I never really tried making my recipes gluten-free and dairy-free, but for some reason I woke up today and thought I should try making my brownie gluten-free & dairy-free. What I didn’t expect was it to be a straight substitution. I wanted to use almond meal & gluten-free flour but thought almond meal may be hard to find in some countries, plus it’s pretty expensive and brownies are not cheap to make as it is. Have you seen how much butter and chocolate is needed? So I stuck with GF flour. Then I used coconut oil, and it was the bomb, so so good! But then again, I wanted it to taste like my usual brownies, so I then tried Nuttelex Buttery which is a butter substitute, and it worked!!!

By this stage, I was over the moon, because I don’t know about you, but when I test recipes, they’re not usually a raging success on the first go, moreso two gos in a row! You can imagine my excitement, right? Probably not, but I’m telling you, it might have been the sugar rush from all the brownie testing, but I was extremely delighted.

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So, yes, if you love coconut, by all means, use coconut oil. A good thing to note, most good quality dark baking chocolate is dairy-free. Also, cocoa butter is a non-dairy product, as much as a lot of people mistake it to be so. I of course use my favorite Valrhona Guanaja 70% because the bitterness balances the sweetness of the batter. You can use any chocolate brand that you want, just check that it’s dairy-free. If you want it to be extra and don’t mind cost, use half almond meal and half GF flour. I have to mention that the GF version takes longer to bake, though. So start checking around 28 minutes instead of 25.

I then carried out my blind taste-test, and not one of my audience thought they were eating a GF/DF version of a brownie! Success!!! Please try this recipe and my gooey brownies let me know if you agree with me or not. I am positive this tastes like a regular brownie, and it’s backed by my own study. LOL. Have fun baking! Don’t forget to comment below and tag me on your baking photos!

 
Yields: 1 Serving Difficulty: Easy

Dairy-free & Gluten-free Brownies

Makes 18 slices

Ingredients

0/9 Ingredients

Instructions

0/5 Instructions
  • Preheat oven to 180C no fan or 160C with fan. Grease & line a 33 x 23 x 5 cm (9 x 13 x 2 in) with baking paper.
  • In a medium bowl, sift flour, cocoa and salt together. Set aside. In a large bowl whisk together sugars, nuttelex and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating each time.
  • Fold in flour mixture until you only see a few flour streaks. Fold in 2/3 of the chocolate and half the nuts until everything is just combined. Do not overmix.
  • Pour into prepared pan. Tap on the bench once to spread the batter. Sprinkle the rest of chocolate and nuts on top. Bake on the middle shelf for 30 minutes for super gooey brownies. Check around 28 minutes just in case your oven is too hot and the brownies are done. The brownie should form a shiny crust on top and still feels soft in the centre.
  • If you like your brownies firmer and more set, add 5 minute increments until set. Remember the brownies will get firmer as they cool down. Cool down completely then cut with a hot, sharp knife into 18 squares. Wipe the knife clean after each stroke for sharp edges.

Notes

  • Nuttelex Buttery is actually margarine but I use this brand because the taste is not like other margarines. You can also opt for coconut oil and other butter substitutes.
  • Pure cocoa powder (dutch processed or not) should be gluten-free
  • Make sure the 70% chocolate is dairy-free, I used Valrhona Guanaja 70% but there are plenty of good quality baking chocolate that are dairy-free too, like Ghirardelli & Callebaut.

 

You guys have requested for a video on how to create swirls in your batter. Swirls or marbling or ripples give another dimension to your cake and looks very impressive when sliced and served. The great thing is, it’s quite easy to do. I made a video using my Classic Banana Bread recipe and jazzed it up with some chocolate swirls so you can see how easy it is.
https://youtu.be/uA5NEOAeUgE

Like I said, the recipe is my Classic Banana Bread but I added cocoa powder to some of the batter. Also, this is an easier method where you don’t need a mixer and also just uses 2 bowls. I wrote the recipe below so that you can see the difference in the methods, but both yield the same great outcome. This just proves that there is more than one way to skin a cat!

I hope you try this–both the recipe and the marbling–and don’t forget to let me know how you go. I promise you, this banana bread recipe is the champion of all banana bread recipes out there, and there won’t be any turning back after you make this. Have fun baking and eating!

 
Difficulty: Easy Prep Time: 15 Mins Cook Time: 1 Hr 15 Mins Total Time: 1 Hr 30 Mins

Marbled Banana Bread

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients

Instructions

0/6 Instructions
  • Preheat oven to 175C. Grease and line a large loaf pan (9x5x3in or 23x13x8cm) with baking paper. See notes.
  • In a medium bowl, mix together wet ingredients and mashed bananas.
  • Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients then pour and mix in wet ingredients.
  • Take 1 cup of the batter then mix with cocoa powder. Set aside.
  • Pour 1/3 of the light batter into the baking pan, then pour 1/2 of the dark batter. Repeat until batters are finished.
  • Take a knife and draw a figure 8 4-5 times in the batter. Bake for 75 minutes turning halfway. It's done when toothpick inserted comes out clean.

