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Baked goods and bakeries happen to be two of my weaknesses. Take a look around my website and my love for baked things will become apparent quickly. And then there’s the bakeries….the smell of a bakery…*swoon*. There are few things better. So any time I come across something that successfully combines some of my favourite things, it’s likely to be a hit with me.
Enter the Made with Love Cookbook by Kelly Childs and Erinn Weatherbie.
The authors also happen to own Kelly’s Bake Shoppe in Burlington, Ontario. At their shoppe, they only bake and sell gluten free and vegan treats. A wonderland for those on a special diet or those with allergies. I’ve never been to their bakery (or Burlington!) but if the opportunity ever comes up, visiting Kelly’s Bake Shoppe is going to be at the top of the list. Look at how cute the shoppe is!
I learned about this book in a roundabout way. Someone followed me on Instagram so I was scrolling through their feed to see the types of things they posted and came across a picture of a gorgeous cupcake. Of course, I clicked on it and it led back to the Kelly’s Bake Shoppe Instagram account. Through their account, I learned they were releasing a book soon. And here we are.
The book is gorgeous, the images are beautifully shot, and the recipes! Oh, the recipes.
There are over 100 of them in this book and it’s not just about the sweets. Yes, you will find recipes for cookies, cupcakes, cakes, doughnuts, and more. But you will also get savoury recipes for things like chili, lasagna, soups, salads, smoothies and lots more! So far, I’ve tried the recipe for the bite-size brownies (which I am sharing here with you), and the Sweet Potato & Quinoa Burgers. Those burgers? So good. Thumbs up all around my table, even from the kids. I’m actually making them again this weekend, they were that good.
But let’s finally talk about these vegan gluten free bite-size brownies now, shall we?
I love brownies. So naturally, I gravitated towards trying this recipe first. The picture of the brownie in the book looks more dense than how mine turned out but that could be for a variety of reasons.The recipe said to bake for 10 minutes and to not overbake. I took them out of the oven after 10 minutes but they ended up more cakey than fudgy. It was totally fine though, because they still turned out DELICIOUS and everyone loved them. Cakey brownies are just as yummy! Chocolaty and soft with little bursts of chocolate chips. Yum.
The next time I make them, I’ll take them out a little sooner to see if I can achieve that fudgy texture I love so much. One other possible reason they could have turned out more cake-like could be because of the gluten free flour brand I used (see the note at the bottom of the recipe about that).
So would I recommend this book? Absolutely. If you are vegan or gluten-free or vegan AND gluten free, if you have food allergies, or if you are trying to eat healthier, then get it. There are so many ideas for everything from breakfast to dessert and everything in between. Something for everyone!
If you buy it, or check it out online, come back and tell me which recipe you want to try first!
Want more recipes for vegan gluten free sweet things? Click here!
How to Make Vegan Gluten Free Bite-Size Brownies
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 1 tbsp ground flax seed
- 1 cup gluten-free all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup organic cane sugar
- 1/2 cup Sucanat
- 1/4 cup potato starch
- 2 tbsp arrowroot starch
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup coconut oil or canola oil
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1/2 cup hot black coffee (you can use decaf coffee, chocolate almond milk or chocolate soy milk as alternatives)
- 2 tbsps vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips
- 2 cups Chocolate Ganache (page 192, optional)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray mini muffin pans with cooking spray or line with mini cupcake liners.
- In a small bowl, combine the ground flax seed with 3 tablespoons of filtered water and set aside to thicken.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, Sucanat, potato starch arrowroot starch, baking powder, salt, xantham gum and baking soda.
- In a small bowl, combine the flax mixture, coconut oil, applesauce, hot coffee and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the flax seed mixture until fully incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Using a small ice-cream scoop or tablespoon, scoop the batter into the prepared mini muffin cups.
- Bake the brownies in the center of the oven for 10 minutes, or until they have firm edges and soft centers. Don't overbake!
- Let the brownies cool a little in the pan for 10 minutes before serving; they are best served warm topped with chocolate ganache.
- Calorie count is for brownies made with coconut oil and no ganache.
- Store any uneaten brownies in a sealed container in the freezer to keep them fresh, but not the fridge because that will dry them out.
- This recipe says that you will get 36-40 bite-size brownies from this recipe, but I got 48. No complaints though! I only filled each cup 3/4 of the way up, I will add a bit more next time.
- I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour Blend when making this recipe because it is what I had on hand and what I am used to. The authors do not specify the brand of flour they use in their baking recipes which could potentially be an issue for those who are not used to baking gluten free. Every flour brand produces a different blend, all contain different ratios, and some already contain xantham gum. Long story short, all blends are different and to get the same results as in the book, we would need to know the brand being used. There could be a variety of reasons why the brand was not shared in this book, but either way, keep that in mind when trying out the recipes. I used the Bob's Red Mill Blend for this recipe and ended up with great results.
Penguin Random House Canada sent me a copy of Made with Love at no charge with the option to share a recipe from the book on my site if I wanted to. Of course I did because the book and recipes are excellent! All opinions about the book and recipes are my own. All images in this post are also my own. Recipe reprinted with permission from Penguin Random House.
Cathy says
Could I also use regular flour if I don’t need them to be GF, and leave out the xanthan gum? And what about the starches, are they for GF baking as well? If not, could I use corn starch instead?
Thanks in advance.
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
Hi Cathy, I haven’t made this recipe using the substitutions you have asked about, so I can’t say for sure if things would work out. And yes, the starches are present because it’s a gf recipe, they are part of the replacement for regular flour. Sorry, I know that is not very helpful but if you do decide to give it a try, let me know how things go!