Paleo Flatbread

I've cracked the code on paleo naan! This grain-free flatbread is soft and chewy just like its gluten-laden counterparts, and thanks to the yeast, its flavor is really authentic. I'm actually a little bit worried about having figured out this recipe, because I now want it with every single meal. It's going to take a lot of restraint to not just eat this instead of vegetables!

I'd never considered making a yeasted paleo flatbread before, partly because yeast can be time-consuming and partly because I had heard that gluten-free doughs don't rise as well. And while that may be true, I was pretty excited about how well this dough rose (see the photos near the end of the post for evidence). Also, since this bread just needs one quick, 45-minute rise, it's not totally insane to make on a weeknight.

I got the idea for this bread when I saw Heather's perfect paleo flatbread recipe on Cook It Up Paleo. Her recipe calls for yeast, but doesn't have you wait for the dough to rise. I couldn't try her recipe as-is because it calls for coconut flour (I'm allergic to coconut), so I decided to play around with it a bit.

Matcha Mug Cake

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I made you a matcha mug cake. It's not at all Irish, but at least it's green!

I was excited to make something green for St. Patty's Day, but I don't like to use artificial coloring in my food. Since I had my heart set on making a dessert, using spinach or kale as coloring agents didn't seem very appealing. Matcha was the perfect solution.

If you haven't discovered matcha yet, I highly recommend it! It's just very finely ground green tea leaves, so it has a bit of caffeine and all the great antioxidants contained in green tea. The flavor is hard to describe, but it's exotic and a bit earthy. Matcha is delicious on its own in desserts, but also pairs well with chocolate. I've made these mug cakes with and without chocolate chips and still can't decide which one I prefer.

Coffee Cake Muffins

Having a dozen freshly baked coffee cake muffins in your kitchen is like having all 12 new episodes of House of Cards waiting for you on Netflix, brand new and ready to be enjoyed. In fact, I think the muffins are even better, because I can make more of them whenever I want. Once I finish watching that last House of Cards episode, I'm out of luck for a long time.

Can you tell that I've already watched all of Season 3 (and eaten all of these coffee cake

muffins)? What is left for me to look forward to?

Sparkling Sandwich Cookies (Vegan, Gluten-free, Paleo)

I subscribed to Gourmet Magazine when it was still being published, and looked forward to getting it every month.  The cover photographs were always stunning, but the December 2008 cover really stuck with me.  The theme was cookies, and eight different gorgeous recipes were featured on the cover in different parts of the country.  I got the one with these glittering lemon sandwich cookies on it, and now, five years later, I finally got around to making my own version.

These sparkling cookies are vegan, paleo, gluten-free, and perfect for New Year's Eve.  They're also the most adorable cookies I've ever laid eyes on.  The cookies are richly flavored thanks to the almond flour and lemon zest, and the sugar coating provides the perfect amount of crunch.  I was planning to make the lemon filling from Gourmet's recipe, but I got lazy, and instead pulled out jars of raspberry jam and dulce de leche.  The tiniest amount sticks the cookies together, and provides the extra bit of sweetness that makes these sandwiches irresistible.  Also, they kind of look like miniature hamburgers!  How can you say no to that?

Cranberry Orange Tart (Paleo, Gluten-free, Dairy-free) & Pompeian Grapeseed Oil

I had this bag of cranberries left over from Thanksgiving that was begging to be used up, and it had been far too long since I'd made any kind of a curd.  The folks at Pompeian sent me a bottle of their grapeseed oil spray, and it gave me the perfect idea: a cranberry orange tart that would give me the chance to use up my cranberries, make a curd, and finally do something with my tart pan.

I am so pleased with how this tart turned out!  Just looking at it makes me really happy.  The cranberry orange curd is just tart enough, but still plenty sweet thanks to the honey.  The crust is a delicious combination of almonds and pecans with a touch of Pompeian olive oil.  The whipped cream on top seals the deal.  Also, how gorgeous are those cranberries and those orange zest curls?  I'm obsessed with looking at pictures of this tart.  And also with eating it.  I did share some with my mom, though, and she said it was one of the best things I've ever made!  If you don't have cranberries on hand, this tart would also be fabulous with any other kind of curd--try classic lemon, dairy-free lemon, or strawberry.  The curd possibilities are endless!  This cranberry orange curd would be equally delicious on pancakes, toast, scones or ice cream if you don't feel like making a tart.  A jar of curd also makes a wonderful homemade gift!