What are s’mores? It’s a sandwich of 2 biscuits, toasted marshmallows and chocolate. Perfect for when you have campfires and fireplaces, but what about the days when you don’t? Well, that’s exactly what these cookies are made for. These marshmallow stuffed cookies will give you the satisfaction of having s’mores even without the fire, plus you can double down and make ice cream sandwich s’mores! Oooooooohhh… I don’t know about you, but the inner fat kid in me is drooling!

So let’s talk about the recipe… It’s basically my chunky chocolate cookie recipe stuffed with marshmallows. I love homemade marshmallows, but they don’t work in this recipe, so just get store-bought marshmallows and we’ll tackle homemade marshmallows next time. I know some of you live in warmer climate, so the dough balls might be softer and warmer after stuffing. I recommend popping them back in the fridge for half an hour while preheating your oven. This way your cookies will not spread so much. I also like to cool the cookies down in the fridge after leaving them out for about 5 minutes. Mostly because they set faster that way, therefore I can eat them quicker, but also because these cookies come out of the oven soft and I want them to stay soft but also set so they don’t fall apart, and the fridge gives me that result. However, if you have higher EQ than me, then feel free to leave them on the bench and hopefully your housemates don’t end up devouring them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Hp7Nb6vn4w

If you’re a beginner baker, I recommend watching the video above and reading my recipe notes. This way, you have a visual guide of how the critical part of the recipe is done. If you start with a good dough, there is a huge chance for gooey cookie success unless you skip chilling or you burn your cookies while baking.

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One thing people ask me a lot is if they need a stand mixer and which one I recommend. I personally use Kenwood Chef Sense XL (pictured below) which I now have for 4 years. Keep in mind that I use it almost everyday and I also make dough, so the big capacity is great and it’s an investment for me. If you really want a Kitchenaid, I think the Kitchenaid Artisan KSM160 is good value because you get 2 size bowls for the price, and of course, you get to choose from an array of colours. But if I am to buy a Kitchenaid and I didn’t have my Kenwood, I would choose the Kitchenaid Proline Mixer KSM7581 which is more for serious bakers and professionals like me. However, if you’re just trying baking out, a hand mixer would do the job and save you $$$ if you realise it’s not for you. Before I bought my big mixer, I would knead my dough by hand and only had the Sunbeam Beatermix Pro, which I still keep in the drawer in case of emergency!

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Now it’s time to make these indulgent s’mores cookies! Don’t forget to take photos of your work and tag me on Instagram and Facebook. Seeing your photos and hearing how my tips and recipes help when you bake totally brightens my day. So please remember to connect! Have fun baking and eating!

 
Difficulty: Medium Prep Time: 20 Mins Cook Time: 12 Mins Total Time: 32 Mins

S’mores Cookies

Makes 12

  You will need the recipe for Mrs.Fancypants Chunky Chocolate Cookies. You can find the recipe here. The steps are identical up to step 3, then for the S’mores cookies, you will need to stuff the cookies with marshmallows.

Ingredients

Instructions

0/6 Instructions
  • In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream butter & sugar together on high until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, sift together dry ingredients except the marshmallows.
  • Add egg and vanilla, mix until incorporated then bring the mixer down to low. Gradually spoon the dry ingredients into the batter, then add the chocolate chunks. Cover the dough and chill for at least 1 hour up to 1 day. (See notes)
  • Divide the dough into 12 equal size balls (around 65-70g if you’re using a scale). Roll each portion into a ball then flatten into a disc and place a marshmallow in the centre. Fold edges to seal then roll back into a ball.
  • If the cookies feel soft and warm after rolling, chill again for 30 minutes while preheating oven to 170C. Place cookies on a tray lined with baking paper.
  • Bake cookies at 170C for 12 mins. The edges will be light brown and the centre will be soft, pop out of the oven and let cool for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack and cool down completely in the fridge. (see notes)

Notes

  1. Recipe for Mrs.FP Chunky Chocolate Cookies here.
  2. Use store-bought marshmallows because homemade marshmallows just dissolve in the heat of the oven.
  3. One reason for cookies spreading is if you over-cream your cookies. On the video above, you will be able to see the process clearly.
  4. This dough needs to be chilled otherwise the cookies will spread. You can make these cookies ahead and chill for 1 day. If you leave it in the fridge for more than one day, the cookies will not rise in the oven.
  5. This recipe is also freezer friendly. To freeze, follow the recipe up to stuffing the cookies with marshmallows then pop the balls on a plate lined with baking paper and freeze for 1 hour. Once the balls are frozen on the outside, they can be placed in freezer bags.
  6. To bake cookie dough from the freezer, take the dough out and place them on a tray line with baking paper, then preheat oven to 170C. The preheating time allows the cookie dough to thaw a little. When the oven is ready bake the cookies for 14 mins. Then cool as instructed.
  7. I like to let the cookies cool down and set in the fridge instead of room temperature. It takes less time and the cookies retain their softness in the centre.