Almond Chocolate and Almond Vanilla-Cardamom Biscuits – Gluten-Free Sugar-Free

Gluten-Free Sugar-Free Chocolate Biscuits

Having become, much to my own surprise, more interested in gluten-free sugar-free nutrition, I discovered what all the people who absolutely need to avoid these foods have to contend with, and just how difficult it is to find yummy treats. In the end I created my own and have experimented until these are near perfect by the measure of my own palate.  I started with the Chocolate ones, and then wanted a change, so used the same recipe to create the Vanilla Cardamom ones – see recipe adjustment at the end.

Don’t be put off by the ingredients if they are new to you…all are commonly available now in regular supermarkets, likely in the health foods section.

Ingredients

4 oz Butter

3 Tbsp Honey – (any kind will do but raw is best)

1 Egg white

1 Tbsp (large) Coconut flour

Pinch salt – (any will do, but Celtic Sea Salt or Himalayan Pink for added nutrition)

2 Tbsp Sunflower seeds

1 Tbsp (large) Sesame seeds

3 Tbsp (slightly heaped) Almond meal – (also called ground almonds, and almond flour – use blanched – it should be blonde-coloured)

1 Tbsp (heaped) Arrowroot – (Tapioca flour is just as good)

2 Tbsp Amaranth flour –  (amaranth is quite hard and when it is ground into flour it has lovely tiny crunch to it)

4 Tbsp (mildly heaped) Buckwheat flour

1 Tsp Baking powder

3 Tbsp (large) Cocoa – (use Blookers Cacao – much stronger, and far superior taste Dutch cocoa – have bought from Countdown but readily available generally)

2 Tbsp (heaped) Pumpkin seeds

Method

Cream butter and honey together. Spend effort on this. The better the butter is creamed, the less stodgy and more crisp the biscuit will be. Add egg white and beat. Add coconut flour. Coconut flour has a thickening effect and will help absorb the egg white. Beat these until your mixture is hanging together well in one central mass. Add salt, sunflower and sesame seeds and beat until properly combined. Add almond meal and combine. Add Arrowroot and combine. Add amaranth flour and combine. Add buckwheat flour and baking powder and combine. Add cocoa and combine, and mix in the pumpkin seeds.

Drop the mixture in large teaspoons full onto baking paper on a baking sheet and then flatten with a fork dipped in buckwheat flour. I’ve found that if you wet the fork first the buckwheat coats the fork and is less inclined to pick up the sticky mixture when you’re flattening.  I’ve also found that flattening so the biscuits are quite thin (see picture) helps make them crisp.

Almond meal as an ingredient in a biscuit can be a softening agent and thick biscuits make it difficult to heat (toast) the almonds sufficiently without burning the biscuits. Bake at 175 until browned 15-20 mins. Keep a close eye because chocolate biscuits can be browning (burning) and it’s difficult to tell, so check often.

Gluten Free and Sugar Free Almond Vanilla-Cardamom Biscuits

Use the same recipe as above, but add a few drops of quality vanilla essence after the coconut flour has been beaten in.

Exchange the cocoa for half a teaspoon of good quality ground cardamom and 3 Tbsp of arrowroot or tapioca flour.

Notes

These biscuits are delicious but if you don’t get them right, meaning crisp and delicious the first time, please persevere and make adjustments to the way you do it. I can’t stress enough how important it is to properly cream the butter – it should go almost white. The egg white is added to aid in holding the biscuit together and contributes a crisping effect.  If you were to use the yolk as well, your biscuit would be much less crisp.

I have taken to letting the mixture stand for 15 -30 mins before dropping onto the baking sheet because it begins to stiffen and is easier to work with, but this is not necessary.

If you make these biscuits often you’ll get a good feel for how long they take at what speed in your own oven…I am making a suggestion as to time and heat – slower and longer is better.

Experiment with more or less cocoa, and any other flavours.  Some people love cardamom and really want to be able to taste it. For others just a hint is enough.

I haven’t tried freezing them yet but have kept them in an air-tight jar for up to a month and they were fine. If you found they weren’t crisp anymore, put them back in the oven until they are hot, and then take them out and let them cool. They will have regained their crispness.

The best thing about these biscuits apart from how they taste and their texture is that they are densely packed with nutrition.  If your youngsters are asking for treats, give them these.  They think they’re getting biscuits which satisfies their immediate urge, and you’re giving them health, and cutting out sugar and gluten.

Enjoy!  I’d love to hear how you get on with them.