341. Emergency Scones [Vegan, Flourless, NSA]

This is a variation of my Emergency Cookies because sometimes you just need a scone.  This might be a foreign statement for you.  But I was raised by Baker Smurf – so you’ll just have to take my word for it.

I made scones routinely in Oregon.  I used whole wheat flour and subbed buttermilk for the cream.  I always added cocoa and dried strawberries so mine were chocolate strawberry scones, and I thought they were fantastic until Mommy would come to visit me, make a batch of her classic tender triangles and I’d remember how good the originals were.

This recipe uses no flour or added sugar and I made them orange cranberry since that’s Mommy’s go-to combination.  They are lovely!  They make two small scones, so Mommy and I shared them and she said she liked them and would enjoy them again when I made them next. Poor Tanpo was not invited to the tea party, not that he would have partaken anyway :).

But I’m not sure when the “next time” is going to happen bc I’m going through one of those not-wanting-to-eat phases.  CMD gave me some high-octane herbs to combat the nausea and make me hungrier but I haven’t been up to swallowing them.  The only thing that has helped is more exercise – so I’m going with the work-out route for now as best as I can.  So I might be light on the recipes in the next few weeks.

Emergency Scones – Orange Cranberry (Vegan, Flourless, NSA)
Yields 2 small scones
Preheat toaster oven to 350

• 2 Tb almond butter
• 1 Tb unsweetened applesauce
• 1 Tb ground flax
• 2 Tb rolled (GF) oats
• splash of vanilla
• handful of craisins
• handful of slivered almonds (optional)
• orange zest to taste – I used about ¼ of an orange

Note:  I used a dinner spoon and not an actual measuring spoon. 

Mix everything together.  Form into desired shape on a parchment lined pan.
(I made a square I cut into 2 triangles.) Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

More Scones:

266. Sun|Almond Butter Scones

327. Cake Batter Bars [Flourless, Gluten Free, Vegan]

These aren’t brownies, promise.  They just look dark bc I made them from beans and the only beans I had were a dark rosy color.  I started feeling better last week and was itching to make something in the kitchen and I was craving cake mix bars.  But after careful combing through both pantries I ascertained that we had no cake mixes in the house.  So I figured I’d Google quick and easy blondies and I happened upon a recipe from one of my favorite sources – Chocolate Covered Katie.

I have long resisted the idea of bean baking.  But I tried it this time since it seemed like the lowest hanging fruit and I adapted the recipe to better suit my measuring, lower sugar, and cake-batter(ish) requirements.  If you want the original chocolate chip blondie (with peanut butter) original recipe go to the source here.

Cake Batter Bars [Vegan, Gluten Free, with beans]

Adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie
Preheat oven to 350.  Grease an 8×8 pan.

• 1 can (~15 oz) beans, drained and rinsed.  (The color of your beans will influence the color of your bars.  That’s why mine are dark and I cannot call them “blondies” in good conscience.)
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ½ cup coconut sugar (or sub brown if you like)
• big splash of vanilla
• small splash of almond extract
• ¼ cup ground flax
• ¼ c almond butter
• handful of chocolate chips & palmful of sprinkles

Grind everything (except the chips and sprinkles) in a food processor or high-speed blender until nice and smooth.  Mix in the chips and sprinkles.  Spread into your greased 8×8 pan.  Decorate the top with more chips and  sprinkles if you like.  Bake for about 30 minutes at 350.

J came over later that night to drop off the CSA we’re sharing so I made her sample the goods.  Of course they looked better once my food stylist arranged them for me.

More vegan cake batter fun from CCK:

311. Black Cake Brownie Bites [GF, Vegan, Oil Free]

I am Asian. I am not Jamaican. But I have a taste for the ultra-dark and rich fruit cake that comes from Jamaica since we grew up eating the version made by one of the F daughters. SO good. I just refer to it as “black cake.” That, along with Mommy’s Fried Rice, is one of the foods of my youth. Ai Ai told me that our friend S starts preparing hers months before Christmas.

So when I set out to make these brownie bites I was aiming for a gingerbread taste. They came out more reminiscent of the black cake I love. I was not disappointed – it was a happy accident! My apologies to real Jamaican fruit-cake makers – I know the real thing is irreplaceable – I’m just pleased I came up with an easy alternative for myself. If you’ve never had the kind of cake I’m talking about, be informed that the taste is strong (although alcohol-free in this case). To achieve a lighter taste, try ¼ cup maple syrup and ¼ molasses. Or a scant ½ cup maple syrup and a splash of molasses. I haven’t tried this yet, but once I finish the rest of my brownie bites I will. Oooh – or use all maple syrup and add a splash of mint extract for mint brownies. I bet you saw that one comin’.

