER with rich chocolate flavour, silky texture and just the right amount of fudgyness was recipe number three:

This recipe made a tiny loaf 2.5" x 5" or so but can easily be doubled or tripled.  I would also try to keep them less than an inch thick in whatever pan you choose for a true brownie feel (they don't rise very much at all).

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1/2 cup cocoa (I used Hershey's because that is what mom had on hand)

1/2 cup Xylitol

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons almond flour***

1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF

In a food processor or blender mix all the ingredients until velvety 

(I used my mom's new NINJA blender - a great buy for less than $100)

Line your baking pan with parchment paper (this is a must)

Pour into your baking dish and smooth the top of the batter.  How you leave the top will be the final result it does not smooth out while cooking.

Bake for 20-30 min and let cool COMPLETELY before cutting into them.

*** I cook with almond flour that I make, not almond MEAL which is what people are usually referring to in recipes.  I have not found almond FLOUR available to purchase anywhere yet.  Here are the directions to make almond milk and flour if you want to - don't worry its EASY!

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Now, there was a fourth batch I made.... I thought it would be good to give a completely different recipe a try to see the differences.  Initially we were NOT impressed, the brownie was dry and the texture was mealy. 

Then in an effort not to cut into the other three contestants yet and not see this brownie go to waste we put some sugar-free vanilla ice cream on top.  The sky parted and the angles sang!  This recipe is incredibly good with ice cream - somehow the texture morphs into the perfect flaky crunch.  So, it is worth making if you are specifically making it for an ice cream cake or the like.  Not worth making just to eat plain, in my humble opinion anyway.

Here is my version - again we made some basic substitutions.  (maybe it's brilliant without my substitutions - who knows!)

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 teaspoon baking powder

1/6 cup heavy (whipping) cream

2 tablespoons butter (melted)

1/3 cup xylitol

1 teaspoon vanilla.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Line baking dish with parchment paper.

Mix dry ingredients in mixing bowl.

Mix eggs and other wet ingredients in a blender until very smooth.

Whisk wet ingredients into dry until smooth, about 30 seconds.

Pour batter into your dish and smooth out the top.

Bake for 25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out with just a few crumbs. 

Cool for 10 minutes.

Let me know what you think!

Recipe Catch Up!

Hey everyone, Happy monday again!

I have promised several recipes that I haven't posted yet, so I am going to play catch up today!

First, and easiest to post, is the Paleo Bread that I made last week.  I can't take any credit for this one and I am going to send you directly to the source so that this woman gets all the credit she is due!

click here for the recipe.

You have to scroll all the way down to get to the actual recipe.

The first time I made this I somehow used baking powder instead of baking soda, so it was short, dense and a little bland.  (Still amazing for carb free bread though.)

The second time I made this, I added more salt (because it was bland the first time) and made sure to use baking soda.  They rose much better....but were WAAAAAAAY to salty.  I hadn't connected the dots that baking soda is salty too.

Third try worked like a charm.  Made one plain loaf and one loaf with dark chocolate bits, a splash of vanilla and 1/2 cup of xylitol.  The chocolate loaf took significantly longer to bake, but its amazing with coffee in the morning or afternoon.

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Second promised recipe is the Cauliflower "loaded baked potato" soup from a few weeks ago.   The weather is getting nicer, but this is still amazing on a cold and rainy spring day.  This recipe is so good that my grandmother-in-law who can't remember anything for more than 10 minutes, remembered this soup a WEEK later :P

I can't find where I first saw this recipe but if do find the source I will post a link for credit.   Of course, being me I changed it up a little bit anyway and this is my version.   I also made 14 batches at once...it freezes very well.

Here is the recipe:

Makes 3-4 servings

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets.
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed (more or less to your taste)
2 c. water or broth
1 t. sea salt
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 t. black pepper
2 T. nutritional yeast seasoning (available at most health food stores, this is what adds most of the flavour and cheesy taste)
Diced chives or onions, bacon bits and shredded cheese to garnish.

Instructions:

In a large pot, place cauliflower, garlic, water and salt.  Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.  Drain cauliflower and reserve the cooking liquid!

Puree with an immersion blender or regular blender.   With motor running, add back in 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid, olive oil, pepper, and nutritional yeast.  Adjust seasoning to taste, add more liquid if necessary.

Serve hot, top with chopped onions, bacon bits and shredded cheese :)

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The third and final recipe is probably the most impressive ;)  It is completely AMAZING for something that is almost completely carb/starch free (the only added starch is corn starch) and sugar free as well.  I can't take much credit for it...but it sure is YUMMY!  I made two of these for Easter.  I will say that this pie does not hold its amazing consistency if you try to freeze it.  Its edible, but it is much better not to freeze it.

