Mom's Favorite

I come from a fairly large family. I have four older sisters, and we all happen to live in the same town, along with my mother. Although no REAL competition exists among the siblings we all tend to vie for the "favorite daughter" spot in a joking kind of way. For example, when any one of us opens a card from our mother we read it out loud and interject our own words like,"you have brought more joy into my life than any of my other daughters." Or we might add embellishments such as,"I love you more than all the other girls combined."

But wait ... this is a nutrition blog. What does this have to do with nutrition?

My mother has Celiac Disease, which means she is allergic to gluten. Lately, at family gatherings, one of us has been bringing a gluten-free dessert. This is done, of course, to lay claim to the mythical "favorite daughter" crown. So for Memorial Day I decided to try a recipe from Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint Cookbook. Since all his recipes are gluten free, I was bound to come out on top. The recipe was for walnut meal brownies and they were divine!




Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cup walnut meal (purchased or ground in a food processor


• 3/4 cup cocoa powder


• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder


• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda


• 1/2 tsp sea salt


• 2 large eggs


• 1 cup coconut milk (room temperature)


• 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup (I used syrup)


• 2 tsp vanilla extract
  
• 1/3 cup extra virgin coconut oil (gently melted)
  
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts for topping (optional)


• butter for greasing pan

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 13x9x2 inch baking pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together dry ingredients until well blended. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, whisk eggs for one minute, then add coconut milk, honey or maple syrup and whisk again. Add melted coconut oil and whisk until wet ingredients are completely blended.
4. Add wet mixture to dry ingredients and whisk well; be sure to scrape sides and bowl bottom so no pockets of dry ingredients remain. Batter will be thinner consistency than conventional brownies. Pour batter into prepared pan.
5. If desired, sprinkle chopped walnuts on top of batter. Bake 35-40 minutes on center rack. Cool completely before cutting.

The verdict? Everyone loved them (even some of the kids). My mom declared these brownies the best dessert she had ever eaten. Well, not really, but don't tell my sisters!!