Paleo 3:2:1 Flour Blend (Gluten-free)

Are you as addicted to baking as I am?  Are you also, like me, trying to eat healthier food without spending all day and night in the kitchen?  This flour blend is for you.  When you bake grain-free, you can make delicious treats without all the guilt and gluten.  When I stay gluten-free, I have more energy and fewer tummy problems.  Even if you're not technically gluten-intolerant, you may still feel better without it!  I also guarantee your hips will thank you.  To save time in the kitchen, this flour blend creates a one-stop-shop for gluten-free baking: you measure once and get the benefits of three grain-free flours in precise balance with each other.  If you haven't tried baking without grains yet, whip up a batch of this flour blend!  Then start experimenting, and see who you can fool.  I bet you'll be hearing, "I can't believe this is gluten-free!" in no time.

I like to make my baked goods with a combination of almond flour, tapioca starch, and coconut flour. The almond flour lends flavor and richness, the tapioca starch adds lightness and helps with browning, and the coconut flour helps achieve a cake-like texture.  I've been experimenting with the best ratio for these three flours, and have settled upon 3:2:1--three parts almond flour, 2 parts tapioca starch, and 1 part coconut flour.  The next step is to sift the three flours together to make a blend, so that you only need to measure my flour once to make a recipe.  You can of course make any quantity of this flour blend by following the 3:2:1 ratio; the recipe below will make about four cups.

You can start by using this flour blend in these molten chocolate cakes--just use 6 tablespoons of the blend instead of the smaller quantities of each type of flour.  I also used this blend to make a delicious coffee cake this morning--stay tuned for that recipe later this week!  I'm experimenting with substituting this flour blend cup-for-cup for all-purpose flour in regular recipes, and will update this post to reflect which recipes I've had success with.  I can't guarantee that this will be an effective flour substitute in every case, but it's a great place to start.  If this blend works for you with a particular recipe, leave a comment with a link below so others can try it, too!

Update: I used this blend instead of all-purpose flour in this blondie recipe from Smitten Kitchen with great results!  I also used coconut sugar instead of brown sugar, but other than that I followed the recipe exactly.

Chocolate Cake with Peppermint Ganache (Paleo, Gluten-free, Dairy-free)

Ben and I celebrated the two-year anniversary of our first date yesterday.  In addition to being an important relationship milestone, I thought having an anniversary was a great excuse to bake.  I asked Ben what dessert I should make for our special day, and he said, "Why don't you make a cake?".

It was such a brilliant idea, not only because cakes are the most majestic of all the desserts, but also because I have not posted any cakes on this blog yet.  I've posted lots of cupcakes (too many, some might say), but no actual cakes.

I set off in search of a great paleo chocolate cake recipe to use, since I haven't really made any paleo chocolate cupcakes that I could adapt (although these muffins came pretty close).  When I found this recipe from Zenbelly Catering, I could tell it was a hit from the dozens of raving comments.  Food blogs are the best!  Try to find that many (or any) reader responses to a recipe in an actual print cookbook.

All those readers were right--this is an awesome cake!  I made a few changes to the cake recipe, including adding some coffee to deepen the chocolate flavor.  Don't worry, the cake won't taste like coffee (or coconut, or almonds--the flavor is pure chocolate!).

For the ganache, though, I wanted to try something a little different, so I added peppermint extract.  If you don't like mint and chocolate, you can just leave that out.  Ben and I both loved it, but we are the kind of people who drink hot chocolates with peppermint schnapps all winter long.  (Is it time for those yet?  Almost?  They are basically the only thing I like about cold weather).

I wanted to make a whipped cream filling as suggested in the original recipe, but my coconut cream didn't have enough time to set up in the fridge.  Make sure you click on over to the original recipe if you want to try the cream layer for your cake--it sounds amazing!  I'm all over that for our third anniversary, or the next time another cake-worthy occasion comes along.

Double Chocolate Cookies (Paleo, Gluten-free)

Week one of graduate school is over!  I barely made it--there was so much reading for every class, and I had lots of training to do for my part-time job as a research assessor.  On Friday I only had one seminar at eleven, so I got up early and made these cookies.  I hated going a whole six days without posting--I'm going to need to work out a good schedule so I can post at least three times a week most of the time.

Anyway, these cookies.  They are inspired by these mocha chip cookies, but have a lot less coffee.  I couldn't really taste the coffee in the finished cookies, but it does amp up the chocolate flavor and provide tiny bits of crunch inside the cookie.  To be honest, I was aiming to make a crispy-edged cookie here, and that didn't really work out.  If you have tips for crispy paleo cookies, please share!  However, the finished cookies were still too yummy not to share with you.  They're soft and kind of chewy, and they make a great before-class breakfast.  I enjoyed mine with some coffee milk--mix a little cool coffee with a lot of cold milk, or use this delicious coffee syrup.  

