There are some recipes that feel like home the moment they start cooking. This pot roast is one of those. Cozy, comforting, unfussy, and somehow able to make everyone feel taken care of. I made it for Christmas Day and then again for a girls’ night a few days later, and both times it disappeared fast. Plates were wiped clean. Seconds were had. People asked for the recipe. That is always the sign.

I love meals like this because they are not complicated, but they feel special. This is the kind of food you make when you want to nourish people. When you want the house to smell amazing. When you want everyone to linger a little longer at the table.

As someone who is always gluten free, I especially love recipes like this. There’s no need for substitutions or workarounds. This pot roast is naturally gluten free, hearty, and deeply satisfying. No one ever asks if it’s gluten free because it just tastes like really good food. The only thing to watch is using quality, gluten-free broth and seasonings, which is easy and worth it. The “Standard” brand French Onion soup mix does have gluten, so if you’re making this gluten free, know to look for the Simply Organic brand or another brand that is gluten free.

Pot roast is also forgiving. It does not require perfection. It rewards patience. And it gets better the longer it cooks, which feels like a metaphor I probably don’t need to spell out.

One of my favorite things about this recipe is that the gravy truly makes itself. No fuss. No cornstarch. No flour. No whisking. As the roast cooks low and slow, the collagen from the meat, the vegetables, and the broth come together into a rich, silky gravy all on their own. It’s one of those quiet kitchen wins that makes you feel like a better cook than you actually worked to be.

This is also a recipe where good ingredients really matter. Because the ingredient list is simple, each one has a job to do. I always choose a well-marbled chuck roast, quality broth, fresh vegetables, and seasonings I trust. I’ll link everything I use below so you can easily replicate it exactly if you want. When the ingredients are good, you don’t need much else.

And a quick kitchen joy moment: I used a new little vegetable chopper to prep everything, and it might be my favorite thing lately. The veggies are chopped in no time and come out perfectly symmetrical, which makes my heart so happy. There is something deeply satisfying about evenly cut carrots and potatoes. It shouldn’t matter. It does.

I like serving this family-style, right in the Dutch oven or slow cooker, with big spoons and no fuss. Add mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, or a gluten-free crusty bread if you want to soak up every bit of that gravy. Or just grab a spoon. No judgment.

A few items I love for this:

The Kitchen Gadget I Didn’t Want to Love (But Do):

I’ll admit it. I was fully opposed to this.

In my head, a real cook just chops. Knife skills. Wooden cutting board. No gadgets. Very chef of me. And yet… here we are.

I picked up this all-in-one vegetable chopper thinking it might be helpful for busy nights or when I’m cooking for a crowd. What I didn’t expect was how often I’d reach for it. It’s fast, clean, and somehow makes everything perfectly uniform, which turns out brings me an unreasonable amount of joy.

Onions, carrots, salads, pot roast vegetables, all done in seconds. No uneven cuts. No crying over onions. No extra bowls everywhere.

It also earns its keep because it’s easy to clean and replaces several tools at once, which matters when I’m hosting or just trying to keep the kitchen calm.

Consider this my official confession. I still love a good knife, but this gadget has absolutely earned its spot.

Pot Roast Recipe

Pot Roast

Recipe by Lisa Marie MasquelierCourse: UncategorizedCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

3

hours 

20

minutes

Total time

3

hours 

50

minutes

This cozy pot roast slow cooks until tender enough to shred with a fork and makes its own savory gravy without thickeners. Simple, comforting, and naturally gluten free.

Ingredients

• 4 lb boneless beef chuck roast

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 2 carrots, chopped

• 2 celery stalks, chopped

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• 1/2 Cup Wine

• 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes

• 1 cup beef broth

• 1 Packet French Onion Soup Mix, Gluten Free

• 2 tbsp tomato paste

• 1 tbsp dried oregano

• 1 tbsp dried marjoram

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions

• Cut the roast into chunks about 3in by 3in.
• Season roast with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
• Sear in hot deep dish heavy pot that is oven safe in olive oil on all sides. Remove.
• Sauté onion, carrots, celery until soft. Add garlic 1 min.
• Deglaze pan with wine (red or white is fine, your choice!)
• Stir in crushed tomatoes, packet of French onion soup mix, broth, tomato paste, oregano, marjoram, salt, and pepper. Simmer.
• Return roast to pot. Cover and bake at 325°F for 3-4 hr until tender.
• Pull from the oven. Spoon the fat off the top. Shred the meat in the sauce.
• Serve over mashed potatoes or risotto.

I have always loved sauerkraut. Visting Germany, it was a staple and severed alongside so many yummy sausages or schnitzels. I can’t imagine eating a bratwurst without having sauerkraut on top of it. One day, my mother-in-law showed up at our home with this delicious, dark brown, bacon-infused sauerkraut, and I was sold!

My mother-in-law got the recipe in 1966 while she and her late husband were living in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Their very dearest friends, the Hoeflers, sent some over for them to enjoy. They loved it so much, Lou said they would never eat it the way their mothers cooked it again! At that time, it became a favorite family recipe. Goodbye boring sauerkraut, hello bacon, onion infused, keto-friendly delicious sauerkraut.

Why Cabbage for New Year’s Day?

Growing up in California, I had never heard of the tradition of cabbage on New Year’s Day for good luck for the upcoming year. However, once I moved to Texas, all of my friends were making cabbage, black eye’d peas and greens to set up the new year for prosperity and good luck. I tend to find myself in the middle when it comes to believing in superstitions. But, with this new tradition I was watching my friends and their families all take part in, I decided I was in! I mean, why not? It’s yummy food, on New Year’s Day, and could set up some luck? Sure, bring on the new traditions!

It is said that cabbage is good luck for financial prosperity due to the leaves looking like money. I can buy that, which is why this is the first New Year’s good luck recipe I’m posting.

Picking Your Ingredients for Twice Baked Sauerkraut with cabbage, bacon and onions.

Start by picking the best, cancer-kicking ingredients. By choosing quality food and ingredients, you can ensure you are doing what you can by putting only the best in your family’s bodies.

Bacon:

Bacon got a bad reputation, but it’s not bad for you if you pick the right one. There are different types of bacon out there, and they vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Bacon goes through a curing process, which is where it usually goes wrong. Choose bacon without the curing additives nitrates and nitrites. Keeping those chemicals away is essential to maintaining a cancer-kicking diet. When cooked, nitrates and nitrites turn into carcinogens, so avoid these like the plague!

Bacon has many nutrients our bodies need, including high-quality animal protein, vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, and B12, 89% of the RDA for selenium, 53% of the RDA for phosphorus, and a decent amount of the minerals iron, magnesium, zinc, and potassium.

The fats in bacon are about 50% monounsaturated and a large part of those is oleic acid. This is the same fatty acid that olive oil is praised for and generally considered “heart-healthy”. Read more about bacon, the good and the bad here.

Sauerkraut:

If you’re looking for the best health benefits, you’ll want to get sauerkraut from the refrigerator section. Farmhouse Culture brand has a refrigerated version. Good words to look for are raw, perishable, unpasteurized. If you can’t find this, the jarred kraut will do, but you will miss out on some of the health benefits if you’re going to save some and eat it raw. Raw sauerkraut is best for your gut, but since we are cooking this, we won’t get all of the health benefits of the natural, uncooked, unpasteurized kraut, so a Vlassic jar of sauerkraut will do just fine. I buy this one from Target: Vlassic Old Fashioned Sauerkraut.

Tarragon:

The addition of tarragon is something I added to the original version of this recipe. It adds a subtle french flavor to the dish and enhances the caraway found in the sauerkraut. Did you know that tarragon contains iron, manganese, and potassium? Manganese reduces stress, which is definitely cancer-kicking. Iron is key to cell nutrition. Tarragon is said to reduce insulin sensitivity and regulate blood sugar. Reducing inflammation is key to keeping cancer at bay, and tarragon is known to do just that. Fresh tarragon is best to reap the nutritional benefits but is mainly only found in the spring and summer. If you’re making this for New Year’s Day, and can’t find fresh, the dried will work just fine.

Prepping for Your Yummy, Twice-Baked Sauerkraut with Bacon and Onions.

Start by prepping your ingredients. 

Dice the onion: Cut the onion in half, then dice the halves into bite-sized pieces. 

Cut the bacon into slices: The easiest way I’ve found to do this is to cut the entire package of bacon in half, pull out each half, then just slice it as it lays on your cutting board into small, thin pieces. There is no need to rearrange it or make it harder than needed. 

Cut the cabbage: Slice the cabbage in half. Remove the stem if needed. Slice the half against the grain so it will naturally shred into pieces, about 1/4-1/2″ thick. If you end up with long strands, cut those down so that no pieces are longer than about 2-3″. 

Drain the Sauerkraut: Open your jar of sauerkraut. Hold the cabbage in with the lid or your hand and drain most liquid out of the jar. It’s not essential to get this 100% drained. Leave a little of the liquid. You just don’t want the vinegar flavor to overpower the mixture. I hold it upside down until it stops pouring. That leaves just enough juice to deglaze the pan. 

Cooking Twice Baked Sauerkraut with Bacon and Onions

The cooking process is very simple, but it does take some time to get the depth of flavor that makes this dish so full of flavor.

Start by adding your bacon to a medium-hot, deep pot. Cook this for about 5 minutes, or until the bacon just starts to crisp up.

