A few months ago I decided to get serious about trying to master macarons, so rather than continuing to buy and grind my own almonds, I set out to buy almond flour. I nearly had a heart attack when I discovered just how crazy expensive it was, even at my favorite “cheap” grocery store! I held off that day, figuring I’d check Trader Joe’s since I often buy nuts there at a good price.
And when I finally made it to Trader Joe’s a week or so later, and saw it for about 1/3 of the cost in the grocery store, I felt like such a genius! I snapped it up and drove home feeling mighty proud of that purchase. That lasted for all of about a week until I realized what I’d scored was not almond flour, but almond meal. Almond flour is made from ground blanched almonds (ie skins removed) whereas almond meal is not so there are brown specks of the skin throughout. The almond meal wasn’t very finely ground either, there were some fairly large bits in my batch. For most recipes, it wouldn’t be a big deal to substitute the almond meal, but for macarons it just wasn’t going to work unless I spent a huge amount of time sifting, and I wasn’t terribly keen on that idea.
That was a really long and winded way of explaining why you’re going to suddenly start seeing recipes made with almond meal/flour around these parts – I’ve got an entire bag to get through π It’s not something I’ve used before but I’ve found a ton of recipes I’m excited to try!
Brownies seemed like as good a place to start as any. Shane was excited when he saw me making these – until I confessed I was using almond meal. He’s not a fan of nuts or nut-flavored things, to say the least. I asked him to keep an open mind and when these came out of the oven he sampled and absolutely loved them! I only had a tiny corner of one, but I was equally enamored. They were fudgy and rich, and colorful too thanks to those mini M&M’s on top! I think Shane wound up eating almost the entire batch himself, most of them in the manner you see below. Something tells me it’s not the last batch of almond flour brownies I’ll be making…
PS – Recipe for the ice cream in Shane’s brownie sundae coming next week, it’s a good one!
Almond Flour M&M Brownies
adapted from The Wannabe Chef
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
5 oz semisweet (or bittersweet) chocolate
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
3 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup mini M&M’s
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray an 8×8-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line the pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on opposing sides so you can lift the brownies out easily once they’re baked. Spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
Add the semisweet chocolate and the butter to a medium heatproof bowl. Microwave in 30-second bursts on 50% power, stirring in between each, until the mixture is melted and smooth. Whisk in the cocoa powder and espresso until incorporated. Set the bowl aside so the mixture can cool slightly.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt until combined. Add the warm chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and whisk to combine. Finally, stir in the almond flour with a rubber spatula just until incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking ban, spreading evenly with a rubber spatula to cover the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the mini M&M’s evenly over the surface of the batter. Bake the brownies for about 28-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. (Do not over bake, or the brownies will dry out.) Transfer the pan to a wire rack and allow the brownies to cool completely in the pan. Use the foil to lift the brownies out of the pan and slice before serving.
WOW! These look perfect! Sadly no Trader Joes in CO, but I will check amazon for cheap almond four, cause I got to make these!! They looks so good, especially with the ice cream I just made! Tripple the brownie!
Wow! I don’t think I have seen any almond flour in the store but haven’t really looked for it. I’ll be happy to know where I can come to find almond meal recipes, though. These brownies look incredible and that shot with the ice cream and chocolate – to-die-for!
Oh Trader Joe’s, how do I love thee?
These brownies are such a genius way to use up some of that almond flour, they look perfect!
Great use of an accidental purchase π One of these days I’m going to make macarons but seeing so many failures sure doesn’t comfort me.
Oh my goodness, that last picture?!?! It looks SO amazing. Good use of the almond flour!
Oh my! These are super pretty, and so fun!! LOVE!
I never really knew the difference between almond flour and almond meal (believing it was something most already knew, I was afraid to ask). Thanks! π
These brownies look bold and beautiful! I’d inhale several with my morning coffee.
