Category Archives: Gluten-Free

Katharine Hepburn Brownies {Grain-Free}

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 It always surprises people when they find out I went to film school.

I mean, I get why. I’ve never actually worked in the film industry, and I spend literally all my time baking, photographing, writing about, and serving food. It’s my whole life. Even while I spent six years learning about film production, I was mostly thinking about what I was going to make for dinner when I finally got back to my Upper West Side apartment. I watched equal amounts of Martin Scorsese films and The Barefoot Contessa. On the chance that someone’s shoot needed a craft services person, I was their girl. Getting class credit for roasting chickens and making salads? I was in heaven!

While my interest in film production was essentially gone by the time I graduated, my love for great movies has stayed strong (as has my love for cooking and baking, obviously). I still live for all things Scorsese, DeNiro, and DiCaprio, but when I need comfort, I go for anything with Katharine Hepburn. 

I am a diehard fan of her work–my personal favorites are Woman of the Year and The Philadelphia Story. I also love that she was a woman with a lot of opinions (something we have in common). She wore pants at a time when it was unacceptable for women to do so. She loved fiercely–the way she spoke about Spencer Tracy, her friends and family…💗💗💗😭 And, of course, she had opinions about food, namely brownies.

Ms. Hepburn was once gifted some brownies by her neighbors, and seeing that they were cakey instead of fudgy, she sent them her personal recipe instead of a thank you note! The recipe soon appeared in The New York Times and has since made its way around the Internet. And for good reason: these brownies are dense and fudgy, extra chocolaty, and studded with chopped nuts. 

Being a woman with a lot of opinions myself, I just had to mess with Katharine Hepburn’s recipe…but not too much. I added a touch of light brown sugar to the melted chocolate and butter base, and added some vanilla to round out the flavor. Being the good Texan girl I am, I swapped the walnuts for pecans. But the biggest change I made? I replaced the 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour with cocoa powder, making these brownies completely grain-free! I love when a recipe can feed my friends with allergies and specific diets.

The results speak for themselves. These brownies are super rich and full of chocolate flavor, and not even the slightest bit cakey. Fudgy brownie lovers won’t be able to get enough! And while I know Ms. Hepburn loved her own recipe, I think she’d approve of my version, too.

Want more brownies? Check out my Cocoa Brownies!

Katharine Hepburn Brownies {Grain-Free}
adapted from Brown Eyed Baker
makes one 8×8″ pan

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup cocoa powder (natural or dutch process)
1/4 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8×8″ rimmed square baking pan with butter. Line the bottom with parchment. Set aside.

In a double boiler or the microwave, melt butter and unsweetened chocolate together until smooth. Let cool slightly before transferring to a large mixing bowl.

Whisk in granulated and light brown sugars, followed by eggs and vanilla. Mix in cocoa powder and salt. Fold in chopped nuts. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Tap full pan five times on the countertop to release air bubbles. Bake 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Let brownies cool completely in the pan on a cooling rack, before slicing and serving.

Winning Hearts and Minds Cake {Grain-Free}

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 My little sister, Eliot (“E3”), came in town last week. While I’ve been busy trying to make my life happen in New York for the last eight or so years, she’s graduated from college, moved to Austin, worked as an engineer, become a yoga teacher, and applied and gotten into her top two choices for graduate school. One of them is Ivy League.

Sorry Eliot, had to brag…more. 

Out of all my immediate family, she has definitely visited me the most. Eliot’s probably been here fifteen times since I left Texas. As you can imagine, that means that we’ve been to every tourist attraction, hit a couple of Broadway shows, eaten at all the fancy restaurants, walked the Highline, and played a multi-hour game of mini-golf on Randall’s Island.

Tip: don’t challenge the captain of the high school golf team to a game of mini-golf. You will lose. You will lose hard. 

As Eliot’s come to see me so many times now, there’s not much touring left on her list. The entirety of what she wanted to do while she was here? Get some coffee at Sahadi’s, grab some Gorilla Coffee for our dad, and eat at MOB, a vegan restaurant in one of my old neighborhoods. And we did all of those things…but that didn’t take up much of our three days together, so we got creative instead. 

  We did a lot of weird stuff. She came to work with me twice (bless my amazing boss for giving me the kind of job where I can do that!). She tutored a nine year-old on fractions. We did cartwheels on the playground with said nine year-old. We swung on swings. We went thrifting and tried on vintage pearl snaps. We went to an impromptu St. Patrick’s Day dinner hosted by my friend, Claire. We ate barbecue with pretty much everyone I know. Heck, we even had a little dinner party. 