Add the onion to the bacon and let them cook until medium brown, and the onion is cooked through. Getting this step nice and brown makes for the best end result.

Once browned, onion is cooked through, and bacon is crispy, add the drained sauerkraut to the pan. Leaving just a little of the vinegar juice is ok; you just don’t want all the vinegar juice. Scrape the pan immediately to get the brown bits up. Mix well and let cook together for 5-10 minutes.

Add the cabbage to the pan. Stir well. Let the mixture cook for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remember, the bacon is salty, so you don’t need much salt.

Add the can of beef broth slowly, stirring while adding and scraping the bottom of the pan.

Add the tarragon. Mix well.

Put a lid on the pot, turn down to simmer, and cook for about an hour, stirring about every 10 minutes to make sure the bottom doesn’t burn.

Your Choice / Your Preference

At this point, you could serve the twice-baked sauerkraut, or you can continue to cook it for a deeper flavor. If you want to continue to cook it (which I recommend), you can turn it down to simmer and stir every 10 minutes, so it doesn’t burn, or put it in a crockpot and let it cook for hours. The longer it cooks, the yummier it is.

If there is still a lot of liquid when you’re ready to serve, take the lid off and let the liquid reduce over medium heat.

Twice Baked Sauerkraut with Bacon and Onions for New Year’s Luck

Recipe by Lisa Marie MasquelierCourse: SidesDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8-10

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

30

minutes

Ingredients

• 32 oz sauerkraut

• 3/4 – 1 head cabbage

• 12 oz bacon

• one medium onion

• 15 oz beef broth

• 1 tsp tarragon

• salt & pepper to taste

Directions

• Prep
• Dice the onion.
• Cut the bacon into small strips.
• Slice the cabbage
• Drain the sauerkraut, leaving just a little of the vinegar juice.
• Cook
• Place the bacon into a deep pot. Cook on medium for about 5 minutes, until it starts to brown.
• Add the onion to the bacon and let them cook until medium brown, and the onion is cooked through. Getting this step nice and brown makes for the best end result.
• Once browned, onion is cooked through, and bacon is crispy, add the drained sauerkraut to the pan. Leaving just a little of the vinegar juice is ok, you just don’t want all the vinegar juice. Scrape the pan immediately to get the brown bits up. Mix well and let cook together for 5-10 minutes.
• Add the cabbage to the pan. Stir well. Let the mixture cook for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. The bacon is salty, so you don’t need much.
• Add the can of beef broth slowly, stirring while adding and scraping the bottom of the pan.
• Add the tarragon. Mix well.
• Put a lid on the pot, turn down to simmer, and cook for about an hour, stirring about every 10 minutes to make sure the bottom doesn’t burn.
• You could serve at this point, continue to cook, or put it in a crockpot and let it cook for hours. The longer it cooks, the yummier it is. If there is still a lot of liquid, take the lid off and let the liquid reduce over medium heat.

One of the best ways to stick to a keto diet is to have delicious food on hand, ready to eat. Making this easy breakfast, keto casserole to have ready to eat throughout the week will become a weekend tradition.

This recipe is so easy to make, affordable, and so full of flavor. There is something magical about the combination of sausage, green chili, and cream cheese.

Picking Your Ingredients for Making this Keto Breakfast Sausage, Egg and Cheese Casserole.

Start by picking the best, cancer-kicking ingredients. By choosing quality food and ingredients, you can ensure you are doing what you can by putting only the best in the bodies of your family.

Natural Sausage: Brown the sausage in a large, shallow skillet. I like to use natural sausage that doesn’t contain nitrates or nitrites. It’s important to me to keep any foods known to be a carcinogen out of my kitchen, and this is one of them. Owens or Jimmy Dean both have “natural” brands of sausage. Search for those at your local store.

Cheese: Feel free to mix up the type of cheese you use for the topping. I like Tillamook Medium Cheddar. I like the ingredients Tillamook uses and the way they make their cheeses. Tillamook uses rBST-free milk and they naturally age their cheeses. But, feel free to use pepper-jack, mexican blend, monterey jack, or a mixture of whatever is in your fridge.

Green Chiles: I always have cans of diced green chiles in my pantry. They instantly spruce up any dish and give it a mild flavor even the kids will eat. For this dish, I’ve used canned diced green chiles or green chile salsa. Whatever you hand on hand will work.

Eggs: I always keep organic, grass-fed eggs on hand at home. I love eggs that have that rich, deep orange yolk, as I always see when dining in Europe. My favorite brand is Happy Egg.

Prepping for Your Yummy, Easy, Keto Breakfast Casserole

There isn’t a lot of prep needed for this dish.

Start by prepping all your ingredients. Remove the cream cheese from the fridge to come to room temp as quickly as possible.

Grease your 9×13 casserole dish with whatever you like to use. (Butter, olive oil, oil spray). Just make sure it’s a quality ingredient

As your cook your sausage, prep the remaining ingredients (eggs, milk, salt, pepper, shredded cheese).

That’s really it! Now enjoy this delicious keto-friendly, yummy breakfast all week long.

Easy Keto Sausage Egg Breakfast Casserole

Recipe by Lisa Marie MasquelierCourse: BreakfastCuisine: American

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Total time

55

minutes

Cream cheese, sausage, and green chiles come together with eggs in this delicious breakfast casserole.

Ingredients

• Sausage Mixture

• 1 tube all-natural sausage

• 1 block cream cheese

• 1 small can diced green chiles

• Egg Mixture

• 10 eggs

• 3/4 cup heavy cream

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp pepper

• Other

• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

• 1/4 cup spinach (optional)

Directions

• Prep
• Preheat oven to 400°.
• Grease a 9×13 pan with your cooking oil of choice (butter, oil, etc)
• Sausage Mixture
• Brown the sausage in a large skillet.
• Once browned, add in the diced chiles and scrape the bottom of the pan to get the burnt bits up.
• Add in cream cheese.
• Mix until all combined.
• Egg Mixture
• Crack 10 eggs into a large mixing bowl.
• Add heavy cream, salt, and pepper to the bowl. Mix well
• Bake and Serve
• Place in preheated oven for 35 minutes.
• Once done, let cool for 5 minutes.
• Cut into 12 equal pieces.

Recipe Video

*I have included links to the ingredients or products I use or recommend for ease of shopping. A Style for Life is reader-supported. When you buy through links on this site, we may earn an affiliate commission. All opinions are mine, and I try everything extensively before I recommend it. I only link to products I have already loved, used, and trust. Thank you for supporting A Style for Life!

One of the treats that I miss most pre-Gluten-Free and Keto is a delicious cheesecake dessert. Cheesecake. Is there anything better than cheesecake? I would vote no. But transitioning to a gluten-free lifestyle left me wanting for that yummy filling mixed with a summery berry topping. I don’t love regular cake, but cheesecake and angel food cake are the two desserts I miss the most.

So I went on a mission to find a fantastic alternative to cheesecake, and here you have it. These keto cheesecake dessert pudding cups are delicious, will please any crowd, don’t have a strange aftertaste, and will satisfy that sweet tooth craving we all get from time to time.

If you’re looking for something patriotic to serve, these will definitely suit the task!

And being that I’m watching foods that feed cancer, these are a great alternative to anything that might affect blood sugar or carcinogens.

How to Make Keto, Gluten-Free Cheesecake Berry Parfait Cups

Make the Keto and Gluten-Free Filling

1. Scrape the block of cream cheese into your stand mixer. Add in the monk fruit sugar. I like Lakanto, but use whatever sugar alternative you prefer. Mix on medium-high until it’s smooth. The cream cheese must be smooth and no longer clumpy to have a great, light texture. The first time I made this, I skipped this step, and we had chunks of cream cheese in the pudding filling. It still tasted great, but the texture is so important. So mix that cream cheese until it’s smooth and soft, about 3-4 minutes minimum. You can’t over-mix your cream cheese. So mix, baby, mix!
2. Once the cream cheese and sugar mixture is smooth and soft, add in the sour cream. Mix this until it’s well combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula at least once to ensure it’s mixed well.
3. Add in the almond extract and whipping cream last. Mix until soft peaks form, scraping the sides of your bowl just once. You don’t want to overmix the whipping cream. You want the cream to fluff like whipping cream and not get hard or overworked.

Make the Keto and Gluten-Free Berry Sauce

1. Chop strawberries: slice the stem tops off the strawberries. Then cut in half, and then in half again to get the same size pieces.
2. Add half of the strawberries to a bowl.
3. Sprinkle monkfruit sugar on the berries and gently mix with a spoon.
4. Add the juice of one lemon to the mixture and mix. Take a potato masher and gently mash the mixture to create a chunky syrup.
5. Add in the remaining fruit and mix again.

Assemble the Cheesecake Berry Patriotic Parfait

1. Find a cute glass jar. I used small mason jars, which do hold a bit more than a single serving if you’re counting your carbs. You can use small wine glasses, parfait cups, martini glasses; anything that will show off your beautiful creation.
2. Place a small amount (about a tbsp) of berry filling in the bottom.
3. Fill the container almost to the top with the cream cheese / cheesecake filling.
4. Add another tbsp of berry mixture on top.
5. Serve!

A Few Notes / Pro Tips

Following these tips will make the best keto cheesecake dessert that is sure to please your guests!