Sugar Free - Grain Free - Lemon Chiffon Pie

Coconut Flour "Graham Cracker" Crust

1/4 cup almond flour*
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons organic coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup salted butter, softened (I would use a bit more butter next time)
1/4 cup xyletol
1 organic egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. (325 if you have a convection oven)

Mix the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix until combined and crumbly.

Using your fingers, press the dough as evenly as possible ;) into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch pie or tart pan.

Bake for 15 minutes for a pie pan (7 minutes for a tart) cool completely, then add filling.


* In all of the recipes that I use almond flour in, I use my own.  This has proven to be somewhat difficult because the term "almond flour" generally means almond MEAL.  Almond meal can be made by pulsing almonds in a blender or food processor until coarse.  But if you want to know how to make FLOUR that doesn't need to be refrigerated and is exactly what I use for my recipes then click here to read my tutorial on almond milk/flour making.

Lemon Chiffon Pie (filling)

This recipe is from Cooks Illustrated Magazine and they have a fantastic article on how to get the perfect consistency by using corn starch and gelatin.  The only thing I did was use Xylitol instead of sugar, and I used 3/4 cups total, not 1 1/4 cups.  

For ease, I am just going to copy and paste the recipe and add my changes.  The link is at the bottom if you want to read the article.

Serves 8

*Before cooking the curd mixture, be sure to whisk thoroughly so that no clumps of cornstarch or streaks of egg white remain. Pasteurized egg whites can be substituted for the 3 raw egg whites. Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

1 t. unflavored gelatin
4 T. water
5 large eggs (2 whole, 3 separated)
3/4 c. xylitol 

1 T. cornstarch
1/8 t. salt
1 T. grated lemon zest plus 3/4 cup juice (4 lemons)
1/4 c. heavy cream
4 ounces (half a block) cream cheese, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, softened

Instructions:

Sprinkle ½ teaspoon gelatin over 2 tablespoons water in small bowl and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Repeat with second small bowl, remaining ½ teaspoon gelatin, and remaining 2 tablespoons water.

Whisk 2 eggs and 3 yolks together in medium saucepan until thoroughly combined. Whisk in xylitol, cornstarch, and salt until well combined. Whisk in lemon zest and juice and heavy cream. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and slightly translucent, 4 to 5 minutes (mixture should register 170 degrees). Stir in 1 water-gelatin mixture until dissolved. Remove pan from heat and let stand for 2 minutes.

Remove 1¼ cups curd from pan and pour through fine-mesh strainer set in bowl. Transfer strained curd to prepared pie shell (do not wash out strainer or bowl). Place filled pie shell in freezer. Add remaining water-gelatin mixture and cream cheese to remaining curd in pan and whisk to combine. (If cream cheese does not melt, briefly return pan to low heat.) Pour through strainer into now-empty bowl.

Using stand mixer, whip 3 egg whites on medium-low speed until foamy, about 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high and slowly add remaining ¼ cup sugar. Continue whipping until whites are stiff and glossy, about 4 minutes. Add curd–cream cheese mixture and whip on medium speed until few streaks remain, about 30 seconds. Remove bowl from mixer and, using spatula, scrape sides of bowl and stir mixture until no streaks remain. Remove pie shell from freezer and carefully pour chiffon over curd, allowing chiffon to mound slightly in center. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 2 days before serving.

Serve with whipping cream sweetened with stevia or xylitol (you would want to zing the xylitol in a coffee grinder until it is a fine powder, otherwise it will not dissolve in your whipped cream.  You'll just get crunchy whipped cream!

Find the original recipe or read the full article here.

Hope you enjoy these!  Let me know if you make any of them!!!

xoxo

Marie

Chocolate Almond Coconut Bites

Happy Monday!


Here is a recipe I created for a little treat that will give you lots of energy without spiking your blood sugar.  The hubby and I have just started the maintenance phase of our second round of the HCG diet and after 40 days of no treats we were looking to make a sweet little treat that had no starch and no sugar...not an easy task.  He chose to make some artisan dark chocolates and I chose to make something a little less chocolatey because I'm not a fan of dark chocolate (gasp! I know, right).

Doing the HGC diet, overseen by our amazing Doctor of Natural Medicine, has certainly been interesting.  I have lost over thirty pounds since October and it really makes me think about what I am putting into my body and how my body feels about it!

