I have a friend who is currently not eating sugar, starch or grain. In my attempt to make a dessert that she could partake of I have been scouring recipes that will follow her dietary restrictions. Ummm…not an easy thing. I can find tons that are sugar-free, or starch free, or gluten free…but practically nothing that is free of all three.
I found what looked to be a promising recipe for
almond flour brownies at Grain-Free Foodies. Only one problem, well two actually. First, my hunk of man is allergic to almonds. Second, I didn’t have almond flower and found a teeny tiny 4 cup bag of it for $13 and change. Umm…no.
So, I kept searching. Then I found something that said I could replace almond flour with flax-seed meal in 1:1 ratio. Ding! Ding! Ding! I have that!
So, I whipped those bad boys up replacing the almond flour with the flax-seed meal. This is what they looked like when I took them out of the oven.
Hmmm…that is quite the indent….should have been my first clue all was not peach keen in brownie-ville. I tell my daughter, hey that’s no big deal, I’m putting whipped cream and berries on top anyway. She assures me she will be my taste tester.
An hour or so later, after much begging from her, I finally pop one out cut a wedge and hand it to her. She chews it, all the while trying to smile and says, “Meh, it’s…ok” and quickly follows up by telling me she’s sure they’ll be better with the whipped cream and berries. I then bring a piece to my two year old. He pops it in his mouth and quickly removes it while saying, “Dat’s gross mommy.” My husband was also not a fan. I then hand a piece to the one year old. She LOVES it! She came back for more three times! Ha ha. I figure it’s probably because she’s never had the “real thing”. At least they weren’t a total waste and I can feed her a yummy treat without guilt.
Alas, I’ll keep looking for a better “healthy” brownie. In the meantime I was smart enough to have some Pillsbury ones baking as back up for the rest of us. I’m still taking a few of these to my crazy friend.
Do you have a great “healthy” brownie recipe? Please, for the love of tasty treats, share your recipe!