-If you have time to let this sit in the fridge (about an hour) the flavors in everything will enhance and be so delicious. This recipe does not have to chill, but if you have time to let it chill, do. The almond extract and berries will be more flavorful.

-Be sure and mix the cream cheese well. If it’s not room temp when you start, that’s ok. You will need to let it mix longer. If you’re starting with cold cream cheese, let the block mix in your stand mixer with the sugar longer than the recipe calls for. That will soften it. You can let it run and mix while you chop your strawberries. There is no threat of overmixing these two ingredients.

-Monkfruit sugar naturally takes a bit longer to dissolve than regular refined cane sugar. Adding the monkfruit sugar at the beginning with the cream cheese will get you a smooth mixture. Taste the cream cheese filling for your level of sweetness. If you want it sweeter than I prefer or the recipe calls for, add the sugar at the beginning with the cream cheese so it will have time to dissolve. Adding it at the end will result in a slightly gritty texture (like sugar on cold cereal). This isn’t terrible, but to truly impress your guests, you want this filling very smooth and fluffy.

Monkfruit Sugar

If you haven’t tried Monkfruit sugar yet, I highly encourage you to try it! I’ve tried every sweetener that is keto friendly under the sun and this is the only one that doesn’t leave a strange aftertaste, or give me a headache. It’s natural, which is something I look for based on always watching for natural alternatives to manufactured food. It contains zero calories and is thought to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. There are some studies that suggest that monk fruit extract inhibits cancer cell growth. Having the Chek2 gene mutation, I am all in on natural foods that could potentially inhibit cancer growth! Learn more about my Chek2 mutation here.

Monkfruit sugar is said to have anti-diabetes properties, as it does not raise blood sugar levels. Studies show it may actually reduce blood sugar!

My favorite brand is Lakanto.

Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener – 1:1: This is by far my favorite keto friendly sugar. It has no aftertaste, and tastes the closest to the white, refined sugar we all know. Use the link to order from Amazon. Depending on your area, you could have it next day!

“As the name implies, monk fruit sweetener is derived from the juice of monk fruit. Although more research is needed, it appears to be a safe and healthy sugar alternative. It’s naturally derived, calorie-free, and may even provide health benefits.” – See the whole article at Healthline.

The Recipe

Quick & Easy Cheesecake Parfait Fruit Cups – Keto & Gluten-Free

Recipe by Lisa Marie MasquelierCourse: DessertCuisine: Keto and Gluten FreeDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking timeminutes

Calories

198.4

kcal

Net Carbs

4.5

Looking for a delicious, easy, no-bake, gluten-free, and keto-friendly patriotic red, white, and blue dessert? Look no further! This super easy, keto-friendly berry-filled, cheesecake pudding/parfait dessert recipe with strawberries and blueberries is naturally gluten-free and sure to please any picky eater’s pallet, and it’s ready in 15 minutes!

Ingredients

• Cheesecake Filling

• 8 oz Cream Cheese – Softened

• 1/2 Cup Sour Cream

• 1/3 Cup Monkfruit Sugar

• 1/4 tsp Almond Extract

• 1/4 cup whipping cream (not whipped)

• Topping

• 1 Cup Strawberries – Chopped

• 1/2 Cup Blueberries

• 1 Lemon – Juiced

• 1/4 Cup Monkfruit Sugar

Directions

• Cream Cheese / Cheesecake Filling
• Ensure Cream Cheese is at room temperature
• Place entire block of cream cheese in a stand mixer. Mix until smooth.
• Add in Sour Cream to mixer. Mix until smooth.
• Add in Almond Extract and whipping cream. Mix until stiff peaks form.
• Refrigerate while you make the berry topping.
• Berry Topping
• De-stem and cut the strawberries into equal sized pieces. Place half in in large mixing bowl. Set aside the other half.
• Sprinkle with sugar. Mix well. Squeeze the juice of one lemon and add to the bowl of strawberries. Add the blueberries and mix lightly.
• Take a potato masher and mash the berry mixture slightly to create a slight sauce.
• Add remaining strawberries and mix well.
• Assemble
• Place a small amount of berry mixture in the bottom of a glass jar, or small container.
• Place a large portion of the filling on top.
• Add a large spoonful of berry mixture to the top as decoration.

Recipe Video

Have you made this dessert? Send me a picture or post a comment! I’d love to hear how it went.

Lisa Marie Masquelier

Lisa is a California girl turned Texan who loves both states, while always dreaming of being that girl on the bicycle in Paris with the fresh cut flowers, baguette and a good bottle of wine. Lisa balances being a present mother, a devoted wife and a successful career in publishing, giving her best each day in all regards. She is a cancer survivor and fighter (CHEK2 positive), a healthy food enthusiast, a do-it-yourself believer, a blended family champion, and a beautifier of the world she lives in.

See Lisa’s Story here

It’s Easter season! We’re getting ready to dye eggs for Easter fun. With a family of seven, we end up having A LOT of hard boiled eggs. Also with a family who is picky about what they eat, I had to get creative with ways to utilize all those boiled eggs. 3/4ths of my family hates mustard, pickles and typical deviled eggs. So what to do?

I was making my super easy, famous sausage dip. And the though occurred to me… Egg yolk, sausage, cream cheese, sausage deviled eggs? HECK YES!

So I started experimenting. And this is what I’ve come up with: Family Friendly Deviled Eggs with Sausage.

TIPS FOR HARD BOILED EGGS

Have you ever had envy of those perfect hard boiled eggs? The ones that are perfectly cooked, no gray edges, and just soft enough to not have a chalky yolk? The ones that make the best deviled eggs? Yeah. Me too.

When I started on a gluten-free and keto life, one of the staples to easy mornings is hard boiled eggs. Yet, I was constantly disappointed. They would turn out gray on the edges, or would have a really chalky, dry yolk, the one where you want a gallon of water after eating it. You too? then I would see all these beautiful pictures of avocado toast with a soft-boiled egg, with a slightly runny yolk, no gray and I had boiled egg envy. So I went on the hunt to find the tips and tricks to get the perfect hard boiled egg.

1. Freshness: Make sure your eggs are fresh. If your eggs float, they are bad. Throw them away!
2. Cold Water: Start with cold water in your pan. You want the eggs to cook evenly. Put your eggs in your pot, then cover by at least an inch with cold water.
3. The Right Heat: Turn the heat on med-high, until you get a rolling boil. Then turn it down to medium to continue to barely boil/simmer. You don’t want your eggs rocking around in your pot and have them crack. Gentle. Gentle.
4. Time: Once you turn the heat to medium, turn on your timer. Set it for 5-6 minutes (depending on how soft you want your yolk). After 5-6 minutes, remove from heat, and let sit for 2-3 minutes in the warm water for not runny, but not overcooked eggs. This is the key to not having the gray edges of yolk. Gray means it was overcooked, or cooked too quickly. To check for doneness, take one egg and spin it upright on your counter top. Be careful, it will be hot. If it spins evenly, it’s done. If it wobbles, but spins, it’s probably just right for a soft boiled yolk. If it falls down and won’t spin, it’s not done.
5. Cool Water: Once you have reached the right doneness of your eggs, run them in cold water until they’re cool to the touch.
6. Peel: Roll with some pressure the eggs on the long side along the inside of your sink to break up the yolk. Find a place the will grab the film under the shell, and pull the shell off. If you find the egg whites are breaking up with the peeling process, roll them on your sink or counter to break up the shell, then let them soak in cool water for 10-15 minutes. This usually helps the peeling process.

TOOLS RECOMMENDED

Dessert Decorator/Cake Decorating Tool: I love this one from amazon. I’ve used it for years for all kinds of fun dessert and deviled egg projects. If you don’t want to buy this, you can just use a ziploc, fold it over a large cup, put your filling in, seal it, and cut the corner off. But if you want pretty edges, this is the way to go.

HOW TO MAKE SAUSAGE, KETO, GLUTEN-FREE, FAMILY FRIENDLY DEVILED EGGS

After boiling your eggs and cooking your sausage/cream cheese mixture, cut the eggs and scoop out the perfectly yellow yolk (no gray edges here!). Using your hand mixer or stand mixer, mix on medium until well incorporated.

Using a dessert decorator, or just a medium spoon, get the mixture back into the eggs on a serving plate or platter.

Sprinkle on the smoked paprika, to taste. This adds that little something extra to the eggs that will leave your guests wondering what your “secret trick” to delicious deviled eggs is.

Viola! These are the a popular dish and most frequently asked for recipe. Even your pickiest eaters will love them!

Best Family Friendly Deviled Eggs with Sausage

Recipe by Lisa Marie MasquelierCourse: SnacksCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

10

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Sausage Deviled Eggs; Keto, gluten-free and family friendly

Ingredients

• 8-10 Hard Boiled Eggs

• 3-4 Sausage Patties, cooked and crumbled

• 3 oz cream cheese

• 2 tbsp mayonnaise

• 1/2 tsp mustard powder

• 1/2 tsp onion powder

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

• Pinch of Salt and Pepper

• Smoked Paprika

• 1-2 Chives, chopped to small pieces for garnish

Directions

• Boil the eggs to just a done (5-6 minutes). Do not over cook. See tips for boiling eggs above.
• In a sauté pan, cook sausage until cooked through. Crumble/ break up sausage in pan. Add cream cheese to pan to warm and soften.
• Peel eggs and dry. Cut eggs in half and scoop out the yolk into a mixing bowl
• Add the sausage mixture, mayonnaise, mustard powder, onion powder, garlic powder. Taste. Add salt and pepper as needed.
• Mix ingredients together with a hand mixer until combined.
• Fill the eggs with the yolk mixture. You can use a dessert filler or just a spoon.
• Lightly sprinkle smoked paprika on top along with chopped chives.