This recipe IS high in fat, particularly saturated fat because there is quite a bit of butter, however, our thinking about fat is changing too, thanks to the documentary "Fat Head" and the website deliciouslyorganic.net.   Read what Carrie has to say about fat in our diets here and here.  She also lists several other resources on this particular issue.

If you choose to watch "Fat Head" and I recommend it, commit to watching the whole (2 hour) movie...stick through the first half...I know it sounds like the guy is making a case for fast food...but that's not what it's about, even though it seems to take a while to get to the point.  Here is a sneak peak...

and...

The Recipe:

Chocolate Almond Coconut Bites
Created By: Marie Bregg @makingmarie

Scroll to the bottom for the recipe and nutrition info.

First off, you might need to go shopping.   I know I did, here's what I bought:

Coconut Flour, UNsweetened Coconut Flakes, 100% cacao chocolate, and SweetLeaf Brand Stevia or your sweetener of choice.

SweetLeaf is the brand of Stevia I use, you can buy it in a 100g or so jar.   Not all Stevias are created equal, some are much more pure and therefore incredibly potent, and some have been chemically processed beyond recognition.  I like this brand, but if you can't find it then I would just start with a small amount and taste the recipe as you go.  I might be trying coconut sugar when we are off HCG maintenance because it has a GI rating of (only) 35.

Gather your coconut flour, almonds, coconut flakes/shreds and stevia and throw them into a food processor or blender and give them a few quick pulses, not too much.

Stevia can get clumpy, so I find that mixing the stevia at this point is easiest.  

However, if you have to add it later, or you want to add more, be careful and sprinkle it evenly over your recipe before you stir it in :)

Now you need to melt your butter and your chocolate.   

If you have a double boiler, then this is the job it was made for.  If you don't have a double boiler you can easily make one.  You need a smallish pan of water put on the stove on low, and a glass or metal bowl that will set on top of the  pan without touching the water below.  

Add your chocolate, butter and vanilla to the bowl and patiently wait for it to melt.  Stir every few minutes until it is all melted and blended together.

I added my butter and chocolate separately as you can see in the pictures because the hubby and I were sharing a pot of melted chocolate for two different recipes.  It doesn't matter which way you do it, but measuring out the chocolate while it is solid and melting them together is the easiest (and creates fewer dishes). :)

Now mix your dry ingredients and your melted ingredients together.  Again, if I were doing this again, I would add my dry ingredients to the bowl that held the melty stuff and have one less dish to wash.

This photo was taken with the butter and vanilla added but not the chocolate....

Now that all of the ingredients are mixed together, I like to pause to taste the dough and add a pinch of sea salt for flavor.  Also, if you LOOOVE dark chocolate, this is the time you might want to consider melting and adding a bit more.  Both these steps are completely up to you and your tastebuds.

I have a 1 tbsp. cookie scoop that works perfectly for this treat, if you don't you will have to work a little bit harder to get dough balls.   With my cookie scoop, I grab some dough then pack the dough in a little bit with my thumb...the dough is crumbly so this packing process helps it stick together.  If you don't have a scoop then squeeze about a tablespoon of dough inside your palm and then gently roll it into shape.

Once all your dough is used, place the treats into the fridge for 30 minutes or more to set.  You can use this time to clean up your little mess...

Don't forget to scrape the bowl!  nom nom!

Happy snacking!

Makes about 18 "bites" maybe 19 depending on how much of the dough you eat while you are cooking ;)

Calorie content is for one 'bite'

Ingredients:

1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes or shreds

1/3 cup raw whole almonds

30 grams (or more to taste) 100% cacao baking chocolate

7.5 T.  salted butter

1/2 cup coconut flour

1 1/4 t. Sweet Leaf Stevia powder

1 t. pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1.  Mix all dry ingredients in a food processor, pulsing until chunky, not super fine.

2.  Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler, careful not to overheat and burn.

3.  When chocolate mixture is melted add vanilla, stir.

4.  Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until combined (will be somewhat crumbly)

5.  Add a dash of salt to taste if desired.

6.  Scoop or roll 1 T. at a time onto plate or dish.

7.  Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill.

8.  Eat and enjoy!

Nutritional Facts*  

Calories:  85.4

Total Fat: 7.6 g

Saturated 4.3 g

Polyunsaturated 0.2 g

Monounsaturated 0.6 g

Trans 0 g

Cholesterol 12.5 mg

Sodium 38.0 mg

Potassium 20.4 mg

Total Carbs 3.3 g

Dietary Fiber 1.8 g

Sugars 0.3 g

Protein 1.2 g

*this info is meant to be a guide, not exact.  It is based on my calculations of the recipe through myfitnesspal.com and does not include and added salt or extra chocolate.