Black Cake Brownie Bites [Gluten Free, Vegan]

Yield: 24 mini muffin-size brownies

Preheat oven to 350

Line mini muffin trays with paper liners

• 3 Tb ground flax
• 1 c unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ c molasses
• ½ c unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 c GFDF mini choc chips
• splash of vanilla
• dash each of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg
• 2 dashes of ginger powder

Mix everything well. Fill your mini muffin cups and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. After they cool, frost only those you’ll be consuming with a white glaze (e.g. powdered sugar + non-dairy creamer), sprinkle with your favorite toppings. Mine aren’t necessarily GF/Vegan, e.g. crushed candy canes, M&M’s (I love the dark chocolate mint, green ombre variety), but if you need a safer choice, try colored sanding sugar.

299. Fennel Apple Quinoa Stuffing [GF, Vegan]

Quinoa is a great alternative for the Gluten Free among us.  Before I talk about quinoa (keen-wah) some more, let me just give a shout out to the Honey Baked Ham guy who helped me out in November 2010.  He read the fear in my eyes and told me, “It’s going to be okay.”

Yeah, it was fine because my friend, L, was there to do the actual cutting of my pre-cooked turkey.  I also Skyped earlier in the day with my family.  I held up a huge bag of Yukon Golds and was like, “Mommy, what do I do with these?”

But back to quinoa – it’s a seed, not a grain.  However, I’ve heard of it referred to sometimes as a “pseudograin,” and it has a mixed reception in the Grain-Free community.  Since I am not eating meat presently I’ve embraced quinoa since I love the hearty texture, and the fact that it’s a complete protein.   SCORE!  I wouldn’t consider it a low-calorie food, though, so I’m still mindful of serving size, but in the grand scheme of things I’m glad quinoa is on my list of “okay to eat” things right now.

Pure quinoa is gluten free – but if you’re purchasing a mix just be careful to verify that it’s certified GF if you need it to be.  This stuffing is a great alternative to the usual bread stuffing or its processed GF counterpart.  Mommy never actually stuffed the bird when we were growing up – actually, I heard that this practice is frowned upon now as unhygienic.  Anyhoo, Mommy always made a glutinous sticky rice we called “stuffing” with Chinese sausage, shitakes, and chestnuts for Thanksgiving.  Yum!  I wanted to do a quinoa/vegan version this year and this is what I came up with.

I’ve never cooked with fennel before, but I like the licorice-taste it imparts and I just sliced it up (only the bulb, not those pokey things) and went for it.  I broth-sauteed this so there is no added oil, but feel free to cook it how you choose.  I would definitely recommend, though, that you use red quinoa (it’s prettier) that has been cooked in leftover soup/broth.  I’m pretty sure this gives it a tasty boost.  I used some roasted carrot soup and some veggie bisque (recipe coming tomorrow) as well as veggie broth.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Fennel Apple Quinoa Stuffing (GF, Vegan)

Serves around 5

• 2 cups cooked quinoa (I used red quinoa cooked in soup/broth – the flavor boost is strongly recommended)
• 1 bulb of fennel, sliced
• 1 green apple, e.g. granny smith
• ½ lb. mushrooms, e.g. baby bella, sliced
• 5 chestnuts (or more/less – your preference)
• Veggie broth, for cooking
• Balsamic vinegar
• Mrs. Dash no salt
• Salt and pepper

In a big pan or wok, bring a splash of veggie broth to state of rowdiness over high heat.  Toss in the mushrooms.  Add a splash of balsamic, a pinch of Mrs. Dash no salt, and stir.  Lower the heat and cover for 2 minutes.  Add in the fennel and apple.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper, stir and cover again for 1-2 minutes.  Add the quinoa in and stir.  Season to taste.  Drop the chestnuts in and heat everything through.

Other Allergy-Friendly Thanksgiving Food:  click here

114. PBCC Quinoa Oatmeal

 

 

Please pray that all goes well logistically and we will get the incorporation and banking issues squared away for the target launch date of Dec 10, or sooner.

 

297. Flourless Chunky Monkey Emergency Cookies [Gluten Free, Vegan, No Sugar Added]

You could have guessed that this was going to happen. I love ice cream, and I love cookies…It doesn’t take a brain surgeon…(pun intended). I haven’t had Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream in years. But when Mom brought it home one day when I was still a teenager I was like, Umm…this is SO good. At that point I didn’t even really like bananas, so maybe it was the name that caught my fancy.