I was inspired by Giada’s recipe for Brown Butter Krispies and loved the idea that she browned the butter first, to take the flavor up a notch and give these an elegant twist. Knowing that my family loves chocolate, I swapped out the regular rice crispy cereal for Cacao One Degree Sprouted Brown Rice Crisps to ensure they are gluten-free, and to add the chocolate touch.

Making these takes almost no time at all. And you can make them for any season with a simple cookie cutter for that season. For Valentine’s Day Rice Krispies, I chose to use this heart cookie cutter from Amazon.

*I have included links to the ingredients or products I use or recommend for ease of shopping. A Style for Life is reader-supported. When you buy through links on this site, we may earn an affiliate commission. All opinions are mine, and I try everything extensively before I recommend it. I only link to products I have already loved, used, and trust. Thank you for supporting A Style for Life!

Ann Clark Cookie Cutters 4-Piece Heart Cookie Cutter Set: I spent a long time searching amazon for the right cookie cutter for this job. So many they sell are small and wouldn’t work for a Valentine’s Day Rice Krispies dessert. These were just big enough to work and will work for a lot of other projects as well!

If you would like to see other items I recommend for baking, you can find that post here.

Valentine’s Day? Do you celebrate?

Well… you caught me there! I don’t usually love Valentine’s Day. One year, I was at Target on Valentine’s Day, spending my single night browsing for things I absolutely didn’t need, and witnessed something that made me not love Valentine’s Day; It was the people in the Valentine’s Day aisle, rummaging through the left over bits of chocolate and stuffed bears, finding something obligatory for their significant other. I felt so sad for them. The idea that they feel so obligated to show up with a gift, just to fulfill what feels like a truly commercially driven holiday turned me off to the idea all together.

So what does Love mean? Does it mean a dinner reservation at a fancy restaurant on the 14th of February? Does it mean the last tattered, torn, and dirty teddy bear on the Valentine’s aisle at Target? Or does is mean that we should celebrate those you love?

I choose the latter. And the way I like to show love is through feeding my family well. So, instead of dinner reservations, or elaborate gifts, we have a wonderful dinner at home, and celebrate the fact that we love each other all year long, not just on the 14th of February because marketers tell us we should.

Ok, rant over.

So, if you’re into feeding your loved ones good food that will make them feel special, these Valentine’s Day Chocolate Rice Krispies will do the trick!

Ingredients Needed for Chocolate Valentine’s Rice Krispies:

Rice Cereal. I choose to use the One Degree Organic Sprouted Cacao Rice Cereal. I choose this one because it’s organic, the cacao flavor is very natural, and I know it’s for sure gluten-free. Plus, the carb count isn’t too crazy, although these would not qualify as a true keto option. If you don’t have them at your local store, you can order them on Amazon with the above link or Thrive Market.

Marshmallows. The mini are the easiest to melt. Pick the minis.

Butter: I always opt for grassfed butter, becuase we are what we eat. You can use any butter, but please, no margarine. It’s just not the same… or real.

Vanilla: You can use any vanilla. I like the Watkin’s All Natural Original Gourmet Baking Vanilla. My aunt Janey turned me onto the Watkin’s brand and I love it!

Cinnamon: Again, any cinnamon will do. But if you’re looking for an excellent cinnamon, I do love the Watkin’s brand!

Kosher Salt: Kosher is important because you want your salt to have some texture to it. I would not use iodized salt. Sea salt is a lot stronger, so if you use sea salt, you need to lower the salt amount. Every sweet dessert should have a salty side to balance it.

Directions for Valentine’s Rice Krispie Treats

1. Line a cookie sheet or flat sheet pan with a silicone liner, parchment paper or wax paper. I usually don’t butter or grease the pan or paper, because why add an extra step?

2. Measure the rice cereal into a large bowl so it’s ready to go.

3. Place the butter in a large pot or dutch oven to melt. Once it’s melted, turn the heat down, and let the butter cook just a little longer, until it just starts to brown. You don’t want burnt butter, just slightly more cooked and browned than just melted. Continue to stir with a rubber spatula or plastic spoon so that it doesn’t burn the bottom. This should take about 4 minutes.

4. Reduce the heat to very low. Add the marshmallows, cinnamon, salt and vanilla, and stir until your arm hurts and everything is melted. I always loved the line from I Love Lucy in the episode where Lucy and Ethel decide to churn their own butter and Lucy says “our grandmother’s must have had arms of steel!”. That’s what I think of when stirring the marshmallow mixture. Just when you want to give up and wish you worked out your triceps more, voila! It’s done and melted. You want this mixture smooth.

5. Pour the cereal into the melted marshmallow mixture, and gently fold it all together until everything is combined.

Anyone else a fan of Schitt’s Creek? I can’t say “Fold it in” without thinking of this scene, which made me laugh so hard!

6. I digress. The next step is to pour the hot mixture onto your sheet pan and use a spatula to try and smooth it out and even it out as much as you can.

7. Grab a piece of parchment paper or wax paper and now push and spread from the top down to get the edges even. Use the wax paper or parchment paper to push an edge up and make it as much of a rectangle as possible

8. Let them cool for about 30 minutes to an hour. Try not to snack on the corners in the meantime.
   
   Once cool enough, use your cookie cutter to cut shapes. If the cookie cutter starts to hurt your hand, find something long and strong to use to help you push it down. For example, I grabbed scissors and laid them flat across the heart, and pushed that down when my hand started feeling the indentation of the cookie cutter. Then find a storage container where you can lay them flat and separate with parchment or wax paper, or store them upright (side by side).

And done! I put some on skewers to make a fun centerpiece for a Valentine’s party.

Valentine’s Dessert: Heart Shaped Simple Chocolate Rice Krispies Treats

Recipe by Lisa MarieCourse: Dessert, Gluten-FreeCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Super Easy

Servings

16

servings

Prep timeminutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Total time

20

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter

• 5 cups mini marshmallows (about 1 bag)

• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

• 6 cups cocoa rice cereal

Directions

• Line a cookie sheet or flat sheet pan with a silicone liner, parchment paper or wax paper.
• Measure the rice cereal into a large bowl
• Place the butter in a large pot or dutch oven to melt. Once it’s melted, turn the heat down, and let the butter cook just a little longer, until it just starts to brown. You don’t want burnt butter, just slightly more cooked and browned than just melted. Continue to stir with a rubber spatula or plastic spoon so that it doesn’t burn the bottom. This should take about 4 minutes
• Reduce the heat to very low. Add the marshmallows, cinnamon, salt and vanilla, and stir until your arm hurts and everything is melted.
• Pour the cereal into the melted marshmallow mixture, and gently fold it all together until everything is combined.

Your sweetheart will LOVE you this Valentine’s Day for making them this impressive and easy gluten-free dessert! These gluten-free napoleons with strawberries and chocolate are worthy of serving just your sweetheart, a class party, an office staff, or any other gathering you might have. Using just a heart shaped cookie cutter, and some fruit synonymous with Valentine’s Day, you can create an easy Valentine’s treat in no time!

This recipe can be made low-sugar, if you like that by replacing any regular sugar with it’s monk fruit equivalent.

My original recipe for gluten-free napoleons can be found here.

Tools Suggested for Gluten-Free Napoleons (but not needed)

Ann Clark Heart Shaped Cookie Cutter Set: I spent at least a half an hour looking at all the heart shaped cookie cutter options on amazon, and I landed on these so I could make slightly larger desserts, like puff pastry and rice crispy treats.

Dessert Decorator/Cake Decorating Tool: I love this one from amazon. I’ve used it for years for all kinds of fun dessert and deviled egg projects. If you don’t want to buy this, you can just use a ziploc, fold it over a large cup, put your filling in, seal it, and cut the corner off. But if you want pretty edges, this is the way to go.

Silicone Non-Slip Pastry Mat: I LOVE having a silicone rolling mat. My mom always had a plastic rolling mat. I remember trying to tape the edges down so it wouldn’t slide or the rolling pin wouldn’t get stuck on the corners. Welcome to the 21st century and we now have silicone rolling mats! They’re non-slip, the corners lay down and they have measuring lines so you can be accurate in your cooking. This is a must for any cook’s kitchen. No more taping or putting heavy canisters on the corners! And it will last forever. It’s easy to clean, and self heals with minor cuts.

Silicone Pastry/Basting Brush: I love this one from amazon. I’ve used it for years for all kinds of fun dessert and deviled egg projects. If you don’t want to buy this, you can just use a ziploc, fold it over a large cup, put your filling in, seal it, and cut the corner off. But if you want pretty edges, this is the way to go.

You can find links to other products I recommend for gluten-free and keto baking / cooking here.

Ingredient Recommendations

Schar’s Gluten-Free Puff Pastry: This is the best and the key to gluten-free napoleons. I find this at my local grocery store, Market Street, but a quick search online shows many major grocers carry it (Vons, Safeway, Buehlers, Meijer, etc).

Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips: The best deal I’ve seen on these chocolate chips is at Target. You can probably find them at your local grocery story, but I usually put in a mass order from Target every few months. I use them in all my dessert baking with chocolate!

Valentine’s Napoleons / Cream Puffs (Gluten-Free and Low Sugar!)

Recipe by Lisa Marie MasquelierCourse: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Total time

40

minutes

This simple and impressive gluten free dessert will wow your crowds. Compared to a cream puff, using puff pastry, cream cheese and almond extract. You can use whatever fruit you’d like for the topping.

Ingredients

• Gluten-Free Puff Pastry (I like the Scharr’s brand)

• Cream Filling

• 1 (8 oz) Cream cheese (room temp)

• ¼ cup powdered sugar (Use monkfruit sugar if watching sugar)

• ¼ tsp almond extract

• 1 cup whipping cream, whipped

• 2 tsps brandy (optional)

• Glaze / Topping

• ½ cup powdered sugar (Use monkfruit sugar if watching sugar)

• 1 tablespoon heavy cream2 oz chocolate (I use Enjoy Life chocolate chips when watching sugar.) If not watching sugar, use Baker’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate.

• 2 oz chocolate (I use Enjoy Life chocolate chips when watching sugar.) If not watching sugar, use Baker’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate.

• Strawberry Topping

• 5-6 ripe strawberries, sliced

• Lemon, juice of

• 1 tsp sugar

Directions

• Thaw puff pastry according to directions on package. With gluten-free puff pastry it’s very important to ensure it is thawed completely before unrolling.
• Preheat oven to 400°
• Pastry Preparation
• Unroll puff pastry onto a silicon mat
• Using a cookie cutter, cut desired shape and place on lined cookie sheet
• Lightly poke holes into pastry with a fork
• Bake at 400° for 8-9 minutes, until just golden on the bottoms.
• Filling Preparation
• Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, almond extract, and brandy (optional) in bowl until well combined.
• Whip whipping cream in a separate bowl
• Fold in whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture just until mixed. Do not over-mix.
• Assemble
• Divide your puff pastry shapes in half.
  (I put the flatter ones in the first half and puffier ones in the second half.
• Place the flatter shapes on your platter.
• Spread filling onto each piece. (Use a ziplock bag with the corner cut or a pastry/dessert decorator).
• Place the second half of pastry on top.
• Glaze and Drizzle
• Combine powdered sugar and heavy cream until a loose mixture.
• Combine in a separate bowl, strawberries, sugar and lemon juice and mix lightly.
• Using a basting brush or spoon, spread a thin layer of the glaze on top.
• Place chocolate in microwave safe bowl. Heat in 30 second intervals, mixing in between each session, until completely melted. Do not overheat!
• Using a fork, dip your fork into the chocolate and scoop up just a bit. Lightly wave the fork above the pastry to drizzle the chocolate on top.

Recipe Video

How to make gluten-free puff pastry napoleons:

1. Let the Dough/Puff Pastry Thaw:

This is VERY important because this gluten-free puff pastry dough is a bit less pliable than normal puff pastry. Let it sit on your countertop for a bit, or put it in the microwave on defrost (follow directions on your microwave to defrost on a VERY low setting). The last rolled up bit is the hardest to get to lay flat without cracking, so be patient with this step. PS. If you’re not gluten-free, you can use regular puff pastry here. But… why would you add that yucky gluten to your diet if you don’t have to?

2. Cut the Puff Pastry into Desired Shape and Poke Holes:

Using a cookie cutter, or a barely sharp knife, cut your dough into your desired shape. I have found that circles are the best for aesthetics, but you do lose quite a bit of puff pastry in the process. I’ve made rectangles, stars, Christmas trees, candy canes. This is your preference here. Make the right look for your occasion.
We learned this the hard way. When my mom and I first found this recipe way back in the 90s, we used to make the entire sheet of puff pastry, cut into thirds, and then try and cut after the filling and everything was assembled. It just ended up squishing all the filling out. So we decided to try and cut the pieces first, and it was the best napoleon decision we ever made.

After you’ve placed your puff pastry onto your cookie sheet, lightly and generously poke holes into the pastry with a fork. This allows the steam from the butter to escape and the pastry to rise.

3. Bake the Pastry:

I use a cooking mat on a cookie sheet to bake these so they don’t stick. Or, the Schar’s gluten-free puff pastry comes with a sheet of parchment paper. Use something so they don’t stick. Bake at 400° for 7-9 minutes until just lightly golden on top (the bottoms will be more cooked)

4. Make the Filling:

Let your cream cheese come to room temp. If you forgot this step earlier on, that’s ok. Just put it in the microwave (not with the foil, of course!) for about 15-20 seconds. You don’t want it scolding, just warm enough to mix.

In your stand-mixer, or with beaters, mix the cream cheese and powdered sugar together. Start with 1/2 of the powdered sugar and on low, so you don’t end up with a cloud of powdered sugar all over you and your kitchen (not that this has ever happened to me). If your powdered sugar is lumpy, you may want to sift it first. This can be a bit messy, and I skip this step if I can, but you definitely don’t want lumps of powdered sugar in your filling. Use your best judgment here.

Once all the powdered sugar is combined, add in the almond extract and brandy. The brandy is optional. I made these for years without it, but this year decided to give it a try, and loved the flavor. But they will be delicious without it if you don’t want the alcohol.

Mix until smooth and combined.

4. Whip the Whipping Cream:

Because I like to know what’s in my food, I make my own whipping cream. It’s so easy, why not? Put about 2/3 – 1 cup of whipping cream (milk) into a cool bowl. I use my stand mixer for this because I’m inpatient and like it to work while I do other things, like clean up. But you can use beaters. Once the cream starts to form peaks, put in about 3 tbsp of powdered sugar. This is truly to your preference. Do you like it sweeter, or less sweet? I like it medium. I don’t want it to taste like milk, but not like candy either. Slowly beat now and do not over beat. It will become butter if you over beat it.

4. Combine the Whipping Cream and Cream Cheese Mixture:

Fold in the whipping cream into the cream cheese mixture using a spatula. Do this gently, as you don’t want the whipping cream to completely deflate. This is what makes it light and fluffy.

5. Separate Your Flat From Your Puffy Puff Pastry Pieces:

Divide the puff-pastry pieces into two even piles. Start with the flattest pieces (these will be your bottoms), and your puffiest pieces (these will be your tops). Make sure your piles are even. If you don’t have an even mix of flat and puffy pieces, just use your best judgment. Aesthetically, these look the best with the puffiest pieces on top, but they taste the same either way. Place your latest pieces on a tray.

6. Fill

Using your dessert tool, or a ziplock bag (if you’ve been following me, you know I oppose the use of single-use plastic if I can avoid it, so I prefer the dessert tool).
If using the dessert tool, select a large mouth opening. Fill the cream cheese mixture into the tool.
If using a ziplock, roll the top edge ziploc over a large mouth jar or glass. You want a few inches of bag that doesn’t have filling on it, or you’ll end up with a mess. Put your filling into the bag. Once you put most of the filling into the bag, take it off the cup or jar, and roll the top down to remove any air. Cut a small amount of one of the corners off to make a hole.

6. Assemble

Place the puffiest pieces on top of the bottoms with the cream cheese mixture.

7. Glaze

Prepare the glaze by mixing powdered sugar and milk in a bowl until smooth. Use a pastry brush to brush the glaze on top of the top piece. It’s ok if some falls down the sides, but you don’t want this too thick. It should be a light layer.

8. Prepare Strawberries

Slice your strawberries into fairly thin slices. Put in a small bowl. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon onto the strawberries. Sprinkle with 1 tsp sugar (more or less depending on how sweet you like them and they already are). If you are watching sugar, use 1/2 tsp monkfruit sugar.

9. Drizzle Chocolate

Place the chocolate in a heat-safe bowl (I prefer glass). Heat in the microwave for about a minute, but stopping every 30 seconds to mix. Do not cook this. You are just melting it. It will look like nothing happened until you actually mix it with a fork. After a minute, it should all melt with mixing. If not, put it in the microwave in 15-second intervals after that so you don’t burn/cook the chocolate. I used Enjoy Life chocolate chips so this would be low sugar, but if you don’t mind sugar, you can use Baker’s Semi-Sweet chocolate squares. The Baker’s chocolate does drizzle better.

Using a fork, and while the chocolate is still warm, dip the fork into the chocolate and then lightly wave over the top of the pastry until the chocolate falls and drizzles in lines. This takes a little practice but don’t worry if you get some blobs. Some people will love a heavier chocolate piece.
See the video above for a demonstration.

10. Serve. Voila!

You can transfer these to another platter, or use the one with the chocolate drizzle. If you won’t be serving for a while, you can chill in the fridge. Be careful, your family may eat them all prior to your event. Yes, I’m speaking from experience here. They look amazing, are light and fluffy, and your guests will go crazy for this gluten-free dessert!

Cream cheese, almond-extract, puff pastry and chocolate come together to make this simple, impressive, gluten-free dessert. Napoleons = delicious.

One of the desserts I have missed so much the past few years is napoleons. After changing my diet to be gluten-free and low sugar, it had been years since I had this impressive dessert served at my holiday table. I used to make these for every occasion because people ooh and ahh when they see this on your table, thinking that you spent hours and are a certified French Chef. Little do they know that this dessert is incredibly easy to make.