Caramel-Stuffed Snickerdoodles (Paleo, Gluten free)

Some people go crazy for snickerdoodles, but I'm not usually one of them.  Snickerdoodles have a lot of cinnamon, which is nice, but they don't have chocolate, caramel, or fruit.  Usually I require one of those three things in order to truly fall in love with a dessert.  Several weeks ago it occurred to me that snickerdoodles could be stuffed with caramel, and ever since I've been eager to try it.  I'm not the first one to try stuffing caramel inside a snickerdoodle, but I think I'm the first to try a paleo and gluten free version.

I made this honey caramel yesterday to drizzle on top of an apple honey cake that I'm working on for Rosh Hashanah.  The cake was delicious, but it still needs a little work.  I had half of the honey caramel left (it wouldn't all fit on top of the apple cake!) so I decided I needed to make the snickerdoodles.

These are easy to make (no creaming!) and fun to eat.  Before the photo shoot, I tried two cookies, one straight from the oven and one after they'd cooled.  (As a food blogger, I have to do these things.  You know, for science.)  Then, after I took my pictures, I had to eat all the cookies that had suffered casualties (been broken open) during the shoot.  I had to drink all the milk, too, because it would have been really hard to pour it back in the carton without a funnel.  The things I do for this blog!  Anyway, it was a fabulous snack and I think you should make some today.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins (Gluten free, Paleo)

It's strange not to be getting a classroom set up this time of year. To get my classroom layout fix, I went to help my friend set up her room. She'll be teaching kindergarten, and her space is amazing! Her classroom has its own coatroom with a full length cubby for each kid, plus a bathroom. The room has lots of windows on two sides, tons of built-in storage, and TWO sinks at the back--one kid height and one regular. On top of all that, the building is air conditioned! In six years of teaching, I definitely never had it that good.

Anyway, I wanted to bring something for me and my friend to snack on while we set up her classroom, and since I was going there mid-morning, I decided muffins would be just the thing.  I went with double chocolate muffins because what I really wanted was to make cupcakes.  These are the perfect happy medium, and I snuck in a zucchini to make them extra moist and even more healthy.

A weird thing happened with these muffins.  Let me know if you have any insights about this muffin mystery: when I tried a warm muffin before leaving the house, some of the muffin stuck to the paper liner.  Not a ton, but a fair amount.  I then wrapped some muffins in tinfoil to bring with me, but left the top of the tinfoil open since the muffins were still warm.  At my friend's school, the papers peeled off the muffins with virtually no crumbs attached--completely clean.  The next morning, I expected the muffins I had left at home to do the same thing, since I assumed it was from cooling completely.  But no!  Crumb stuck on the liner again.  So--did wrapping the bottoms of my muffins in tinfoil while they were still warm make the papers come off with no crumbs?  If so, I might have to try that trick every time I make muffins or cupcakes!  Any thoughts?

Anyway, on to the recipe.  I hope these double chocolate muffins will help you strike the perfect breakfast balance.

Cherry Frangipane Galettes (Paleo, Gluten free)

I think galettes are the most beautiful dessert ever.  I made galettes once before, and they were fabulous.  I've been wanting to make them again, so today I set out to make a guilt (and gluten) free version.

Banana Blueberry Muffins

I have been on a quest to make delicious paleo & gluten-free muffins, because I can't have eggs for breakfast every single day.  This is the third time I've tried, and I finally have what I want: a moist, sweet muffin with a beautiful domed top that is bursting with blueberries in every bite.  Best of all, these muffins taste like the real thing, not a gluten-free imitation.

Blueberry Pancakes with a Secret Ingredient

Okay, I know I've been posting a lot of pancake recipes recently.  But, I had to make these because I went berry picking yesterday, and all those adorable, sweet blueberries were begging to be made into pancakes.  And, I had to share this recipe with you because I snuck in one of my favorite secret ingredients.

It's green.  It's delicious.  Can you guess what it is?

Almond Blueberry Pie Bars (Paleo, Gluten-free)

One of my favorite recipes I've blogged about is almond blueberry pie bars.  They are amazing: a rich, buttery crust, a smooth, custardy filling studded with juicy berries, and a crumbly topping with crisp sliced almonds.  When my mom and I were trying to decide what to make to bring to our cousin's wedding, these bars came to mind.  I wondered if we could make a decent paleo version.

