Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Brownies

I am very lucky to have two lovely, lovely roommates. These roommates inspired me to make gluten free dark chocolate almond butter brownies. Jennie, because she doesn't eat gluten, and because she gave me 2 bars of Ghirardelli dark chocolate, and Chris because she is a badass and she is currently the 5th best cyclocross racer in the country! I needed to use this dark chocolate, I needed to make a celebratory dessert. I needed to make brownies.

I haven't done much gluten free baking, partially because I'm put off by all the crazy ingredients that most gluten free baked good recipes call for. Xanthan gum? Words that begin with the letter X are scary. I was inspired by Elena's Pantry, though, which has tons of great gluten free recipes that use only almond flour and no scary stuff, and I decided to give it a try. I didn't have any almond flour, but I made my own by grinding up almonds in the food processor. There is a fine line between almond flour and almond butter, though, so I used a process of pulsing the almonds, pouring it all out, sifting out the big chunks, and pulsing again. I did this in several small batches. I really winged the whole process, and was worried that the brownies were going to be horrible, and that I'd just wasted a whole bunch of dark chocolate, almond butter, and honey. These are very important items, and not to be wasted.

After I poured the batter into the pan, I had a lick of the spatula. Then another lick. Then I proceeded to lick the spatula and bowl clean, which I am not proud of, but it was a good sign. At least the batter was delicious. Then I tasted a brownie, and I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised. Who needs flour and refined sugar? These brownies almost taste like box mix brownies, in a good way. They're fudgey and cakey and sweet and delicious and you don't even need to tell anyone that they're sort of (not really) healthy if you don't want to.

Brownies are always best enjoyed with celebratory champagne. 

Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Brownies

1 cup almond flour (purchased, or homemade)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup almond butter
2 bars dark chocolate (I used Ghirardelli Intense Dark 86% Cacao)
2 eggs
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup agave
1/2 cup honey or maple syrup (or I prefer a mix of the two)

Blend the dark chocolate in a food processor until it becomes a powder. Don't go too too far with the blending, it's actually good if there are a few bigger chocolate chunks, those will give the brownies some extra chocolatey bites. Add the almond flour, ground chocolate, baking soda, salt, and almond butter into a stand mixer, and mix to blend. Blend in the eggs, then the agave, honey/maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla. Pour into a greased baking pan of your choice, I went with an 8 x 8 for slightly thicker brownies, and bake at 350 degrees for 25-40 minutes. I know this is kind of a big window, but it really depends on the size of your pan, and how fudgey you want the brownies to be (less time = more fudgey, more time = less fudgey). I think I baked mine for about 30 minutes, which was just after the middle stopped being jiggly. Let cool, and then enjoy (or gorge by eating 3)!

Maple Apricot Almond Granola (gluten free + refined sugar free)

I'm going to be honest: I eat way too much granola. I eat it with almond milk, with yogurt, with almond butter, ravenously and shamefully straight out of the box in the kitchen in the dark late at night... I eat it a lot. I like it because it doesn't get soggy in milk like other cereals, and because it's a nice snack when I'm feeling like something a little bit sweet. Granola can be an expensive habit, though, and when I found that I'd run out and needed a fix RIGHT THEN, I decided that it would be beneficial to make my own. I remembered that my mom used to make granola for Christmas gifts, and that it was delicious, but involved quite a bit of brown sugar. I figured if I was making own, I should take the opportunity to make a healthier alternative.

So here it is, adapted from this recipe, Maple Apricot Almond Granola:

2 cups gluten free oats (or regular old fashioned oats)
1 1/2 cups almonds (you can buy them pre-cut, or roughly chop up whole almonds. I used a food processor for this.)
Handful of flax seed powder
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup maple syrup, honey, or a combo
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut (shredded or flaked)
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots

In a bowl, combine oats, flax seed powder, and almonds. Pour in coconut oil and syrup/honey, and stir to combine. Stir in vanilla and spices. Spread out on baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Add dried apricots and unsweetened coconut, stir granola, and cook for 5 minutes more (or until nicely browned). Yum!