Fudgy Carob Brownie Recipe (gluten-free, egg-free)

Since I am still nursing my son, I am still avoiding chocolate because of the caffeine content. I have tried

countless carob brownie recipes to satisfy my cravings and one worked for a while but I want something fudgy and unhealthy tasting.

I briefly experimented with amaranth and quickly learned that cooked amaranth is very gooey, not like quinoa at all. So I put it in the back of the pantry and forgot about it. While trying to find a recipe for a fudgy carob brownie I came across amaranth and realized it would be perfect in a brownie. I didn't have any eggs to spare since our hens aren't really laying much right now so this recipe is also egg free. These are the most fudgy gluten-free brownies I have ever made!

Fudgy Carob Brownie Recipe (gluten-free, egg-free, refined sugar free)

1/2 cup amaranth flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup carob powder

1 tbsp ground flaxseed
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp coconut sugar or honey or 1/2 tsp more stevia
1/4 tsp powdered stevia leaf
1/4 cup coconut oil
1-1 1/2 cups raw milk at room temperature
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease an 8 x 4 or similar size pan.

Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the coconut oil and 1 cup of milk. Mix well. Add more milk if it's too thick. Mix in apple cider vinegar. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Mawa Recipe - An Indian Dessert

My parents are from India so I grew up eating curries and dishes made with paneer, which is made from soured milk. My mom used to make all sorts of Indian desserts with milk that she would sour with vinegar or lemon juice. She taught me how to make a few of them. It has been a while since I have made many of the desserts because hubby doesn't care for the desserts made with soured milk. I have had a half gallon bottle of sour milk in the fridge for a while now. I keep telling myself I will make rasgulla but it has not happened yet. 

This morning I finally decided to make something with the soured milk. I poured the milk in a pot and turned on the stove to the lowest setting. The milk was already so sour that I did not have to add any vinegar or lemon juice (this only happens with raw milk.) The curds started to separate from the whey. I was initially going to make rasgulla which are milk balls in a light sugar syrup. I decided that this was too many steps for today and I would not have enough free time to make it as my son enjoys my attention during the day. So I called my mom to ask her how to make the mawa (pronounced m-ow.) I had made it once before but that was many years ago.  Most of the recipes online used sweetened condensed milk, that is not the authentic way to make it - not to mention, very unhealthy! This recipe is the authentic way of making it. The only change is that I used coconut sugar and stevia instead of regular granulated sugar.

It came out perfect! Here is the recipe:

Mawa Recipe

1/2 gallon of raw milk (it can already be soured)

3 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice (only needed if milk is not sour)

1/2-3/4 cup coconut sugar

1 tsp stevia powder

shredded coconut (optional)

Pour the milk into a large pot. Turn pot on lowest setting. Once the milk heats up, it may start separating if it is already sour. If it is not sour, add the vinegar or lemon juice. You will see the curds start to separate. You can turn the heat up a little as the milk has to reduce to a pudding consistency. Keep stirring every 10-15 minutes. Once the milk had reduced to half, add the sweeteners (add more or less based on your preferences, just remember that the milk will reduce more so it will get sweeter as it reduces.) Mix the sweeteners through and keep stirring so the milk doesn't burn or stick to the pot. The cooking process will take about 2 hours. You will know it is done when it is a very thick consistency. The color should be a nice tan.

Grease an 8 x 8 glass or pie dish. Let the mixture cool for about 10 minutes in the pot, then scoop into dish and pat down. Sprinkle with shredded coconut, if desired, and press down a little. Put in fridge and let cool.

Cut into bars and serve.

Grain-Free Almond Snowball Cookies

I have been making regular, unhealthy almond snowball cookies from the Food Network as Christmas gifts for years now. The people I make these cookies for do not care about eating healthy so I just make the same thing for them every year, including this year. As I was baking the cookies, I wanted to try one so bad but we don't eat white flour or white sugar and the ingredients were not organic so I couldn't have any. The next day I decided to try and make a healthy version for hubby and me.

Grain-Free Almond Snowball Cookies

1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 stick salted butter
1/4 tsp stevia
a few drops almond extract
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp honey
1/4 cup coconut flour
powdered sugar for dipping cookies

Combine butter and almond flour in a bowl. Add stevia, honey, almond extract, and vanilla extract and mix well. Add coconut flour and mix until combined. Put dough in fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325F.

Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Place on greased cookie sheet and press down with fingers or the bottom of a glass. Bake for 20 minutes or until a nice golden brown. Remove from oven and leave on cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Dip cookies in powdered sugar and place on cooling rack. After cookies are cooled, dip in powdered sugar again and store in an airtight container.

Makes 12 cookies.