In any case, I didn’t feel like using only half a banana so I threw a whole (small) very ripe banana in and increased the ground flax seed. I got 8 cookies out of this batch – still small, but gauge the size of your toaster oven and plan accordingly. I tried this with both sun butter and regular peanut butter. Both are delicious, but you should be aware (and I apologize for not telling you this during Sun Butter Week) that sun butter often bakes up green due to the chlorophyll in the sunflower seeds. I Googled it, and as you know, the internet does not lie. The green colored baked goods are safe to eat but I thought they might be rather off-putting in the pictures, so I tried a peanut butter version. Success!! If, however, you want to use sun butter you could try squeezing some lemon juice in there.

The fuzzy monkey you see in the background in the picture above was a gift to me in the hospital from my dear friends (college roomates) who drove up from California to visit me. See (look over Karine’s right shoulder)?

Sadly, I was still asleep, otherwise we would have had a grand old time. 2 seconds after I took the title photo, this happened:

Chunky Monkey Emergency Cookies (GF, Vegan, NSA)

Makes around 8 cookies
Preheat oven to 350

• 2/3 cup peanut butter
• 1 small ripe banana (or half of a large banana)
• 2 Tb ground flax
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• splash of vanilla
• handful DF chocolate chips
• handful walnuts

Mix the peanut butter and banana first – I used a fork to mash the banana into the PB. Mix everything else in. Drop by the large spoonful or ice cream scoop onto your greased or lined cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes. Store in the freezer. If you don’t devour them immediately, enjoy them straight from freezer, barely defrosted, or reheated in the toaster oven.

for other Emergency Cookie variations: click here.

Please pray that all goes well logistically and we will get the incorporation and banking issues squared away for the target launch date of Dec 10, or sooner.

281. Flourless Maple Pecan Brownies (Gluten Free, Vegan)

I got thrown a curve-ball yesterday:  Dr. G (Dad’s ENT)’s office called yesterday to say that she’s moving, but that I could see her yesterday afternoon.  WAH!  My plans for getting treated by her have been foiled.  But happily, I did see her yesterday, got scoped twice, and she explained everything in detail to me and was very thorough.  I also met the speech therapist (Dad has also been her patient, too), since the current verdict is more ST (specifically for voice and swallowing), and then I’ll check in with the ENT in 2-3 months.  Ed snuck in to the office.  (Mommy didn’t notice that I had him (riding on my purse) until we were in the elevator.  So Ed was there for moral support, I got my questions answered and I know what to do next (sign up for ST) – a successful appointment, I’d say!

Moving on, let me share these flourless brownies with you.  I know, you must be like – how many treats can one girl eat?!?!?  Well, I don’t eat ALL of them…Okay, I eat many of them, I admit it – but not all at once.  I put many in the freezer as soon as I can.  I made these this summer at Tim and Ai Ai’s when I was on my maple kick.  I haven’t quite gotten past the maple thing yet, mind you – it’s so good!

Flourless Maple Pecan Brownies [GF, Vegan]
Preheat oven to 350, grease a loaf tin (you’re not making a brownie loaf , this just makes a nice bar in a loaf pan)

▪          3 flax eggs – room temperature.  I just put 3 Tbsp of flax seed in a bowl, added 9 Tbsp of water, mixed it up and let it sit and thicken for about 15-20 minutes.
▪          1 c cocoa
▪          3/4 c maple syrup
▪          3 Tbsp coconut oil
▪          generous splash of vanilla
▪          generous splash of natural maple flavor
▪          a handful of chopped pecans for sprinkling on the top
▪          optional – pecan cream for serving – pretend like you’re making cashew cream, but use pecans.  Sweeten with maple syrup.

Mix everything, pour into loaf pan, bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

 

279. Timmy’s Monster Cookie [Single Serving, GF, Flourless, Egg-Free, No Sugar Added)

I love how easy this cookie recipe is.  My posts have been a little heavier this week, so I wanted to send you of to enjoy your weekend with something light and fun.  Boo Boo asked last week if the Emergency Cookies worked with peanut butter.  (Timmy likes PB.)  Based on the success of this recipe, I’m going with “YES.”