Luckily, the answer is yes!  These bars are just as delicious as the original.  They're not exactly the same--this version has a soft buttery crust, whereas the others had a crunchier crust--but you won't find me complaining.  We brought a huge platter of these to the wedding, and they disappeared fast, devoured by gluten free eaters and non-restricted eaters alike.  They are even more amazing with a scoop of vanilla ice cream--I recommend Blue Bell if you can get it.

It was a bit of an adventure baking these bars at my aunt's apartment, because she does not have a real oven!  I was nervous about using her combination (microwave and convection) oven, so I found the manual online and read the instructions carefully.  I found that the bars browned VERY quickly, but were still not done in the center, so I covered them with foil for the rest of the baking time.  You may or may not have that problem in a regular oven.

This was my first time using coconut flour and maple sugar, and I think they both worked very well in these bars.  The coconut flour is very fine and created a nice smooth crust in combination with the almond flour.  The maple sugar is granulated, so I didn't have to worry about adjusting the proportions of ingredients in order to use a liquid sweetener.  You won't taste any more than a very faint tinge of maple flavor, and that's really only if you're looking for it.  Enjoy!

Ingredients (adapted from Annie's Eats; makes 36 small but thick bars):

For the crust and topping:

1 and 1/2 cups coconut flour
1 and 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons almond flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple sugar (granulated)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest of one lemon
18 tablespoons grass-fed cold butter
1 cup sliced almonds, lightly crushed

For the filling:

4 eggs
1 cup grass-fed milk or coconut milk
1 and 3/4 cup maple sugar
1/2 cup coconut flour
Juice of one lemon
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 and 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350.  Line a 9x13 pan with tinfoil and grease it lightly.  To make the crust, combine the flours, sugar, salt, and lemon zest in a food processor (or by hand in a large bowl).  Cut the butter into cubes and pulse until the mixture is uniform.  If you're not using the food processor, it's easiest to mix the dough with your hands.  Reserve about 3/4 cup of the mixture to serve as the topping.  Press the rest of it into an even layer in the bottom of the pan.  Bake for about 12 minutes, until golden brown.

To make the topping, add the crushed sliced almonds to the reserved dough and mix until combined.

To make the filling, whisk together all ingredients except the blueberries until smooth.  Gently stir in the blueberries.

When the crust is baked, let it cool for 10-15 minutes, leaving the oven on.  Then, pour the filling over, sprinkle the topping evenly over the filling, and bake for about 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the middle is just set.  Cool completely before cutting--it helps to put them in the refrigerator to firm up.  Slice into squares or rectangles and enjoy!

You might also like:

Salted Maple Caramel Peach Bars (Gluten free, paleo)

Fruit & Frangipane Galettes

Banana Blueberry Muffins (Gluten free, paleo)

Apricot Vanilla Cookies (Paleo, Gluten-free, No Sugar Added)

Yesterday I really wanted something sweet.  I've had good success so far making paleo treats sweetened with honey, but you're not allowed to have honey during the Whole30.  I thought there was nothing I could do to satisfy my sweet tooth, but then I remembered reading some of the fine print down at the bottom of the Whole30 site, where it said that fruit juice could be used as a sweetener.  At the time, I hadn't been able to imagine how fruit juice could make an adequate sweetener.  But, in my time of desperate sweets craving, I started to think maybe I could do something with this.

These cookies are sweetened with apple juice and dried apricots.  They don't taste like apple, but they do have a nice apricot flavor and a fun subtle orange hue.  They are, not surprisingly, not very sweet.  I won't judge you if you want to add a couple of tablespoons of honey.  If you do, you might want to add a little more almond flour as well (or less apple juice) so the batter won't be too wet.

If you like a moist, rich cookie that's guilt-free, these are for you.  The vanilla bean seeds, butter, and almond flour provide lots of great flavor and texture to make up for the cookies not being overly sweet.  And, with only five ingredients plus salt, these cookies couldn't be easier to make!  However, I'm not going to lie to you: they are not crispy at all.  I haven't figured out how to make gluten-free cookies crispy.  If you have the secret, please share it!  If you're looking for a sweeter cookie, check out the "You might also like" section at the end of this post.