But in all that, we baked too. I had two cake orders while she was here: one carrot, and one of these Winning Hearts and Minds Cakes. Eliot isn’t much for carrot cake (she eats it mostly for the cream cheese frosting), but the girl loooooves chocolate. She was so enamored of the fudgy chocolate cake we delivered that I put it on the menu for our little dinner party. Paired with a double recipe of Everyday Cassoulet and a salad, it was a hit. 

 This cake is not even really a cake. Technically, it’s a torte. It’s completely grain-free, and made almost entirely of bittersweet chocolate, European butter, sugar, and eggs. It’s super rich and fudgy, best served in small slices with a spoonful of ice cream (E3’s recommendation) or whipped cream. The chocolate drizzle is optional, but I think it brings this already divine little cake over the top. It’s perfect for dinner parties, birthdays, holidays…Molly Wizenberg even served it at her wedding.

No matter when or why you make this cake, it’s sure to please. And if you get to make it (twice!) with your favorite person in the world, all the better. 

 Winning Hearts and Minds Cake {Grain-Free}
slightly adapted from Orangette
makes one 9-inch round cake

Cake:
7 ounces good-quality bittersweet chocolate*, chopped
7 ounces unsalted European-style butter*, cut into small pieces
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cocoa powder (natural or Dutch process)
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt

Chocolate Drizzle:
2 ounces good-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 teaspoon coconut oil

For Serving:
lightly-sweetened whipped cream (optional)
vanilla or coffee ice cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan with butter. Line the bottom with parchment, and grease with butter. Set aside.

In a double boiler or the microwave, melt dark chocolate and butter together, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Whisk in sugar. Allow to cool slightly.

Whisk in one egg at a time, combining completely after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Whisk in cocoa powder and salt, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the center jiggles just slightly when the pan is jostled. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes.

Line a plate with aluminum foil. Turn cake onto lined plate. Place a serving plate top-down onto the bottom of the cake. Holding on tightly to both plates (but not so tightly as to crush the cake), flip the cake to be right side-up on the un-lined plate. Let cool completely at room temperature.

Make the chocolate drizzle. In a double boiler or the microwave, melt chocolate and coconut oil together until smooth. Using a squeeze bottle or a fork, drizzle over the top of the cooled cake. Refrigerate for 15-30 minutes to set.

Serve cake in small slices, cold or at room temperature. Top with whipped cream or ice cream, if desired.

Cake will keep at room temperature for up to two days, or in the refrigerator for three.

Notes:

1. You may use any good-quality bittersweet chocolate you like. I have used Guittard on many occasions, but am currently partial to Trader Joe’s Pound Plus 72% Dark Chocolate.
2. I use Kerrygold, Finlandia, or Lurpak, but use whichever European-style unsalted butter you prefer.

Almond Joy Cookies {Grain-Free}

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 Do you ever get sudden cravings for treats from your childhood? Once or twice a year, I’ll get a craving for Fruit Roll-Ups or Gushers or Dunkaroos (may they rest in peace) that I just can’t shake. I spend days agonizing over these junk foods I haven’t had since my mom was packing my school lunches, and then once I finally give in and eat a fruit snack or a tiny tub of frosting, it’s never as good as I want it to be. And the worst part is that I’ve wasted perfectly good calories on processed food, when they could have gone to something waaaaay better, like Cocoa Brownies or Dark Chocolate Pecan Butter.

Last week, I got a craving for Almond Joys seemingly out of nowhere. I spent far too many waking hours thinking about little pillows of coconut topped with whole almonds, all covered in dark chocolate. Never mind that I hadn’t had one since my grandmother passed in 2001. On Thursday, I walked into the deli on our block prepared to give in and buy what was sure to be a disappointing candy bar. The Almond Joy of my daydreams was sure to be full of sticky, mealy coconut, slightly-soft almonds, and cheap chocolate in reality. Just as I was preparing to fork over four quarters and what’s left of my dignity, I saw a jar of almond butter behind the counter. And because I have a perpetual case of baker’s brain, my mind immediately went into overdrive. I thought about the classic three-ingredient peanut butter cookie recipe, but made with almond butter. Dotted with coconut and covered in chocolate, they’d be like a grown-up Almond Joy in cookie form. And high in protein and grain-free, so I would feel less guilty about eating three in a row. I got to work, and let me tell you, these cookies are way better than any store-bought candy bar could ever hope to be. 

