Absolutely the BEST gluten free brownies out there!

Upon finding out this past Tuesday that our friends with two girls need some a few extra hands for some house projects Hannah and I decided to volunteer our time. Now you know girls we all love chocolate right? We definitely wanted to bring something chocolate to help the time be extra enjoyable, but there one daughter has quite a few allergies two of them are wheat and eggs. They also are foodies and know what good chocolate brownies are supposed to taste like so when we decided to make these brownies we were a little sceptical. We got to there house did some work and decided to take a break and have a brownie and some coffee, well we had coffee:) Then, with all of us taking our first bite into the brownie the room became dangerously quite.......and then WOW! We all could not believe how delicious they were! Most people think of gluten free as dry bland or gritty right? Well these brownies give gluten free a whole new meaning, even if you don't have a gluten allergy you will want to make these again. I think we will be making these just for our selves they were so good. If you like dark chocolate and a chewy fuggy brownie make these they absolutely fit into that category!

Esther

Chocolate Chip Brownies
Adapted from Elana's Pantry

1 (16) ounce jar salted almond butter, smooth roasted
2 eggs( we used egg re-placer)
1 ¼ cups agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ cup Hersey's dutch cocoa powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup dark chocolate( we used my home made kind and some organic 85%)

1. In a large bowl, blend almond butter until smooth with a hand blender
2. Blend in eggs, then blend in agave and vanilla
3. Blend in cocoa, salt and baking soda, then fold in chocolate chips
4. Grease a 9x13 baking dish
5. Pour batter into dish
6. Bake at 325° for 35-40 minutes

Makes about 24 brownies

Recipes for Yogurt and Cereal

Here are the recipes to make the Raw Cereal, we found this on one of our favorite sites Just Making Noise!

Soaked & Ready' Oats

• 4 cups rolled oats (NOT instant)
• 4 cups filtered water
• 8 Tbsp. whey, lemon/lime juice, kefir or yohgurt

Warm the 4 cups of water in a saucepan (you don't need a microwave) till warm to touch. Do not let it boil!

Pour the oats, warm water and acid medium (whey, etc..) into a large glass bowl and mix thoroughly. Cover the bowl with a towel or plate & let it sit overnight in your oven or on your counter (wherever you have space).

Important: Let it sit for 8 - 24 hours... 12 hours is okay, but I always soak mine for 24 hours to reduce the phytic acid as much as possible.

Spread the oats on parchment paper in your tray or cookie pan (for oven drying) and put in dehydrator set on the highest temp (if you have that option... I don't) until completely dry. It can take anywhere from 6 to 24 hours... depending on your dehydrator. You can dry the oats in your oven set on the lowest temperature.

When the oats are dried, you will be able to break them into chunks. Put the chunks in your food processor or blender and pulse until coarsely ground (kinda like oatmeal flakes). Don't grind it fine unless you want oat flour.

Pour the oats in a sealed container and store in your fridge or in a cool, dark place. Ta-daaa! There you go... you have 'Soaked & Ready' Oats for satisfying your urge to make cookies! Remember, you can make this however much you want. When I first made these, I used 8 cups of rolled oats. Just make sure you add everything up correctly.

Quick, Raw & Nourishing Homemade Cereal

• 'Soaked & Ready' Oats
• Dehydrated almonds (you can use regular)
• Coconut flakes
• Cinnamon
• Freshly ground flaxseed
• Raw honey
• Your choice of milk

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Drizzle raw honey over the mixture and stir some more. Pour your choice of milk (warm or cold) over the cereal and ENJOY!

Be creative or make your favorite!

Yogurt Recipe from the Wissmanns

Add two gallons of milk to a large stockpot. You may use whole, 2% or skimmed milk. Heat the milk slowly over a medium heat (not so hot that it burns on the bottom). It may need stirred a couple times depending on the quality of the stockpot. Heat milk until the temperature is 180*F. It is not necessary to boil the milk.

Note: Use a sturdy, heavy stockpot to heat the milk. It will avoid scorching the milk. We are so thankful for the high-quality stainless steel cookware Daddy got for our kitchen many years ago! Thank you Daddy!

A double-boiler can also be used to heat the milk, if a stockpot is thin.

When the milk reaches 180*F, turn the heat off and let the milk cool to 110*F. Putting the stockpot into a sink of cold water will quicken this step. Otherwise, this is a good opportunity to move on to other projects for a bit!

When milk has cooled to 110*F, add 1 six ounce cup of Yoplaityogurt. Any flavor can be used, because it doesn't flavor the entire two gallons very much

With a wire whisk, beat the milk & yogurt starter for a minute. It is important for the starter to get completely dissolved into the milk. The milk mixed with yogurt starter is now called inoculated milk

Once thoroughly mixed, pour the inoculated milk into the desired jars. Fill to the neck of the jar. We use gallon jars - however, for the smaller family - half gallon or quart jars are much easier to manage and work just as well!

Put lids on tightly and place jars into a cooler. It is helpful if the jars fit snugly into the cooler - it all stays warmer and turns to yogurt faster. Warm water [110*f] can also be added to help stabilize the temperature.

Place the lid on cooler and set in a warm place for 3-4 hours. The yogurt is done when it has jelled. This can be easily checked by gently tipping the jar to see if it is milky or firm. If the milk has not become firm in 4 hours, the cooler may not be quite warm enough and it will just need a few more hours. When it is jelled, place in the fridge overnight to completely cool down and set.