Coconut flour is a great replacement for well-known flours like whole wheat or all-purpose. It adds a delicious nutty flavor to baked dishes and is completely gluten-free.
If you have celiac disease or are sensitive to gluten (as nearly 40% of the population may be), coconut flour could become your new best friend in the kitchen.
What Exactly Is Coconut Flour?
Coconut flour is the fresh pressed meat of the coconut. When coconut meat is pressed, the milk is removed and some of the oils get extracted and what you are left with is then grated to make flour.
I find coconut flour to be sweeter than other flours and a bit more powdery or fluffy. It ranks highest in dietary fiber (11g per ounce) among all flours and also contains 5g of protein per ounce. Considering that ¼ cup is an ounce – you’ll likely quadruple this amount in a baking recipe.
Coconut flour also contains lauric acid, which has antiviral and antibacterial properties and capric acid, which may help balance the insulin levels in your body.
How Do You Cook With It?
Coconut flour is SUPER absorbent, so you cannot simply replace your all-purpose flour 1-1. Your cookie just won’t crumble the same way.
For each cup of flour (all-purpose, whole wheat, etc.), you should use ¼ to ⅓ cup of coconut flour. And – because you don’t have the sticky, glue-like substance that is gluten present in the flour – you’ll need to add that component into the mix by way of an egg or a flax egg (one tablespoon ground flax seeds to 3 tablespoons of water).
You may need to experiment a bit to get your dough to a consistency that works best for you. Typically when I bake with coconut flour, the final product comes out a bit more cake-like – but I totally love this texture.
If experimentation worries you, you can start by making my favorite coconut flour cookies with the tried-and-true recipe below. Let me know what you think and if you find any other awesome coconut flour recipes, feel free to share them with us below!
Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies (Grain-free)
Author: Credit: Detoxinista.com
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup coconut flour
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 whole eggs
- ⅓ cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, salt and eggs until a uniform batter is created. The batter will start off a bit runny, but will thicken as the coconut flour starts to absorb the moisture.
- Add in the chocolate chips, and stir to distribute them evenly (I used Enjoy Life allergen-free mini chocolate chips in this particular batch).
Article originally published on FitLife.tv republished with permission