Almond Joy Cookies bear a lot of similarities to the Easy Nutella Cookies I posted earlier this month. They are both made primarily of nut butter, eggs, and sugar, and are totally grain-free (and therefore gluten-free). This recipe is super simple, but does require some precision in the mixing. As in every cookie recipe, each ingredient has a job. When the recipe has no grains, like this one, those ingredients have to be backed by some serious technique, or the results will send you running for that disappointing candy bar! Here are a few tips to make these cookies as awesome as possible.

Beat the bejeezus out of the egg. I mean, get your electric mixer out, crank it to high, and beat the egg for at least two minutes. The egg will serve to give our cookies structure. If the egg is simply scrambled, we’ll have flat cookies. So beat the egg until it is really, really, REALLY frothy and much lighter in color. This way, our cookies will be nice and puffy. Also, make sure your egg is room temperature, so it takes in air easily.

Use brown sugar, but not too much. Sugar may come in a dry bag, but it’s actually a liquid ingredient. It’s mixed into dough as crystals, but it starts melting on contact with fat and eggs, and fully caramelizes in the oven (which is why most cookies are golden brown). If there is too much sugar in a recipe, the cookies will spread like crazy because of the molten excess liquid. This recipe only calls for 2/3 cup light brown sugar, so our cookies will only spread a little. Don’t worry, they’ll still be sweet! Also, brown sugar keeps things extra moist thanks to the molasses. This will make our final results nice and chewy 😊 

Don’t use almond butter that separates. There are a million brands of almond butter on the shelves these days. You may have noticed that some of them have a layer of separated oil on top. Do not use any of those in these cookies, unless you are ready for a mess! I recommend creamy-style (like Trader Joe’s) or no-stir almond butter (like MaraNathra). Still give whatever you use a good stir, just to distribute all the fat evenly. The almond butter is the other half of the structural dream team. Along with the beaten egg, the almond butter will serve to keep these cookies from becoming flat, oily puddles of sadness. It also provides the flavor base, along with a touch of almond extract, some vanilla, and coconut. Your dough may still feel a little oily while you are rolling it. Don’t worry–just let the excess oil drain off a bit. Your finished cookies will not be greasy.

Baking powder is non-negotiable! Some of the three-ingredient peanut butter cookies out there don’t call for leavening. Peanut butter is pretty thick though, so they still get big and puffy. Almond butter, on the other hand, is thin, so we need a bit of baking powder to keep these cookies rising up instead of spreading out!

Whew!  

   
 
Once all your cookies are baked, melt some chocolate chips and coconut oil, and drizzle it over the cookies with a squeeze bottle or a fork. I like to drizzle twice because, hello, chocolate! I made these in two different sizes for no other reason than I felt like it 😊 I have included instructions for smaller cookies in the notes below. Now, go forth and resist the candy bar! Instead, make cookies that will live up to your childhood memories! 
 Almond Joy Cookies {Grain-Free}
makes 21 medium cookies*

1 large egg, room temperature
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 cup creamy-style almond butter, measured in a dry measuring cup*
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350F. Lay a cooling rack over a sheet of wax paper. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats. Set aside. 

In a large mixing bowl, use and electric mixer to beat the egg until very frothy and lighter in color, about two minutes. Add the light brown sugar, vanilla, and almond extracts, and beat for one minute. Add the almond butter, salt, and and baking powder, and mix until completely combined. Fold in coconut.

Scoop dough by the tablespoon* and roll into balls. The dough may feel oily. Set dough balls at least 1.5 inches apart on prepared pans. Bake for 9-10 minutes, until the cookies have puffed up a bit and no longer look shiny. If the cookies are too domed, tap the tops with the back of a spoon. Let cool on the pans for five minutes before removing to the prepared rack.

While cookies are cooling, melt chocolate chips and coconut oil together in a double-boiler or the microwave. Use a small squeeze bottle or a fork to drizzle cooled cookies with chocolate. Chocolate will set after several hours at room temperature, or within thirty minutes in the refrigerator.

Cookies keep covered at room temperature for up to a week.

