If there’s one thing I could make with my eyes closed, it’s brownies. I think my 6th sense is knowing when brownies are done in the oven without a timer. I can tell this is another brownie recipe I’ll come back to time and time again.

One commenter mentioned that she uses oat flour in recipes that call for almond flour regularly and I wanted to try that for myself with my almond flour brownies recipe. Almond flour is a great gluten and grain-free baking flour but I don’t always keep it handy.

This recipe is basically the same as for almond flour brownies except with a little bit of water added to account for the grains. The brownies came out perfectly moist and chewy. I think the grains made them taste a little bit more like regular brownies than their almond counterpart. They were also slightly cakier than the almond flour brownies but still completely enjoyable for fudgy brownie lovers. Overall these were definitely a winner.

You don’t need to go out and buy a bag of oat flour for this recipe; you can make 3/4 cup oat flour by grinding 1 cup of rolled oats in a food processor or high-speed blender until it’s finely ground. If it’s big enough, you can even use the processor as a mixing bowl and blend the ingredients right in there instead of dirtying more dishes.

Oat Flour Brownies

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 1 8 x 8 pan):

• 3/4 cup oat flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules(optional)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 7oz semisweet or bittersweet baking chocolate, divided OR 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup water

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together the oat flour, salt, cocoa powder, and baking powder and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, melt together 4 ounces of chocolate or a scant 1/2 cup chocolate chips with the butter.
4. While the chocolate is melting, beat together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, water, and coffee granules if using.
5. Slowly pour the melted chocolate and butter into the egg/sugar mixture while whisking until fully incorporated. Don’t go too fast so that the raw eggs don’t cook upon contact.
6. Add the chocolate mixture in with the dry ingredients and mix completely.
7. Pour the batter in a greased 8 x 8 pan.
8. Sprinkle the top with the remaining chocolate and gently press it into the batter.
9. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Let these cool completely before cutting in.

I always grab bananas at the store to throw in smoothies or have for breakfast. This week I guess I forgot to eat them because they were brown and mushy before I knew it. I’d much rather life hand me brown bananas than lemons because bananas are a lot more fun to bake with. I couldn’t decide on making banana blondies or banana bread and ended up settling for something in between.

I intended these to be a healthy afternoon snack, but then covering them in chocolate and peanut butter seemed a lot more fun. They actually aren’t bad for you with their whole grains, fiber, natural sugars and a little bit of healthy fats. The squares are definitely sweet enough on their own—adding a drizzle on top just makes them that much better.

The topping I used was just a chocolate ganache made with 1/4 cup chocolate chips, 2 Tablespoons of maple syrup, and a Tablespoon of water and a peanut butter sauce made with 2 Tablespoons peanut butter, 2 Tablespoons of maple syrup, and a Tablespoon of water all mixed and drizzled on top. This would also be really delicious with a vanilla or peanut butter buttercream.

Whole Grain Banana Cake Squares

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients(Makes one 8 x 8 pan):

• 1 cup(2 large) mashed bananas
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup(80g) brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8 x 8 baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the mashed banana, sugar, peanut butter, oil, eggs, and vanilla.
3. Add in the brown rice flour, oats, and baking soda and mix well.
4. Pour the batter into the pan.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the center has set.
6. Remove and let cool. Cover with frosting, ganache, or leave plan to serve.

A jar of Nutella never lasts very long in our kitchen. One of my favorite snacks is to take a spoon and just dig in. That’s probably reason enough to stop keeping a jar of Nutella around all the time.

I’ve seen cheesecake-stuffed strawberries online for years now and never tried them before these. I think they’re originally a Paula Dean invention. It’s incredibly convenient if you’re looking for a gluten-free dessert because the strawberries take care of the crust for you; besides, you can convince yourself that a little bit of fruit makes it all healthier.

Filling these can be frustrating; a lot of the first ones came out lopsided and a couple of them even got thrown away. But don’t worry! It’s an easy skill to pick up as you do more and more.

Nutella Cheesecake Strawberries

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 24 servings):

• 1lb strawberries
• 3/4 cup Nutella
• 1/2 cup cream cheese, room temperature
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Method:

1. In a large bowl, beat together the Nutella, cream cheese, and powdered sugar until smooth. Move the filling to a pastry bag or Ziploc with a corner cut off.
2. Using a sharp knife, slice each strawberry twice perpendicularly along the tip almost all the way through, leaving a little bit uncut.
3. Separate the 4 tips of the strawberry and gently push the filling in until it reaches the top.
4. Repeat with all of the strawberries.
5. Store in a refrigerator until ready to serve; leave at room temperature for 30 minutes before eating.

If you’re scared off by filling them or get too frustrated you can always cut up the strawberries and serve the filling as a dip. That was how I used up the leftover filling and it was just as good.