Ingredients (makes about 15 cookies):

1/2 cup dried apricots, soaked in warm water for 10-20 minutes
1/2 cup apple juice
1 cup almond flour
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into chunks
1/2 vanilla bean
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 325, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Drain the dried apricots and place them in a food processor with the apple juice.  Process, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until the mixture has a jam-like texture with very small pieces of apricot.

Add the almond flour, butter, and salt, and scrape in the vanilla bean seeds.  Process until well combined.  Spoon tablespoon sized balls of batter onto the prepared sheet and flatten them slightly (cookies will not spread as they bake).  Bake for about 12 minutes, until golden brown around the edges.  Cool for a few minutes on the sheet, then carefully transfer to a rack to cool completely.

You might also like:

Chewy Chocolate Almond Cookies (gluten-free, dairy-free)

Honey Vanilla Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies (paleo, gluten-free)

Strawberry Banana Pancakes

The almond flour pancakes I made a few days ago were so good that I was eager to try another version of paleo pancakes.  This time, I was inspired by a cinnamon banana pancake recipe in Easy Paleo Diet Recipes, and added a twist to make them even better.

Do you have a favorite diner?  Mine is the Maugus, which is just down the street from my mom's apartment in my hometown.  It's run by a big Greek family, and the hardest part of being a regular there is when they close for three weeks every summer to go to Greece.  They are closed right now and I have to tell you, it has been rough.  One of my favorite things to get there is pancakes--their pancakes are HUGE!  I'm a big fan of both the strawberry and the banana pancakes.  They have nice rounds of freshly sliced fruit cooked right in.  They will even make you pancakes with both strawberries AND bananas if you can't decide.  And, if you are not into fruity pancakes (who are you and why are you still reading?) you can get chocolate chip pancakes or cinnamon walnut french toast.

Anyway, inspired by the Maugus, I put sliced strawberries into these banana pancakes.  The banana is mashed up with the batter so the pancakes do not have a strong banana flavor, but they are pleasantly reminiscent of banana bread.  And if you have never tried sliced strawberries in your pancakes, you HAVE to.  They are cooked just to the point of being fabulously juicy, and it is much more exciting than just putting sliced strawberries on top of your pancakes.  Trust me.

Since I am doing the Whole 30 for real now, I omitted the honey from the original recipe.  However, with the bananas and the strawberries, I thought these pancakes were sweet enough.  I ate mine with the extra banana and strawberry slices on top and a little butter, and my boyfriend enjoyed his with some syrup.

Ingredients (serves 2; makes 6-7 pancakes):

1 and 1/2 cups almond flour
1/3 cup mashed banana (about half a medium banana--slice the rest to serve with the pancakes)
3 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons coconut milk
4 eggs
Pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 and 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, thinly sliced, plus extra for serving
Butter or coconut oil for cooking

Combine all the ingredients except the strawberries in a food processor and process until smooth.  Heat some oil or butter in a small, heavy skillet over medium heat.  When the skillet is hot (a drop of water will dance across the surface), add about 1/4 cup of batter.  Place some strawberry slices on top.  Cook until many bubbles have formed on the surface (the bottom should be browned).  Carefully slide a large spatula under the pancake and flip it quickly.  If you flip these pancakes too soon or use a small spatula, you may lose some of your strawberries during the turn.  Cook for a minute or less on the second side, until browned and cooked through.  Add more oil or butter before cooking a second pancake.  Top with fresh fruit and butter if desired and serve hot.

Chocolate Chip Cookies (Paleo, Gluten-free)

This is it!  My new favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe.  Even if I weren't doing a month of paleo, I would still make these.  They are SO good--a little chewy, super chocolaty, not too sweet, with a good dose of vanilla.  In other words, perfect.

Several months ago, my friend Audrey emailed me a recipe for chocolate chip cookies with almond flour, which she said she liked better than the real thing.  I was a little skeptical, but finally tried it.  The cookies were delicious, but the recipe had no egg, and I found that the cookies fell apart easily and were a little too flat.  I tried again with a couple of eggs, which resulted in much sturdier cookies that were also delicious, but very cakey.

Hoping to strike a balance between too cakey and too flat and fall-aparty, I tried a third time.  As often happens, the third time was the charm!  I hope you make these cookies.  You won't miss the flour or the sugar (and they don't taste like honey).  They are really easy to make, and not that bad for you!  Do it!

Note: the main reason I chilled the dough here is because I wanted to leave the kitchen before I started preheating the oven (it's 100 degrees today!).  So, you can stay mostly cool and still make these cookies.  Try them!  You know you want to.