Notes:

1. Alternatively, this recipe makes about five dozen very small cookies.
2. I used MaraNathra No-Stir Almond Butter. Do not use almond butter that separates.
3. If making very small cookies, scoop dough by the teaspoon. Bake for 7-8 minutes.

Dark Chocolate Pecan Butter

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Well, we survived the blizzard. With the exception of a two hour excursion to the fancy grocery store for provisions (read: lots of cheese and some kimchi), Henry and I stayed home all day Saturday while New York City was brought to a standstill by Jonas. We watched PBS (because we’re big nerds) and made a pot of sausage and white bean soup before the real cabin fever set in. But that was solved by taking a slippery walk down to Smith Street and making some snow angels. Really, there was nothing to complain about: we had a warm apartment, plenty of food, Netflix, and good company. But now, the snow is a problem. It’s everywhere, gray and slushy. I literally had to hike to the coffee shop across the street yesterday morning. Gross. But, then I came home, turned on BBC World Service (again, big nerd), ate some toast with bananas and this Dark Chocolate Pecan Butter, and briefly, blissfully forgot about the mayhem outside…until I left for Target and fell in a gray snowbank. So much for peace.

This Dark Chocolate Pecan Butter is so good. Chocolaty and lightly sweetened, with the deep caramel flavor that only toasted pecans can provide. It’s made with everyday ingredients like pecan halves (duh), cocoa powder, maple syrup, and coconut oil. Nothing weird. No palm oil, no copious amounts of refined sugar. No refined sugar at all, actually! There’s no dairy here either, so this nut butter is vegan!

Making homemade nut butters couldn’t be simpler. You will need a food processor or high-powered blender, but that is the only special equipment. If you don’t have one, I recommend this Hamilton Beach food processor. I’ve had mine for five years and it hasn’t failed me yet.

But back to the Dark Chocolate Pecan Butter. It starts with toasting pecan halves. Just spread them on a dry cookie sheet and bake at 400F for 5-7 minutes. You’ll know they’re ready the second you start to smell them. If you don’t trust your nose, start checking them every thirty seconds or so from the five minute mark until you deem them done. Whatever you do, don’t leave the room. The pecans can burn in a split second, and burnt pecan butter is decidedly not delicious.

  Once the pecans are toasty, put them in your food processor with a touch of salt and some cocoa powder. I prefer to use Dutch process cocoa here because I think its flavor is richer than natural. Dutch process cocoa is a little less widely available than natural, but it’s really not hard to find at all. In NYC, it’s available at Whole Foods, Sahadi’s, Union Market, and many specialty stores. N.Y. Cake Supply sells Valrhona cocoa at wholesale prices, but if Valrhona is a little too pricey for your liking, Droste is another brand I love. If you just want to stick with classic Hershey’s, do it. It will be delicious! Don’t let something as silly as some fancy cocoa stop you from making this Dark Chocolate Pecan Butter.

…anyway…

Process the pecans, cocoa powder, and salt until a nut butter forms. Then, add a bit of coconut oil, a few tablespoons of maple syrup, and a splash of vanilla, before blitzing for an additional 3-5 minutes. You might be thinking that the coconut oil seems unnecessary with all the oils in the pecans. And you’d be right, except that the cocoa powder dries everything out. The two teaspoons of coconut oil keep everything loose and spreadable. As far as sweetening goes, it’s up to you. I don’t like this butter to be very sweet. I use three tablespoons of maple syrup, but just add it to your preferred sweetness. Keep in mind that the maple will cause the butter to seize when you add it, but after a minute or two, everything will loosen back up. When the Dark Chocolate Pecan Butter is to your preferred consistency, transfer it to an airtight container for storage. The oils will separate a bit as it sits, so just give it a quick stir before use.

Now, how to serve this… Well, there’s always eating it by the spoonful. Or on oatmeal. Or stirred into yogurt. All of those would be great! But my favorite is on toasted country bread with bananas. Try it. Trust me.

Want more chocolate and pecans? Check out my Salted Caramel Chocolate-Covered Pecan Cookies!

Dark Chocolate Pecan Butter
makes about two cups

3 cups pecan halve
3 tablespoons cocoa powder*
1/4 teaspoon salt
3-4 tablespoons pure maple syrup*
2 teaspoons coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400F. Spread pecan halves on a baking sheet (not greased). Roast for 5-7 minutes, until fragrant. Let cool five minutes before transferring to a food processor or high-powered blender.