Tools Suggested for Gluten-Free Napoleons (but not needed)

Dessert Decorator Plus Cake Decorating Tool:
I love this one from amazon. I’ve used it for years for all kinds of fun dessert and deviled egg projects. If you don’t want to buy this, you can just use a ziploc, fold it over a large cup, put your filling in, seal it, and cut the corner off. But if you want pretty edges, this is the way to go.

Silicone Pastry/Basting Brush: I love this one from amazon. I’ve used it for years for all kinds of fun dessert and deviled egg projects. If you don’t want to buy this, you can just use a ziploc, fold it over a large cup, put your filling in, seal it, and cut the corner off. But if you want pretty edges, this is the way to go.

Silicone Non-Slip Pastry Mat: I LOVE having a silicone rolling mat. My mom always had a plastic rolling mat. I remember trying to tape the edges down so it wouldn’t slide or the rolling pin wouldn’t get stuck on the corners. Welcome to the 21st century and we now have silicone rolling mats! They’re non-slip, the corners lay down and they have measuring lines so you can be accurate in your cooking. This is a must for any cook’s kitchen. No more taping or putting heavy canisters on the corners! And it will last forever. It’s easy to clean, and self heals with minor cuts.

You can find links to other products I recommend for gluten-free and keto baking / cooking here.

Ingredient Recommendations

Schar’s Gluten-Free Puff Pastry: I find this at my local grocery store, Market Street, but a quick search online shows many major grocers carry it (Vons, Safeway, Buehlers, Meijer, etc).

Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips: The best deal I’ve seen on these chocolate chips is at Target. You can probably find them at your local grocery story, but I usually put in a mass order from Target every few months. I use them in all my dessert baking with chocolate!

Gluten-Free Napoleons: Easy and Impressive

Recipe by Lisa Marie MasquelierCourse: Dessert, Gluten-FreeCuisine: French, AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Total time

1

hour 

10

minutes

Ingredients

• Gluten-Free Puff Pastry (I like the Scharr’s brand)

• Cream Filling

• 1 (8 oz) Cream cheese (room temp)

• ¼ cup powdered sugar (Use monkfruit sugar if watching sugar)

• ¼ tsp almond extract

• 1 cup whipping cream, whipped

• 2 tsps brandy (optional)GLAZE/TOPPING

• Glaze / Topping

• ½ cup powdered sugar (Use monkfruit sugar if watching sugar)

• 1 tablespoon heavy cream

• 2 oz chocolate (I use Enjoy Life chocolate chips when watching sugar.) If not watching sugar, use Baker’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate.
  

Directions

• Thaw puff pastry according to directions on package. With gluten-free puff pastry it’s very important to ensure it is thawed completely before unrolling.
• Preheat oven to 400°
• Pastry Preparation
• Unroll puff pastry onto a silicon mat
• Using a cookie cutter, cut desired shape and place on lined cookie sheet
• Lightly poke holes into pastry with a fork
• Bake at 400° for 7-9 minutes until just lightly golden brown
• Filling Preparation
• Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, almond extract, and brandy (optional) in bowl until well combined.
• Whip whipping cream in a separate bowl
• Fold in whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture just until mixed. Do not over-mix.
• Assemble
• Divide your puff pastry shapes in half.
  (I put the flatter ones in the first half and puffier ones in the second half.
• Place the flatter shapes on your platter.
• Spread filling onto each piece. (Use a ziplock bag with the corner cut or a pastry/dessert decorator).
• Place the second half of pastry on top.
• Glaze and Drizzle
• Combine powdered sugar and heavy cream until a loose mixture.
• Using a basting brush or spoon, spread a thin layer of the glaze on top.
• Place chocolate in microwave safe bowl. Heat in 30 second intervals, mixing in between each session, until completely melted. Do not overheat!
• Using a fork, dip your fork into the chocolate and scoop up just a bit. Lightly wave the fork above the pastry to drizzle the chocolate on top.

Recipe Video

How to make gluten-free puff pastry napoleons:

1. Let the Dough/Puff Pastry Thaw:

This is VERY important because this gluten-free puff pastry dough is a bit less pliable than normal puff pastry. Let it sit on your countertop for a bit, or put it in the microwave on defrost (follow directions on your microwave to defrost on a VERY low setting). The last rolled up bit is the hardest to get to lay flat without cracking, so be patient with this step. PS. If you’re not gluten-free, you can use regular puff pastry here. But… why would you add that yucky gluten to your diet if you don’t have to?

2. Cut the Puff Pastry into Desired Shape and Poke Holes:

Using a cookie cutter, or a barely sharp knife, cut your dough into your desired shape. I have found that circles are the best for aesthetics, but you do lose quite a bit of puff pastry in the process. I’ve made rectangles, stars, Christmas trees, candy canes. This is your preference here. Make the right look for your occasion.
We learned this the hard way. When my mom and I first found this recipe way back in the 90s, we used to make the entire sheet of puff pastry, cut into thirds, and then try and cut after the filling and everything was assembled. It just ended up squishing all the filling out. So we decided to try and cut the pieces first, and it was the best napoleon decision we ever made.

After you’ve placed your puff pastry onto your cookie sheet, lightly and generously poke holes into the pastry with a fork. This allows the steam from the butter to escape and the pastry to rise.

3. Bake the Pastry:

I use a cooking mat on a cookie sheet to bake these so they don’t stick. Or, the Schar’s gluten-free puff pastry comes with a sheet of parchment paper. Use something so they don’t stick. Bake at 400° for 7-9 minutes until just lightly golden on top (the bottoms will be more cooked)

4. Make the Filling:

Let your cream cheese come to room temp. If you forgot this step earlier on, that’s ok. Just put it in the microwave (not with the foil, of course!) for about 15-20 seconds. You don’t want it scolding, just warm enough to mix.

In your stand-mixer, or with beaters, mix the cream cheese and powdered sugar together. Start with 1/2 of the powdered sugar and on low, so you don’t end up with a cloud of powdered sugar all over you and your kitchen (not that this has ever happened to me). If your powdered sugar is lumpy, you may want to sift it first. This can be a bit messy, and I skip this step if I can, but you definitely don’t want lumps of powdered sugar in your filling. Use your best judgment here.

Once all the powdered sugar is combined, add in the almond extract and brandy. The brandy is optional. I made these for years without it, but this year decided to give it a try, and loved the flavor. But they will be delicious without it if you don’t want the alcohol.

Mix until smooth and combined.

4. Whip the Whipping Cream:

Because I like to know what’s in my food, I make my own whipping cream. It’s so easy, why not? Put about 2/3 – 1 cup of whipping cream (milk) into a cool bowl. I use my stand mixer for this because I’m inpatient and like it to work while I do other things, like clean up. But you can use beaters. Once the cream starts to form peaks, put in about 3 tbsp of powdered sugar. This is truly to your preference. Do you like it sweeter, or less sweet? I like it medium. I don’t want it to taste like milk, but not like candy either. Slowly beat now and do not over beat. It will become butter if you over beat it.

4. Combine the Whipping Cream and Cream Cheese Mixture:

Fold in the whipping cream into the cream cheese mixture using a spatula. Do this gently, as you don’t want the whipping cream to completely deflate. This is what makes it light and fluffy.

5. Separate Your Flat From Your Puffy Puff Pastry Pieces:

Divide the puff-pastry pieces into two even piles. Start with the flattest pieces (these will be your bottoms), and your puffiest pieces (these will be your tops). Make sure your piles are even. If you don’t have an even mix of flat and puffy pieces, just use your best judgment. Aesthetically, these look the best with the puffiest pieces on top, but they taste the same either way. Place your latest pieces on a tray.

6. Fill

Using your dessert tool, or a ziplock bag (if you’ve been following me, you know I oppose the use of single-use plastic if I can avoid it, so I prefer the dessert tool).
If using the dessert tool, select a large mouth opening. Fill the cream cheese mixture into the tool.
If using a ziplock, roll the top edge ziploc over a large mouth jar or glass. You want a few inches of bag that doesn’t have filling on it, or you’ll end up with a mess. Put your filling into the bag. Once you put most of the filling into the bag, take it off the cup or jar, and roll the top down to remove any air. Cut a small amount of one of the corners off to make a hole.

6. Assemble

Place the puffiest pieces on top of the bottoms with the cream cheese mixture.

7. Glaze

Prepare the glaze by mixing powdered sugar and milk in a bowl until smooth. Use a pastry brush to brush the glaze on top of the top piece. It’s ok if some falls down the sides, but you don’t want this too thick. It should be a light layer.

8. Drizzle Chocolate

Place the chocolate in a heat-safe bowl (I prefer glass). Heat in the microwave for about a minute, but stopping every 30 seconds to mix. Do not cook this. You are just melting it. It will look like nothing happened until you actually mix it with a fork. After a minute, it should all melt with mixing. If not, put it in the microwave in 15-second intervals after that so you don’t burn/cook the chocolate. I used Enjoy Life chocolate chips so this would be low sugar, but if you don’t mind sugar, you can use Baker’s Semi-Sweet chocolate squares. The Baker’s chocolate does drizzle better.

Using a fork, and while the chocolate is still warm, dip the fork into the chocolate and then lightly wave over the top of the pastry until the chocolate falls and drizzles in lines. This takes a little practice but don’t worry if you get some blobs. Some people will love a heavier chocolate piece.
See the video above for a demonstration.