Last weekend Ruthie asked me if I called them “Emergency Cookies” bc I was having last-minute company and I wanted to make something for my guests.  No-no, I assured her.  The fact that I wanted a cookie and had nothing suitable on hand constituted an emergency for me.  All 3 times.  Glad we cleared that up.

But I wanted to try a peanut butter cookie recipe for Timmy (side note: no one else calls him “Timmy” apart from our family.  Ai Ai says I started it a long time ago, but I have no recollection of this – which isn’t to say that it’s not true), and this is also a good cookie option for MMN/Mrs. T – I can’t wait to tell her about it.  Peanut Butter lovers UNITE!

PS.  I tried this twice.  The first time I used more applesauce, and the cookie was a little soft – still delicious – but soft.  This might have been influenced by my inability to wait for the cookie to cool before consuming it, though.  Tip:  if you are like me, and can’t wait to eat the cookie, use a fork and be happy.  On the second round (the recipe I’m going with below) I used less applesauce, plus I let it cool and the texture was suitable for hand-eating.

Timmy’s Monster Cookie [GF, Flourless, Egg-Free, NSA]

Single Serving
Preheat toaster oven to 350 

• 2 Tbsp peanut butter
• 1 Tbsp GF rolled oats, or sub coconut
• ½ Tbsp ground flax
• ½ Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
• a few M&M’s (as many as you feel comfortable with)

Mix well.  Form a cookie on a piece of parchment paper on a small tray.  I also tried a silicon muffin thing – that’s why the cookie in my picture is small (it’s tall).  Depending on your method, the cookie could be plenty big.  If there are two of you, double the recipe.  Dot the top with M&M’s if you like.  Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.

244. Grilled Pizzas

If I’m unable to procure a grain free option for myself I’ll at least try to eat gluten free.  I tend not to consume packaged gluten-free products, though, but I made an exception when we made grilled pizzas this summer bc I was too tired to make a  crust of my own.  And I must say that the GF store-bought crust was yummy!! Thanks for finding it, Boo Boo.  For the regular pizzas we just used some lovely flatbread from Harris Teeter.  Basically, we put a bunch of leftovers on our pizzas.  But the end results were fabulous so I wanted to share them with you.  If you throw a pizza on the grill, exercise freedom in choosing your toppings, and watch the cooking time.  Timmy grilled the flatbreads for 4 minutes, and my GF crust (not pre-cooked) for 13.  But your grill and crusts will vary.

White Butternut Veggie:  (Gluten & Dairy Free, Vegetarian)

Top a GF pizza crust with

• savory cashew cream (leftover from my Shepherd’s pie)
• sautéed onions
• grilled zucchini and eggplant (pre cooked frozen packages of nice slices at Trader Joe’s make this a snap.)
• a few pieces of butternut squash (I used frozen cubes from Target)
• tomato slices
• a few basil leaves

BBQ Chicken:

Top a flatbread, or the crust of your choice, with

• Tomato sauce
• Shredded bbq chicken (or use plain chicken and squirt some BBQ sauce on the whole)
• Tomatoes
• Fresh mozzarella
• sauteed onions, bacon and mushrooms (leftover from my Shepherd’s pie)
• basil

If you’d like to have leftovers like we did, cook this earlier in the week – just add a little to the quantities for the cashew cream, onion, bacon and mushrooms.

 

242. Land and Pool PT Pie [Gluten Free and Vegan]

I thought this was going to get easier, but it isn’t.  I’m not going back to Planet Rehab.  I didn’t know I wasn’t returning when I left NRH in June, but it turns out that my health insurance is changing and I’m going to let it take me (for a variety of reasons) somewhere closer to home.  When I came to this realization recently I was sad.  Ed broke out in hives.  The only thing I could think to do was bake something – this is a flourless almond butter coconut blondie with a brownie swirl.  I practiced on the one in the picture, and I’ll bake another and bring it in to the nice peeps at NRH on Friday.  Thanks for everything xoxo.

I’ve always just called my sessions, “PT” and “Pool Therapy,” but I’ve often heard staffers distinguish the two by saying, “Land” vs. “Pool” Therapy.  The contrast between the two is why I wanted to bake something with two distinct entities in it.  The almond coconut blondie is fantastic, even if I do say so myself.  Technically, the brownie swirl is optional, but I highly recommend it.  I could barely wait to snap the picture above before I sampled the pie on the blue plate.  As I was chewing I decided that I really enjoyed the chocolatey edge the brownie swirl gives to the sweet fudgy blondie.  I used almond butter this time, and tried making my own in the Vitamix.  It was 90% successful, I’d say – I think the fact that there’s one ingredient (almonds) and the homemade texture might influence the gooeyness of the pie, but I’m not sure since I’ve never bought almond butter from the store.  The coconut adds a lovely bit of texture, and it’s yummy, too!