Add cocoa powder and salt to pecans and process until a nut butter forms, about 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add in maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla. Process for an additional 3-5 minutes. Butter will seize initially before becoming smooth again. Once it’s smooth, transfer the butter to an airtight container.

Store Dark Chocolate Pecan Butter at room temperature for up to a week, or indefinitely in the refrigerator. Butter will harden in the refrigerator, so bring it to room temperature before spreading. Stir before using.

Notes:
1. I prefer Dutch process cocoa here, but any cocoa powder will do.
2. Honey or agave may be substituted.

Dark Chocolate Pecan Butter

Easy Nutella Cookies {Grain-Free}

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Have you seen the three-ingredient peanut butter cookie recipe? It’s all over the Internet–1 cup creamy peanut butter, 1 egg, and 1 cup of granulated sugar. Mix ’em together, bake, and you have a pretty rockin’ batch of peanut butter cookies. And they’re gluten-free to boot! They were some of the first cookies I ever made successfully, and following that small triumph, I tried the magic peanut butter cookie formula with Nutella. I thought I was so smart and so clever. I mixed together most of a jar of Nutella, an egg, and some sugar, scooped the mixture onto a baking sheet, and had a giant fail. The cookies spread all over the place and got almost as lacy as my Apple Cider Snaps. It wasn’t until this week that I thought to try them again. It took me two additional batches, but I finally got them right.

I considered saving this recipe for February, given that I’m supposed to be sharing healthier recipes this month, but these are just too good to keep all to myself. Nutella isn’t exactly health food–the ad campaign may be all about skim milk, but sugar is the first ingredient on the nutrition label. If you’re limiting grains this New Year, but still need a cookie or two (and after the first week back to work, who doesn’t?), these are the ones you should make.

These cookies start by beating six tablespoons of granulated sugar, a large egg, and an egg yolk together with an electric mixer until the mixture gets foamy and lightens in color. By only using a little added sugar and really frothing up the eggs, we are giving the cookies a lot of structure, allowing them to be soft and puffy instead of hard and thin. Measure 1 cup of Nutella (most of a small jar) in a dry-ingredient measuring cup, and scrape that into the mix before beating it all together. The Nutella provides structure, and will give these cookies a decidedly brownie-like texture. And of course, it will also make them taste like chocolate and hazelnuts. Yum.


 Nutella is a bit on the thin side, so we have to mitigate any excessive spreading with cocoa powder. Cocoa powder can really dry things out, so we only need a little (1/4 cup) to thicken the dough. Any more than this, and the dough will be too crumbly to work with. Next, we have to add the tiniest bit of baking powder, just so the quantity of Nutella doesn’t make our cookies too dense. A little salt mitigates the potential for overwhelming sweetness from all the sugar. And the mini chocolate chips are just for fun!

The absolute best part of this cookie dough: no chilling required! Just scoop it by the 1/2 tablespoon (1 1/2 teaspoons), roll into balls, and bake for 6 minutes. That’s it! They will look a little shiny, but they will continue to cook on the pan, so don’t worry. I love tedious projects and decorated each individual cookie with more mini chocolate chips, but this is purely for aesthetics. If you aren’t as crazy as I am, feel free to skip that.

Easy Nutella Cookies are a wonderful first baking project for 2016. With the flavor of Nutella, the texture of fudgy brownies, and ease of preparation, what’s not to like? Add to that the fact that they are grain-free (which means they are gluten-free!), and you’ve got a winner.

Easy Nutella Cookies
makes about 3.5 dozen small cookies*

6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
1 cup Nutella
1/4 cup cocoa powder (natural or Dutch process)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
tablespoons miniature chocolate chips, plus extra for decorating (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer or a whisk to combine sugar, egg, and egg yolk until foamy and lighter in color, about one minute. Beat in Nutella. Add cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to fold in miniature chocolate chips.

Scoop dough in 1/2 tablespoon (1 1/2 teaspoons) increments and roll into balls. Set on the baking sheets at least 1.5 inches apart. Bake 6-7 minutes, until they look cooked, but are still a little bit shiny. Let cool on the baking sheets for ten minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely.

Cookies keep covered at room temperature for up to a week.

Note: If you would like larger cookies, scoop in 1 tablespoon increments and place the dough balls two inches apart. Bake for 8-9 minutes.

Easy Nutella Cookies {Grain-Free}