Best baking recipes for coconut flour?

I'm looking for some baking recipes for coconut flour that don't use heaps of eggs - many seem to include 9-12 eggs per cake. I know the eggs are to add elasticity to compensate for the lack of gluten but does anyone have any recipes that use a different binder say xantham gum?

tasty
  • Posted by: tasty
  • May 24, 2011
  • 11924 views
  • 5 Comments

5 Comments

beyondcelery May 24, 2011
(Thank you, SKK, for reposting my previous answer!)
 
beyondcelery May 24, 2011
I have a customer who can eat very little besides coconut, potato, and peanuts, so I've been experimenting with coconut flour lately for her. Here's the peanut butter cookie recipe I came up with. It's still under development, but is quite delicious and should give you an idea of how to use coconut flour in baking. I have other such recipes, if you need more ideas. Also, it's worth checking out this cookbook: Cooking with Coconut Flour, by Bruce Fife. I found many of his recipes to be frustrating because they don't work the way he says they will; however, it's a good place to start your own experiments.

Peanut Butter Cookies
Makes 36

1/3 cup Adam’s crunchy peanut butter
3 Tbls coconut oil, somewhat softened but not melted
¼ cup cane sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
¼ tsp sea salt
¼ cup raw coconut flour
¼ cup peanut flour
¼ tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 375F. Cream together peanut butter and coconut oil till there are no lumps. Stir in sugars. Beat in eggs and salt. Sift flours and baking soda together, then add to the wet ingredients. Stir till well mixed and there are no coconut flour lumps.

Drop by spoonfuls onto parchment paper on cookie sheet. Bake about 10-12 minutes.
 
SKK May 24, 2011
I asked this question awhile ago, and Syronai gave me this answer which I found very helpful Add it to baked goods in small quantities (1/4 cup or less) for some additional fiber and flavor. Something to keep in mind is that coconut flour absorbs moisture at a phenomenal rate, so using even a small amount in baking usually means you'll need to increase your liquid slightly. It depends on the recipe, so add it first, take a look at the consistency, and add more liquid as seems needed.

You can also use coconut flour as a base for breads (it's great for gluten-free baking). For this, you'll want to do some research. This site's recipes are pretty standard:
http://www.tiana-coconut.com/coconut_flour_recipes.htm
When coconut flour is used as the main flour in a bread, you MUST increase the number of eggs in the recipe (usually double) or it won't turn out right at all. When I make muffins from coconut flour and potato flour, I use 3 eggs in the recipe for 12 muffins. Coconut flour will make your baked goods more dense and the bread isn't like a "normal" bread, but it's delicious in its own way.

You can also use it in breading; because it's good at absorbing moisture, using coconut flour for dredging meat before dipping in egg and batter works quite well. Good luck! It's a really fun flour, but it does take some practice to use well, so don't get discouraged if a first try ends up rather wonky.
 
LucyS May 24, 2011
My sister made great cookies with coconut flour. I can't get a hold of her right now but stay tuned.
 
Anitalectric May 24, 2011
In my experience, coconut flour is used in a small ratio to other dry ingredients in a baking recipe, primarily as a thickening agent. I have never heard of it used as the primary dry ingredient, but am curious to see what folks come up with!

I use it mostly for frosting and also in vegan macaroons. It has a nice, rich flavor.
 
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