My sister made a chocolate chip pie a couple of times this summer and served it with ice cream to some very happy guests.  I looked longingly at that pie, sad that I had decided to go grain free.  Well, this is a delicious compromise.  Ai Ai, I need you to make this and see if my children like it.  I’m sure Timmy will, since he’s so obliging like that.  But if you want to omit the coconut just throw some oatmeal in there.

I ❤ Land & Pool PT Pie [Gluten Free and Vegan]
Flourless Almond Coconut Blondie Pie with a Brownie Swirl
Preheat oven to 350, Grease a pie plate

For the Blondie:

• 1 c almond butter (I used homemade)
• ½ c unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 flax egg
• ¼ c maple syrup
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• splash of vanilla
• pinch of salt

Mix everything in a bowl and pour it into your pie plate

For the Brownie Swirl:

• 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
• ½ Tbsp ground flax
• ½ Tbsp maple syrup
• splash of almond milk – or enough to facilitate mixing

Stir everything together.  I used the same mug I had used to make the flax egg for the pie.  Mine was very powdery, but when I let it sit for a minute as I wiped up a spill (oops, my bad), it settled down perfectly.  This quantity will make more than you need, but I needed enough to hold on to while I made the swirl.  It doesn’t have to be a swirl, BTW, you can make the design anything you wish.  Pour the chocolate batter into a Ziploc sandwich or snack size bag, leaving one corner clean (lean the bag to one side).  Snip the corner so you can use the hole to squeeze the batter out on top of the pie in the pattern of your choice.

Bake for around 17 minutes.  (That’s how long it took me – just keep an eye on it.  Ovens are different!)

This is what happened when I got discharged from Therapy last time:

69. Williamsburg –  Taliaferro-Cole Summer Garden
by NH

 

240. Flourless Dark Chocolate Sun Butter Brownies [Gluten Free and Vegan]

Surprise, surprise – I had one of those floppy brain moments again.  I was so busy patting myself on the back last week for pre-loading my posts through Tuesday that I failed to observe that I had counted the days/dates wrong and posted TWO on Monday.  Oops, my bad.  Welcome to my world.   Happily, however, I have no shortage of things to tell you about so after we got home yesterday (we spent a wonderful weekend with my siblings and their progeny at the Labor Day Conference) I opened the fridge, got my snack out, soaked some nuts, made some milk, and snapped a picture.  I have been plotting a “Sun Butter” week out of deference to the nut allergic among us (I’m so sorry you can’t eat PB) – in particular, Sgirl and CEF’s eldest.  You should still totally read about PB bread/PBJ bars, too, so I’m including them on the bottom of this post.  These and the Sun Butter Brownies are both so simple it’s astonishing.  I have to restrain myself from making them daily.

These brownies are heavy on the dark chocolate note, lighter on the sun butter note.  You can taste something nut/seed butter ish, but probably can’t put your finger on it – but I like the delicate sun butter fragrance, plus, using it eliminated the need for any other butter or oil. I didn’t sweeten this batch quite as much, and the chocolate note is richer :).  I used a loaf pan this time, and they turned out great – none of that weird, baking forever business as with the Thin Mint Brownie Pie.   I don’t think these are overly pretty, but I wasn’t planning to serve them to company.  I would have made a fabulous parfait or trifle with them, but I couldn’t bc I ate them all.

Flourless Dark Chocolate Sun Butter Brownies
inspired by Thin Mint Brownie Pie and Our Fifth House’s Paleo Brownie Pie
preheat oven to 350 and grease a loaf pan – but you’re  not making a loaf, you’re making brownies that turn out to be around an inch (or less) thick

• 3 flax eggs – room temperature.  I just put 3 Tbsp of flax seed in a bowl, added 9 Tbsp of water, mixed it up and let it sit and thicken for about 15-20 minutes.
• 1 c cocoa
• 1/2 c maple syrup
• 1/4 c sun butter (I used homemade)
• generous splash of vanilla
• 1/2 c DF chocolate chips

Mix everything and then pour into your loaf pan.  Bake for around 35-40 minutes.