9. Serve. Voila!

You can transfer these to another platter, or use the one with the chocolate drizzle. If you won’t be serving for a while, you can chill in the fridge. Be careful, your family may eat them all prior to your event. Yes, I’m speaking from experience here. They look amazing, are light and fluffy, and your guests will go crazy for them!

They won’t believe they’re eating a delicious bagel, breakfast treat, that is low in sugar and gluten-free!

My idea for these bagels came from a recipe that I found on Pinterest for Keto Everything Bagels. Thank you to Valerie at Cocos Paleo Kitchen for the inspiration!

Seeing that they were naturally gluten-free based on the ingredients (main ingredients are almond flour, coconut flour, shredded mozzarella and cream cheese), I decided to adjust the recipe so that it included my favorite ingredients, Nutritional Yeast (also known as hippie fairy dust), Psyllium Husk (to add some fiber to fight off the added sugar), to make a sweet version that would replace the cinnamon raisin bagels full of gluten that my kids love to eat.

Nutritional Yeast – What is it?

Even though I’m not vegan, I learned about nutritional yeast by watching the show “Raw, Vegan, Not Gross”. If you haven’t watched this, and are considering a vegan lifestyle, I highly encourage you to watch this show. I found it on Hulu, watched the first season and almost became vegan because of it.

The host, Laura, talks a lot about nutritional yeast, and refers to it as hippie fairy dust. I was intrigued. One of the things I miss most in gluten-free cooking was the taste of yeast. I was always the one who would fill up on the dough of any pre-baked item, to the point of making myself sick (Now I know why!) because I LOVE the taste of yeast. Beer, Bread, Yum.

So I had to discover what it was. I headed to Amazon, and placed an order for nutritional yeast. Here is what I ordered:

I like this brand because it’s gluten-free, I like Trader Joe’s, and it was one of the less expensive options. Don’t worry, a little goes a LONG way, and you will find this in a lot of my gluten-free baking recipes!

When the bag of nutritional yeast got here, I creepily smelled it for a while, inhaling that smell of bread and beer I had been missing for so long. Shhh… Don’t tell anyone. They might think I’m weird. LOL

This has changed my gluten-free baking world. I add this to almost every recipe I want to have a bit more of that bread taste. It’s truly a miracle for gluten-free and keto baking.

So what is it, exactly?

Nutritional yeast is a species of yeast known as Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It is the same type of yeast that’s used to bake bread and brew beer, which is what makes it so yummy! The yeast element does not contain gluten, the wheat or hops do. Some people say it tastes like cheese. I haven’t necessarily found this to be true for me, but I could see how someone would think it.

Nutritional Yeast gets its name from the protein, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants it contains. Studies have shown that it has a wide range of potential health benefits, from lowering cholesterol to fighting off free radicals that show up through our foods. A few things to know:

• It is a complete protein: meaning that it contains all nine amino acids
• It contains trace minerals: our bodies need trace minerals! Yes, only very small amounts, but those small amounts go a long way for our health and keeping everything in our body working optimally
• It contains B Vitamins: (which most of us are deficient in these days). For vegans, it’s vital to get enough B vitamins through food, so that is why vegans love nutritional yeast. One study showed that out of 49 vegans consuming 1 tbsp of nutritional yeast per day, daily b12 levels were restored! Now that’s magic!
• It contains antioxidants: antioxidants fight free-radicals in our bodies, which can eventually damage our cells and DNA. (I always envision little soldiers running through my bloodstream)
• It may boost immunity: in today’s world, you know we can definitely use some extra immunity boosters.

How to Make Bagels at Home

When I originally saw these bagel recipes floating around the internet, I was overwhelmed thinking of taking on what felt like such a heavy task. I was so surprised after the first time I made them. It was SO easy! The prep only takes about 10-15 minutes. Then off to the oven to bake.

Recommended Tools for Making Keto and Gluten-Free Bagels at Home

Donut or Bagel Pan:

If you don’t have a donut or bagel pan, that’s ok. You can just use a sheet pan. But, If you do have a bagel or donut pan, it’s so much easier!

They’re very affordable on Amazon. Here is the one I ordered:

Large Silicone Donut Pan

Silicone Rolling Mat (optional)

I LOVE having a silicone rolling mat. My mom always had a plastic rolling mat when I was growing up and she was baking that stuck up on the corners. I remember trying to tape the edges down so it wouldn’t slide or the rolling pin wouldn’t get stuck on the corners.

Welcome to the 21st century and we now have silicone rolling mats! They’re non-slip, the corners lay down and they have measuring lines so you can be accurate in your cooking. This is a must for any cook’s kitchen.No more taping or putting heavy canisters on the corners! And it will last forever. It’s easy to clean, and self heals with minor cuts.

Now You’re Ready to Make
Gluten-Free and Keto Bagels!

Get those eggs to room temperature fast!

First thing to do is to put your eggs in warm/ hot water to bring them to room temp quickly. I am so glad I figured out this hack, not only for cooking these gluten-free bagels, but also for any baking! Having cold eggs can affect the results of your recipe. The cold egg cools down all those fats we worked so hard to get warm or room temp. This step is a winner every time.

Combine the shredded cheese, cream cheese, almond flour, coconut flour, nutritional yeast, psyllium husk, Baking powder, cinnamon, and sugars in a microwave-safe bowl. Yes. You’re combining EVERYTHING except for the raisins, eggs, and heavy cream. Heating up the flours helps with the mining process. I’ve seen a lot of recipes that want you to just heat the cheeses, but I found that by the time I added the flours, they were cooled down, making it harder to add them. So why not do it all at once?

I highly recommend using a stand-mixer to mix these ingredients. The cheeses and flours can get a bit tough to mix. If you don’t have a stand-mixer, the next best thing is a beater with the dough hook. If you don’t have that, then use regular beaters. I’ve done all three methods, and they all work, but the easiest is the stand-mixer with the paddle attachment.

Crack your eggs into a bowl to check for freshness and make sure you don’t have eggshell in your eggs. (I used to skip this step until one time I tried cracking an egg right over my stand mixer, and half the shell fell in, the mixer broke it up, and unless I wanted strangely crunchy cookies, I had to throw it all out and start over.) So, crack your eggs in a bowl first! It also makes it easier to pour into the mixer. I actually prefer using a small pyrex glass pouring cup for this as it’s even better to pour into the mixer.

Drop your eggs into the mixer one-at-a-time! Even if they’re in a bowl, you can still do this. Just pour out one yolk at a time, and the white will go with it. This will prevent the mixture from breaking. Once the first is combined well, then it’s time to put in the next. Then add the heavy cream.

Once that is all mixed and together, pour in the raisins and either fold in or beat on very low until mixed together. You don’t want to break up the raisins beating this on high speed!

Roll, baby, roll! It’s time to roll out your keto and gluten-free bagels!

Now it’s time to roll them out! Don’t worry, this is SO easy. This part intimidated me the most the first time I made them, but it’s actually kinda fun and therapeutic. It takes almost no elbow grease, so don’t stress about it.

Take a large spoon or ice cream scoop, and scoop about 3-4 tablespoons out at a time. Sprinkle a little coconut flour on your rolling mat so it doesn’t stick. I like to use coconut flour here because it’s a lighter texture than almond flour.

Roll them until they’re about 7 inches long. Then simply place them in a circular shape in the large donut or bagel pan. Pinch together slightly the ends so that they come together in cooking.

I like to sprinkle a little extra golden monk fruit sugar on top for that added crunch. Try to brush any extra sugar off the pan if you can, to avoid it cooking alone in the oven.

Place in the preheated oven and bake for 12-14 minutes, until just golden brown. Remember, these flours brown very quickly, so do not over cook. Voila! Serve with cream cheese. I don’t typically cut them in half, just eat it like a donut. Enjoy!

Gluten-Free and Keto-Friendly Cinnamon Raisin Bagels

Recipe by Lisa Marie MasquelierDifficulty: Easy

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

12

minutes

Carbs

5.3 Net Carbs

Your family and friends won’t believe these are gluten-free and keto!

Ingredients

• 3 cups Shredded Mozzarella

• 2 oz Cream Cheese

• 1 1/4 cup Almond Flour

• 1/4 cup Coconut Flour

• 4 tsp Monkfruit Sugar

• 2 tsp Golden Monkfruit Sugar

• 1 tsp Psyllium Husk

• 2 tsp Baking Powder

• 1 tsp Cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 2 eggs

• 1 tsp heavy cream

• 1/4 cup Raisins

Directions

• Prepare
• Preheat oven to 425
• Bring the eggs to room temperature by placing in a cup of hot water (just hot from the tap) while you put all the other ingredients together.
• Combine the shredded cheese, cream cheese, almond flour, coconut flour, nutritional yeast, psyllium husk, Baking powder, cinnamon and sugars in a microwave safe bowl.
• Mix
• Place bowl with cheeses in microwave for about a minute. Stir to combine. If everything isn’t melted, put back in microwave in 30 second increments (stirring in between each 30 seconds) until everything is melted and mixing together.
• Mix with your mixer to combine. I prefer a stand mixer, but this can be done with a hand mixer as well, or really really strong arms.
• Add the eggs, one at a time. Mix until everything looks combined, but not over-mixed. Over mixing the dough will create tough, hard bagels that your family will use as paperweights instead.
• Add the raisins and heavy cream at the end and mix just until combined.
• Create
• Place a silicon mat, parchment paper, or a large cutting board on your counter top.
• Place about 1 tbsp coconut flour on the mat as a reservoir to use while rolling the dough to keep the dough from sticking
• Scoop about 3 tbsp of dough (one large ice cream scoop) onto your surface
• Dust with a little bit of coconut flour
• Roll until about 3 inches long
• Form a bagel shape and place into a silicon bagel mat, or shape and place on a cookie sheet
• Once all are done, bake for 12-14 minutes until just golden on top.

