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We've got a bunch of family birthdays coming up and I'm looking for a good nut-free recipe for Paleo Brownies. We have coconut flour and lots of it, and our son has a nut allergy which doesn't play nicely with most of the paleo baked dessert recipes I've seen, which usually call for almond flour.

Yes, I've seen some nut-free brownie recipes on Google but hoping to get an endorsement on one that people here have actually used. The simpler the better.

Also, in general, do you think coconut flour can be subbed in for nut based flours on paleo recipes? Or any alternate suggestions when almond flour is called for?

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I looked over the weekend and saw that Mark Sissons cook book for the Primal Blueprint has a walnut meal brownie recipe - I made them this weekend and they were super delicious - let me know if you want me to send you the recipe – Thumper Feb 8 2011 at 0:29
Coconut flour can be very dry. Be sure to add extra fat and some powdered gelatin to the flour and a tiny bit of water or raw milk. The gelatin somewhat simulates the elasticity of gluten in wheat flour. – Roth Jan 29 at 8:47

9 Answers

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Great recipes here: http://www.primal-palate.com/ including 2 for chocolate cake (kinda brownie like) Plus the other recipes on this site are awesome!!!!!

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Do not sub coconut flour directly for almond flour. Bad results. Coconut flour is dry and needs a lot of eggs, or else it will be crumbly.

Here's a recipe for coconut flour brownies from cheeseslave, but I haven't tried them myself. http://www.cheeseslave.com/2008/12/15/gluten-free-coconut-flour-brownies/
I have had success with other recipes of hers, so I am assuming these are good too. You may want to make a practice batch just in case.

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Ok, duly noted on not subbing coconut flour for almond flour. I had a feeling there'd be issues with that. And definitely we'll try a practice batch of brownies first. Thanks for the link. – rafi Jan 27 2011 at 2:13
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Rafi - I made a variation on a flourless chocolate cake that actually turned out dense like a fudgy brownie). It was (if I recall correctly), 7 eggs; about 14 ounces bittersweet/dark chocolate, melted; 14 tablespoons grassfed butter (don't use clarified butter - disaster will follow. If the milk solids in non-clarified butter are a sticking point for you, then probably should have chocolate either! - sidenote: I want to try making this with coconut oil to see how it turns out), 3 tablespoons brewed espresso (cold) and 3 tablespoons coconut flour.

Mix eggs until almost doubled in size. Meanwhile, melt butter and chocolate together and mix in espresso. Carefully fold in a few spoonfulls of the chocolate mixture, and fold into eggs until no streaks remain. Fold in a few more, and a few more, until you have a homogeneous mixture. Mix in the coconut flour at this point.

I've done this in individual ramekins, mini muffin pans, and the regular spring form pan. Spring form is best, and you'll want to bake it in a water bath (cover outside of pan with aluminum foil, place it in a large casserole dish or the like, filled up 1/2 way with boiling water on the outside of the pan. Baked at 325 until done about 20-25 minutes (at least).

My favorite thing to do with this: add in some cayenne or chipotle powder. Spicy + chocolate = awesome.

Just an offering, if nothing else passes muster!

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When you say "mix eggs until almost doubled in size"--do you mean beat the whites separately from the yolks until fluffy? Or are you beating the hell out of all the eggs together? – LadyAdmin Jan 27 2011 at 2:43
Beat the eggs for about 5 minutes or so with either a hand mixer or KitchenAid stand mixer. The volume will increase to almost double. – Jules Jan 27 2011 at 14:27
I made it! It came out very nice. I covered it in a chocolate ganache and everyone raved. If you can get the El Rey extra bittersweet chocolate, I highly recommend it. – LadyAdmin Feb 7 2011 at 4:02
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I have subbed coconut flour for nut based flours before, but have tripled the amount of eggs the recipe calls for, and beaten them first. This of course can greatly alter a recipe and make it too fluffy and cakey.

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I wanted to try coconut flour, but when I saw the price, I went into shock. Then I read on Free The Animal that someone just subs ground up unsweetened coconut for coconut flour. So I tried it, and it works! Just grind up regular, unsweetened coconut in a blender and use it as a substitute for coconut flour. It's not dry and has more coconut flavor and is way cheaper. I'm beginning to think that the whole coconut flour thing is bunk...just a way to sell us a waste product at an inflated price. – Helen Jan 29 2011 at 22:02
I wish I had a vita-mix, cause my blender definitely cannot do that! Coconut flour is often on sale at my co-op. $3 for 12 ozs. – valkyrie Jan 30 2011 at 17:49
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If you don't yet have the "Cooking with Coconut Flour" book by Bruce Fife, I recommend it.

His explanation as to why you can't just swap out regular flour for coconut flour in recipes: coconut flour lacks any gluten of course, so you need another protein source to help with holding of air bubbles. Eggs pretty much answer that. With regards to the liquid, coconut flour absorbs liquid a ton of liquid, and just adding more liquid to combat that won't work. His recommendation is that oil will alleviate some of the issues. He also talks about sugar, and many of his recipes call for a lot of sugar and/or sugar substitutes. I suggest playing around with things to find what works for you and post back your results!

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Reading your question last week launched me into a multi-day, menstrually-fuelled brownie craving, so I caved and made these: http://www.alwaysorderdessert.com/2008/08/midnight-cravings-fudgy-coconut-flour.html

I subbed in more butter for the olive oil and honey for the high fructose agave syrup (hat tip to Stephen-Aegis for that gem), and I mixed in dark chocolate chips and pecans for texture (the nuts could easily be omitted). They are good, but they are total gut bombs. I ended up letting the roommates eat most of them, because I am just so not used to that much fiber/sugar at once.

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The flourless chocolate cake/brownies look amazing!! But I don't see any sugar, except maybe a little if using the bittersweet chocolate. . .is that right??

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Just posted this one on another thread, but it's nut-free, so I'll post it again. It's AMAZING, even with less honey. Also, I didn't have arrowroot powder or coconut butter, so I used coconut flour and regular butter, respectively.

Triple Fudge Bacon Brownies

http://tgipaleo.com/2012/05/25/triple-fudge-bacon-brownies/#

Ingredients

1 c Coconut Butter

1/2 c Full Fat Canned Coconut Milk (the light stuff will not work)

2 Eggs, beaten

1 T Vanilla

4 oz Baking Chocolate, melted in 1 T Coconut Oil

1/3 c Raw Honey

1/4 c Cocoa Powder

1/2 t Salt

1 T Arrowroot Powder

2 c Chocolate Chips (yes, I said TWO cups)

3 Thick Slices Bacon

Instructions

Fry bacon until very crisp (but not burned) and let cool and drain on paper towels. Chop into very small bits and set aside.

Beat the coconut butter, eggs, coconut milk, vanilla, melted chocolate, honey, cocoa, salt, and arrowroot powder with an electric mixer.

Stir in the bacon bits and chocolate chips. Pour into a greased 8 x 8 inch pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Remember, they will still be gooey after baking thanks to the massive amount of melted chocolate in them. Cool completely before cutting into squares and serving.

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I've made these twice with great success: http://preparingitpaleo.com/2012/10/03/paleo-plantain-brownies/

I baked mine in an 8x8 for 20 mins, and they were done. Toothpick test to the rescue. I omit the Enjoy Life chocolate chips, and almost all the honey if not all (I find super ripe plantains are sweet enough) to make it even more Paleo.

I added in about 1/4 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut for fun.

These are moist, and cake like. A must do!

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