I’m back I’m back I’m back! Finally. Oi with the poodles already! It’s been ages, and I missed my invisible internet blog friends. Also, I very obviously missed baking, because TREATS. I need them.
So to celebrate actually having free time to cook and bake, I danced around my kitchen (that kind of looked like a bomb had gone off, there was very little horizontal space to be had) all Sunday afternoon and made things. Fun things. Like bone broth from basically a whole femur bone (ha. It got real Flintstone up in here…seeing the whole bone made me want to dress up in fringe and put a bone in my hair) and some baked treats (gluten free, dairy free goodness). I’m ridiculous. I think I might be the only one who dances barefoot around the kitchen to opera whilst simultaneously making marrow bone broth and vegan desserts. So weird. Who does that?!
…
No comments, please.
Moving ON!
My doodles are taking over…
E and I went on a fun lollop around Mountain View Cemetery on Saturday, and I found this!
I don’t think we’re related… but hey, you never know. And yes, I do like to hang around in cemeteries because they’re so peaceful and usually quite beautiful! I love the monuments… and Mountain View has some spectacular ones.
But also.
Snacks! Like gluten free-vegan brownie-cookie bars. It’s a hyphen party today, apparently. These cookie bars take little more time than your average wham bam boom cookies, but they’re worth it. Two layers are SO better than one. Because wouldn’t you rather have cookies AND brownies rather than cookies OR brownies? Right. That’s what I thought.
Brownie-Cookie Bars
Gluten free, vegan, refined sugar free. Makes one 6″ round pan; double the recipe for a square 8″. Recipe adapted from Nutritionicity, here!
For the cookie layer:
- 1/2 c almond flour
- 1/2 c oat flour (I grind my own in a food processor)
- 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp sunflower seed butter**
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 c extra dark chocolate chips
For the brownie layer:
- 1/8 c + scant tbsp almond flour
- 1/8 c + scant tbsp oat flour
- 2 rounded tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 1/8 tsp pure maple syrup
- 1.5 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- sprinkle of chocolate chips
**sunflower seed butter does this awesome thing where its chlorophyll reacts with baking soda, and makes baked goods green after they cool. I think it’s RAD to have bright green baked goods, but if that’s not your jam, feel free to use almond butter or cashew butter or coconut butter!
Preheat the oven to 350, and lightly grease a 6″ round pan.
Start with the cookie layer: In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, oat flour, sea salt, baking soda, and coconut sugar. In a smaller bowl, melt sunflower seed butter, coconut oil, maple, and vanilla together (I used the microwave for two 20 sec intervals). Pour the wet into dry, toss in chocolate chips, and stir to combine— it will be crumbly like a crumb crust. Press the dough into your prepared dish, and smooth out the top and sides. Set aside.
In the same bowl (because we’re in a drought and why wash if you don’t have to), whisk together brownie ingredients: almond flour, oat flour, cocoa powder, and sea salt. Stir in maple syrup, almond milk, vanilla, and coconut oil until combined. Add chocolate chips, and pour the whole shebang onto the cookie layer already in the pan. Spread it out evenly, then pop it into the oven for 17 minutes. The center should spring back a bit when you poke it. Let cool completely in the pan before slicing and serving. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge!
Wait...are those...cookies?! 