These look amazing! I just starting making my own almond milk and then I use the pulp to make almond meal so I have quite a bit of almond meal to use up. Keep those recipes coming:)
I wish I had some almond flour on hand, these look SO decadent!
These brownies really do look like the real thing — I wouldn’t turn one down. They really do look rich and fudgy!
Ha! I did the EXACT same thing with the almond meal from Trader Joes… it’s been sitting in my pantry ever since. What a great way to use some of it!
nut flours are great at retaining the moisture in baked goods. I always prefer using it instead of normal flour in dense cakes and brownies. So cute with the m&m’s
That last picture is just pure evil, Tracey! Amazing recipe!
I’m drooling everywhere!
Your brownies are so pretty with the little M&M’s on top! Shane sure knows how to eat a brownie… I can’t wait to see what that ice cream is!
Those brownie sundaes were incredible, thanks for making them!
Macaroons can be made with almond skins. In fact, most pastry schools use meal and include skins.
I’m so excited to try this! I’ve been trying to cut back on gluten and this is the perfect treat for an upcoming dinner party!
I love when I pat myself on the back for something and then realize it was actually a mistake. Looks like you win out, though, because these brownies look delicious.
I’m so glad I have a bag of almond flour in the freezer!! (and yes I splurged on it…but you really don’t use THAT much for a batch of macs and so it lasts a while!). can’t wait to try these. They look perfect!
@Anonymous: I’ve definitely seen people use almond meal, so I know it can be done but this batch I bought has way too many big chunks. I’d either have to process it more or sift it, neither of which I’m super excited about π
I can’t wait to see the recipe for the ice cream. It looks really good (even though I can’t make ice cream) and these brownies look really good too. This is the third brownie/chocolate recipe I have looked at in the last five minutes and I am now craving fugdy chocolate goodness <3
Nice work on the use of the almond meal. Alas, my friend, I could have told you they are SO very different. Almond meal is so much finer and better for delicate projects. I just bought a 25 lb box at Honeyville!
For the 2 lovely, comments below: If you ladies are looking for almond flour or almond meal, FEAR NOT! You can make your own by grinding up unsalted almonds, or there is Bob’s Red Mill, or if you are lucky enough to live by a Winco, they sell it in bulk. I’ve also been advised that BLANCHED almond flour/meal is the best for baking. Happy Baking2 BTW, great recipe!
Looks so fudgey and delicious,I love how you used almond flour!
Ooh I am very intrigued by using almond meal in brownies! Reminds me of a flourless chocolate cake I’ve had before that was to die for good! They must be so rich and delicious!
I have a lot of almond flour sitting around and I’m never sure what to do with it other than macarons. This is perfect!
I love the way Shane eats brownies – now if I only had the metabolism to match! I love brownies, but have never done them with anything but regular flour – love this idea!
These look so fun~~~I think I have some almond flour in the freezer, too!
I pinned these for the baking soon, they look perfect and I like the use of the almond flour π
I just made almond chocolate chip cookies on my blog… I cannot wait to try this!
These look amazingly tasty! I’ll have to restock on almond meal π
These brownies were delicious! Wish I had one right now.Thanks for sharing!
Almond flour brownies?! YES!
I love almond flour. It is one of the very, very few things that are cheaper over here. I don’t actually like almonds, but I’ve never made anything with almond flour and not liked it.
These sound and look lovely! Definitely my kind of recipe. π
I’m excited for almond flour recipes! I have a TJ bag leftover as well.
I have used the TJ almond meal to make macaroons and it indeed failed. I grind my own almonds and sift, sift, sift. Too bad, huh?
Just made these and the house smells terrific!
I used Honeyville almond flour which is very fine particle.
This recipe throws our all the other brownie recipes in my archives.
π
I just have to say I’m thankful you bought the wrong stuff & came up with recipe! I’ve got gestational diabetes & used Splenda instead of sugar but used your recipe as a guide & my sweet tooth is officially satisfied! I only baked them 25 min & they were delicious!!