A couple of notes:

(1) I call these “Flourless” even though my computer keeps on telling me that’s not a real word bc although I do not use flour in these I don’t want to call them “Grain Free.”  The tag, “Grain Free” is associated in my mind with Paleo eating, and I’m just going with gluten free + flourless since I’m still on my vegan kick and use flax eggs.  Flax isn’t a grain, it’s a seed – but I’ve read (I’m reading – thank you, VT!) that some Paleos frown upon eating flax.  So I’m playing it safe.

(2) As part of my effort to build better health habits in my life, e.g. my transition to no-sulfate shampoo, and now baking soda/ACV since I found out I’m allergic to that thing, I hereby rescind my recommendation to microwave your almonds etc. before making milk.  Now I’m going with the soak-for-real, method, or my soak in really hot water for an hour shortcut (although some might frown upon this, too).   I tried to research this, but my eyeballs got tired, so I’m just going with an extremely general explanation- there’s something that’s supposed to happen when you soak nuts, something that makes them more digestible and possibly enhances their nutritional value.  I know some people abhor the microwave.  Personally, I love mine.  But I would not want to mess with the process of soaking with my microwave technique.  I guess this is good, though, since it cultivates both forethought and patience in my life.

PS.  I need about another week to make sure I really do love the baking soda/ACV thing, and I’ll tell you about it.

239.  Flourless PB Bread and PBJ Bars [Grain Free, Dairy Free]

130. Flourless Peanut Butter Muffins

This is actually an update of the popular “Flourless Peanut Butter Muffins” I posted a long time ago.  It was one of the first recipes I shared and it was clear from how I was throwing things in the blender that cooking/baking with me is not an exact science.  I’ve heard that you should be more precise when baking, but I’m sorry, I can’t.  However, I did manage to make the muffins more replicable by simplifying the recipe.   I took out the chestnuts, agave, and Greek yogurt!  Plus, this time you just need a bowl and a spoon, and I’ve updated the old post accordingly.

My compliments to The Detoxinista – I tried baking with just nut butter after looking at her recipe for PBCC blondies.  She used natural/thinner/oily peanut butter for her blondies, but I used “regular” (like Skippy or JIF) for all of my baking.  I think this resulted in a fluffier (not fudgey) result.  So go for the regular PB.

I baked flourless peanut butter things quite a few times this summer.  Here are two instances:

Flourless Peanut Butter Bread
(pictured at the top of this post)
Grain Free, Dairy Free, No Sugar Added | Preheat oven to 350, Grease an 8×8 square

I made these for Mrs. T, who is trying to avoid flour and sugar for health reasons.  After some coffee-break recon one Sunday I learned that she’s partial to peanut butter.  I did a “practice” batch for our family, and those among us who quite enjoy sugar liked these sugarless squares.  Personally, I liked them with some jam smeared on top, like in the picture.  I used a fruit-sweetened strawberry spread.

• 1 c peanut butter (not natural-style or homemade)
• 1 egg
• pinch of salt
• ½ tsp baking soda
• splash of vanilla

Combine everything in a bowl.  Pour into your square.  Bake at 350 for around 20 minutes.  I’m sorry, I honestly can’t remember how long I baked them – just start checking at 20, and let them go a few minutes longer if they don’t look done.

Flourless PBJ Bars
Grain Free, Dairy Free | Preheat oven to 350, Grease an 8×8 square

229. Flourless “Nutella” Bars

These were the treats I made originally to take to The Gym.  I had a batch in the oven before breakfast that morning.  I found out later, though, that peanuts are on the allergen list, so I switched gears and tried the Flourless “Nutella” Bars.  Thankfully my parents arrived that day so Baker Smurf could advise me when my test batch turned out too soft.  Basically, these are similar to the bread, but this is a thicker, double batch, and the jam is swirled on top so it’s baked into the bar.  Yay!!  Fun times.  My swirl would have been prettier, but Mommy hadn’t arrived yet.  Also, I sweetened these bars so they are more in the “PB Cookie” category than the “bread” category.

• 1 c smooth peanut butter (not natural-style or homemade)
• 1 c chunky peanut butter (not natural-style or homemade)
• 2 eggs…I think I used flax eggs
• pinch off salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ c honey or agave
• splash of vanilla

• 2 Tb jam of choice (for the top)

Combine everything except the jam.  Of course you can use all smooth or all chunky PB if you like.  Pour into your square.  Gently warm the jam (I put mine in a small dish) in the microwave.  Dot the top of your batter with the jam.  I made 9 globs.  Drag a toothpick or butter knife through the jam and batter to achieve a feathered effect.  Bake at 350 for around 25-30 minutes.