Ingredients (makes about three dozen small cookies):

8 tablespoons grass-fed butter
1/2 cup honey
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups almond flour
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (paleo chocolate exists, but I couldn't find any...so technically my cookies are just ALMOST paleo)

In a large bowl, cream the butter with a fork until smooth.  Add the honey, vanilla, and salt and stir until very smooth, then add the egg and stir to incorporate.  Add the baking soda, almond flour, and chocolate chunks and stir until combined.  Refrigerate the dough for up to 30 minutes if possible.

Preheat the oven to 350 and line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper (or if you don't have three, like me, bake in batches--just be sure to let the cookie sheet cool between batches).  Scoop tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto the sheet, flattening them a little if you like a flatter cookie.  They don't spread much while they bake, and will be adorably domed if you leave them alone, but I flattened some because I am planning to make ice cream sandwiches.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown on top but not burned on the bottom.  The cookies will be unstable, and need to cool on the pans for at least five minutes.  After that, carefully transfer them to a rack to cool completely.

You might also like:

Chocolate Chip Quinoa Cookies

Mocha Chip Cookies

Chewy Chocolate Almond Cookies

Chewy Chocolate Almond Cookies

Guess what?  In only 20 minutes, you can have rich, chewy chocolate almond cookies with no gluten, no butter or oil, no egg yolks, and no dairy!  It sounds too good to be true, but these cookies are really delicious!

You'll end up with a couple of egg yolks, which you could save for ice cream.



The bad news is that my bag of almond flour is now almost gone!  I'll definitely be buying more.  From financiers to mocha brownies to these cookies, it's my new favorite healthy baking ingredient.  Go get some and make these today!

Note:  You won't taste the coffee in these cookies--I just added it to bring out the chocolate flavor.  You can leave it out if you want a decaf cookie :0.

Ingredients (adapted from Heather's Dish):

2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 rounded tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon finely ground coffee (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  In a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.  Add the egg whites, vanilla, and almond extract and stir until the dough comes together.

Drop tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto the parchment paper, and flatten the tops slightly with your hand or a spoon (the cookies will not spread much at all while cooking).  Bake for 10-15 minutes, until crisp on the outside but not burned on the bottoms.  Cool on a wire rack.

Vanilla Bean Financiers

Ever since I found out about financiers, I've been wanting to make them.  They are French cakelets made with brown butter and almond flour, and traditionally baked in a financier mold (I really want one, but haven't gotten myself one yet).  Some people say a bakery near Paris' financial district started making these cookies and calling them financiers because they're shaped like bars of gold.  Others say they are called that because they're so rich that only financiers can afford to eat them.

Either way, I knew I was going to love the combination of brown butter and almond flour, and I did!  I added vanilla bean because I love the taste of vanilla and almond together, but to be more traditional you could leave the vanilla out.  If you make this version, you'll notice beautiful little flecks in two shades of brown: dark brown from the vanilla bean seeds and golden brown from the brown butter.  So pretty!

Once I get my financier pans, I want to try making some fruit-studded financiers--maybe a few raspberries or thin slices of peach on top.

These financiers are best warm and fresh from the oven, but are also delicious the next day, especially dunked in some milk or coffee.

Ingredients (makes 18 mini-muffin sized financiers; adapted from Dorie Greenspan's recipe):

1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup almond flour
6 egg whites
1/2 vanilla bean
1 cup flour*

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Continue to cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter comes to a boil and browns.  As soon as the butter browns, remove the pan from the heat.  (If you haven't browned butter before, check out this step-by-step tutorial from How Sweet It Is.)

In another saucepan, stir together the sugar and almond flour.  Scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean.  Using your fingers, rub the mixture to evenly distribute the vanilla.  Stir in the egg whites.  Heat the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is runny, lightened, and hot.

Remove from the heat and stir in the flour.  Gradually mix in the butter.

Refrigerate the batter for at least one hour, or up to three days, with plastic wrap right on top of the surface to keep out air.

Preheat your oven to 400.  Butter mini muffin tins or financier molds, then dust with flour and tap out any extra.  Fill molds almost to the top with batter and bake for 10-13 minutes, until puffed, golden brown around the edges, and set.

Turn out financiers onto a wire rack and cool to room temperature (or enjoy them warm).

*The recipe only called for 2/3 of a cup and I meant to follow it exactly except for the addition of the vanilla bean, but read the quantity wrong when I glanced at the recipe before adding the flour.  The cookies still turned out great.  You could try them with 2/3 or a full cup of flour; I just wanted to report exactly what I did.  Next time I'll check twice!