grain free brownies – BIG EATS tiny kitchen

I’m so sorry.

INCREDIBLY sorry.

I have been M.I.A. for a month. I need to grovel and ask for your forgiveness….

soooo….. I made brownies.

Nothing says I love you and I’m sorry for being away like chocolate + butter + nuts. Am I right?

I’ve been a little off kilter lately and super busy with life and work. It became increasingly difficult to find additional time (and motivation) recently for posting new recipes. Maybe it was lack of sun and seasonal depression. So I took a break. I went back to just cooking for the fun of it. I stopped worrying about whether or not it was good enough for the blog or whether I had to cook it at the right time so that I had enough natural light to photograph it. I just cooked for me.

I think I go through this every winter. I have to realign myself with what is important to me. Give myself a new focus. In turn, I have also given this blog a renewed purpose.

I want to thank those of you who reached out to me and encouraged me to continue cooking and creating in this space. I received some lovely emails and words of encouragement. This is supposed to be a space of creativity and sharing. I want this space to be several things moving forward and not just a food blog. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely still want it to be a space where my inner grandma gets to cook, feed others, and then sit back and bask in the joy of nourishing the one’s I love. But I also want to focus on discovering, exploring, and escaping comfort zones.

Thank you for letting me cook for you and provide nourishing recipes for the past three years. Also, thank you for giving me satisfaction and fulfillment.

And with that…. let’s talk CHOCOLATE AND BUTTAH AND HAZELNUTS.

Get out that good butter and good chocolate. Turn on your oven. We are also going to throw in hazelnuts into our brownies to add some flare!

V.D. is coming up… I mean, Valentine’s Day. And what better way to celebrate your loved ones and friends (or just you) than to serve up a plate of uuuuuuuhmazing gooey gooey brownies. These brownies are adapted from a past recipe of mine (Paleo Flourless Brownie Bites) and a recipe from my favorite pastry chef, Dave Leibovitz. The results are fabulously out of this world. But, as LeVar Burton would say…. Don’t take my word for it. Make them yourself and share the love.

Flourless Brownies (Grain Free)

Servings: 12 to 16
Time: 45 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
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6 tablespoons salted butter (or use unsalted and add 1/8 teaspoon salt)
10 oz semi-sweet chocolate chunks
2 eggs (room temperature)
2/3 cup coconut palm sugar (or unrefined cane sugar)
3 tablespoons arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2/3 cup chopped nuts (I used roasted hazelnuts)
coarse or flaked sea salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 8X8 baking dish and set aside.
Add coconut palm sugar, arrowroot powder, and cocoa powder to the bowl of a food processor. Process for about 1 minute to make sugar mixture super fine. Set aside.
In a metal saucepan over medium heat, melt butter until it begins to crackle. Add 2/3 of the chocolate chunks (about 8 oz) and remove pan from heat. Whisk constantly until chocolate is completely melted. Add eggs one at a time and whisk constantly.
Pour chocolate mixture into food processor with sugar mixture. Process for at least one minute. Mixture will be glossy and thick. Add 1/2 cup of nuts and pulse once or twice to distribute. Use a rubber spatula and spoon out mixture into greased baking dish. Sprinkle remaining nuts, chocolate chunks, and flaked sea salt on top. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 F, or until just set. Do not overtake.

Note – If you do not have a food processor, then you will need to adapt the recipe slightly. Add the sugar to the butter and chocolate mixture before you add the eggs. Remove the saucepan from heat. Add eggs one at a time, then add sifted cocoa powder and arrowroot powder straight to the saucepan. Stir with a whisk briskly for at least 1 minute until the mixture becomes glossy and begins pulling away from the sides of the saucepan. Stir in your nuts and then spread the mixture into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts and chocolate and bake as directed above.

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all are having a wonderful and cozy day. My husband I made the trek from KC down to Oklahoma to visit my family. My brother had back surgery a week ago and has been recovering. It was wonderful getting to spend time with all of us together.

We cooked, we ate, we laughed, we made our gingerbread house, and we watched christmas movies on repeat while my bro was horizontal in bed recovering. He’s getting around better and was able to eat dinner with us and walk around with his walker.

We had to leave a day early because Oklahoma freaks out over the mere mention of a slight chance of snow. So thinking Snowmaggeddon is on its way, we had to make a mad dash up north to Kiley’s family’s house in Tulsa last night to try to miss this “massive” snow storm. We woke up this morning to clear skies and no snow. Womp womp. But at least we are safe and sound in Tulsa with Kiley’s family now with the warmth of coffee and a fire in the fireplace. We hope you and your families are warm, cozy, and enjoying time together and slowing down this season.

I’m whipping up a batch of flourless bite-sized brownies. I love the tiny size for snacking. There is no flour, only cocoa powder, melted chocolate, honey, eggs, and butter or coconut oil! They are super easy and can be topped with anything you have on hand. Yes…even bacon. I topped some with bacon (it was a hit), some with crystallized ginger, others with toasted walnuts, and some with salted caramel (my fave). The recipe is inspired by the flourless brownies in my new favorite cookbook, Practical Paleo. The recipe is found below.

Also, if you are looking for some last minute quick gluten-free recipes to make for Christmas dinner, I’ve gathered up a few of my favorites….

Gluten-Free Breakfast:

Mexican Breakfast Casserole (Grain Free and Dairy Free)

Crustless Quiche (Grain Free and Dairy Free)

Pumpkin-Apple Muffins (Grain Free and Dairy Free)

German-Style Apple Walnut Pancake (Grain Free and Dairy Free)

Gluten-Free Appetizers:

Spinach-Cheese Balls (Vegetarian and Grain Free)

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs (Grain Free and Dairy Free)

Nutty Coconut Date Balls (Vegetarian, Grain Free, and Dairy Free)

Gluten-Free Side Dishes:

Kale Salad with Cranberries, Pecans, and Apples (Gluten Free and Vegan)

Roasted Cauliflower

Grilled Delicata Squash with Kale (Gluten Free and Vegetarian)

Gluten-Free Desserts:

Chewy Ginger Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten Free, Grain Free, and Dairy Free)

Fudge Brownies (Gluten Free and Vegan)

Flourless Brownie Bites (adapted from Practical Paleo)

Makes 30 brownie bites

Ingredients

4 ounces dark chocolate (I use 85% cocoa from Trader Joes), melted and cooled
1/2 cup coconut oil or butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Toppings or mix-ins: bacon, walnuts, crystallized ginger, caramel, unsweetened coconut, flaked salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease mini muffin tin with butter, coconut oil, or nonstick spray. Set aside.
To melt the dark chocolate bar, break into small pieces and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high at 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until the chocolate is melted. It takes me 2 minutes.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the melted dark chocolate, melted coconut oil (or butter), maple syrup, vanilla, and eggs. Slowly sift the cocoa powder over the wet ingredients, whisking it evenly to ensure there are no lumps. Stir in salt and baking soda.
Spoon the brownie batter into the mini muffin tins (about 1 1/2 tablespoons per muffin tin), filling about 3/4ths full. Top the batter with the topping of your choice (chopped bacon pieces, walnuts, ginger, coconut, caramel pieces, kosher salt). Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.