Recipe Video

I would be remiss to begin this blog with anything other than the Masquelier- home, famous gluten-free and keto-friendly brownie recipe.

Does anything bring family or teenagers to the kitchen quicker than the smell of brownies cooking in the oven?

When I started my gluten-free and keto journey, one of the things I missed the most is the taste of sweets, and particularly fudge. I was discouraged with the gluten-free options that were out there and thought that I would never enjoy my favorite dessert again. Until… I discovered a recipe for 5 ingredient flourless brownies from The Baker Momma here, and thought “I can make these Keto friendly! They’re already gluten-free by the ingredients”.

So I set off to experiment with my keto sugars and chocolate chips until I came up with this version of the recipe.

I’ve served these to friends and family and nobody knows that they’re not the typical high-sugar, gluten-filled brownies. I’ve been asked for the recipe so many times, it seemed like a natural start to my blog.

My 17- year old has taken them to school in his lunch, and a friend of his said “WOW, this is the best brownie I’ve ever tasted”. He was so proud to be able to tell him that his mom made them gluten-free and they were low in sugar!

The Ingredients

*I have included links to order the ingredients for ease of shopping. A Style for Life is reader-supported. When you buy through links on this site, we may earn an affiliate commission. All opinions are mine, and I only link to products I have already loved, used, and trust.

1. Butter.
   I use Kerrygold butter sticks, because I love the taste of REAL butter. I also love that this butter is grass-fed, and has two ingredients: Pasteurized cream and salt. That’s it! If you like another butter, that’s fine. Just please don’t use margarine. Just don’t.
2. Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips.
   This is what makes these Keto-friendly. If you’re not going for the lower glycemic index option, you can use regular chocolate chips. But, no one will know a difference with these cholate chips and you’ll be doing everyone a favor by not giving them traditional sugar!
   Order from Amazon here: Enjoy LIfe Chocolate Chips.
   Just don’t order them when it’s hot out, as they might melt!
3. Monkfruit Sugar:
   I love Lakanto brand classic white for this recipe. This is the best sugar-replacement, in my opinion. It tastes almost identical to the sugar we all grew up on, yet it contains zero net carbs, zero calories, and is zero-glycemic. This brand doesn’t add in any chemicals or yucky stuff that makes you worry about what you’re feeding your family. I use monkfruit sugar all the time now. I would never go back to regular, processed, white refined sugar.
   Order from Amazon here: Lakanto Monkfruit Classis White Sugar.
4. Eggs:
   I always choose cage-free organic eggs. Because we are what we eat. Which means the chickens also are what they eat, and I want to feed my family the best options.
5. Watkins Vanilla Extract:
   My aunt Janey turned me on to the Watkin’s brand a few years ago. I had never tried this brand, but when we went to visit her in her little town just outside of Pittsburgh, she packed us up with some of her favorite Watkin’s products, and I fell in love with this vanilla. The taste is excellent. I love that they don’t include any artificial colors, is non-gmo, gluten-free, corn-syrup free, kosher and crafted in the USA. Plus, it lasts a long time.
   Order from Amazon here: Watkins Original Gourmet Baking Vanilla with Pure Vanilla Extract
6. Cocoa Powder:
   Did you know that cocoa powder is naturally gluten-free and contains no-sugar? This means that it is naturally low carb and keto-friendly! I have always used and love Hershey’s cocoa powder. There is something so familiar about that brown canister. But you can really use whichever brand you prefer. Just make sure if you use an off-brand, to ensure it is gluten-free.
   Order from Amazon here: Hershey’s Natural Unsweetened Cocoa
7. Smoked Sea-Salt:
   This is the ingredient that puts these brownies over the top. If you like that sweet and savory mixture, then don’t skip this step! You can use regular sea salt here if you’d like, just make sure it’s flaky as you don’t want to serve up a pile of salt on top. The flakiness of the smoked sea salt adds that certain je ne sais quoi to this delicious dessert. I have yet to find this smoked sea-salt at the store, but you can order on Amazon! One box will last you a very long time.
   Order from Amazon here: Maldon Salt, Smoked Sea Salt Flakes

A few tips and tricks for these Keto Brownies

Monkfruit Sugar:

Monkfruit sugar overall takes a bit longer to dissolve than regular sugar. Because of this, you want to mix it a bit longer than you would when you cream regular sugar and butter together. You’ll remember from all of your baking lessons, you want to cream your butter and sugar together until it’s fluffy. In this recipe, the butter, sugar and chocolate mixture won’t get “fluffy”, but it will start to take form. If using a stand-mixer, it’s easy. Just turn it on and let it run while you prepare everything else. I let mine run for about 5-8 minutes.

Room Temp Eggs – Why and How

The impatient part of me despises when a recipe calls for room temp ingredients. I almost never prepare enough in advance to truly bring things like butter, cream cheese, or eggs to room temp. When I have a chocolate craving, I have a chocolate craving and want to eat/lick that batter NOW! For eggs, it’s easy. Place your eggs in a bowl or cup of hot (not boiling) water and let them sit. They will come to room temp in no-time!

Room temp is important in baking because cold eggs mix differently than warm eggs. Room temp eggs are less viscous or sticky than cold eggs, which means they mix more evenly and distribute better. Also, having cold eggs changes the melted fats in a recipe, making them harden again. We did all that work to melt the chocolate, and we want to keep it that way until it goes into the oven. Having cold eggs also affects the baking time of the recipe, as your overall ingredients are colder when starting.

Don’t skip this step! Especially with how easy it is to bring them to room temp. If you skip this step, you might be disappointed.

Smoked-Sea Salt. Yes, it’s perfect for these Keto Brownies.

As mentioned, the smoked sea-salt is that ingredient that will make these gluten-free and keto brownies hit on all notes: sweet AND savory. YUM. It’s important to remember to add this step at the end, after they’ve cooked, but while it’s still hot. Just like when you’re frying food, you want to add the salt while the food is hot so it sticks and melts a little into the food. If you add the salt when it’s cold, it will just fall off and won’t meld with the brownies. Immediately after taking out the brownies, add the salt. Just sprinkle lightly, based on how much you want. I use my fingers and keep my hand a good foot or two above the pan and sprinkle so they don’t end up all in one place. The link to find the smoked sea salt is above!

To Add Extra Chocolate or Not?

The nutritional facts on this post don’t account for the extra chocolate chunks added at the end. That’s because this is optional and completely up to you. If you are very strict on your keto-macros and want to know exactly how many carbs are in this recipe, measure this step.
If you add an extra half-cup, and you’re using the Enjoy Life chocolate chips, you will add about 4 carbs to each piece. Up to you!

That’s it!

You’re now ready to wow your guests of all ages with brownies that are gluten-free and keto-friendly!

Keto & Gluten-Free
7 Ingredient Brownies

Recipe by Lisa Marie MasquelierCourse: Gluten-Free, Keto, DessertCuisine: DessertDifficulty: Easy

Servings

36

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

25

minutes

At only 2.9 net carbs, this is a luscious treat that will make you feel like you’re cheating. Your guests will have no idea they’re gluten-free and keto-friendly! I cut these 6×6 to keep the carb count down. If you cut them bigger, the carb count will be higher!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup or 1 stick butter

• 1 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips (chunks or chips)

• 1/2 cup monkfruit sugar (or other keto friendly sugar)

• 3 eggs

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)

• 1 tsp Smoked Sea Salt

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Place sheet of parchment paper in the bottom of 9×9 pan. If you don’t have parchment paper, use butter or cooking spray to prepare the pan.
• Place butter and chocolate chips in a large microwaveable bowl. Cook for 30 seconds – 1 minute until melted. Do not overcook the mixture. Cook only until the mixture is smooth when stirred.
• Mix the chocolate and sugar mixture until smooth. Add in monkfruit sugar. Mix for 5-6 minutes (monkfruit sugar takes longer to dissolve than regular sugar). During mixing time, place three large eggs in warm/hot water to bring to room temperature.
• Add vanilla.
• Add eggs one at a time, waiting for each egg to mix thoroughly before adding the next. If you want more fudge-like brownies, do not overtax the eggs. If you want a more cake-like brownie, mix the eggs an extra minute or two.
• Stop the mixer. Add in cocoa powder. Mix just until combined thoroughly.
• Pour into a prepared pan. Bake for 24-25 minutes, until edges are firm and the middle is setting up. If you want fudge-like brownies, remove them while the middle is still somewhat soft, not runny. If you want more cake-like brownies, cook for 26-27 minutes.
• Immediately sprinkle on smoked sea salt once removed from oven and still very hot.
• The longer these sit, the more they set up. Wait at least 15 minutes before cutting. For fudge-like brownies, wait about an hour before cutting the entire pan. Monkfruit sugar takes longer to cool and set than regular sugar.