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Gluten-Free S’mores Bars

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a s'mores bar being pulled apart.

These s’mores bars are something else! A buttery graham cracker base followed by a lush layer of chocolate is topped off with toasty marshmallows. These s’mores bars will blow you away with how delicious and addictive they are – all while gluten-free!

gluten-free s'mores bars stacked on top of each other.

What You Need To Make S’mores Bars

Oat Flour – You can either purchase oat flour from the store or easily make it yourself at home. To make oat flour, start by adding 1 and 1/2 cups of rolled oats to a blender or food processor. Then, blend the oats for a few seconds or until ground into a powder. Once ground, you now have oat flour to use in this gluten-free recipe!

Chocolate Chips – Any chocolate chips or even a chopped chocolate bar will work in these s’mores bars. I used the Enjoy Life Mini Chips since they are vegan and nut-free, though you can use any vegan chocolate you’d like. And if you’re not vegan, feel free to use whatever chocolate you have on-hand! (P.S. you should always have chocolate on-hand.)

Marshmallows – I prefer mini marshmallows for simply how cute and satisfying they look all lined up on top of these s’mores bars. However, the standard size marshmallows will work just fine. The key to perfectly toasty and golden brown marshmallows is sticking them under the broiler for about 1 minute. It’s super important you keep an eye on the bars during this final trip in the oven, as the broiler has a tendency to burn things in literal seconds. Therefore, watch your vegan marshmallow-y treats and pull them out once they’ve achieved your desired level of toasty-ness!

close-up overhead image of s'mores bars.

Adjust This Recipe To Your Diet

Don’t Have Oat Flour? If you don’t have oats and/or oat flour, you can replace it with an equal amount of either brown rice flour or all purpose flour in this recipe.

Add Dairy: Use regular melted butter in place of the vegan butter in this recipe.

s'mores bars on a baking sheet with graham crackers on the side.

Tips For Making S’mores Bars

  • Be sure to leave the bars to cool on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes after you take them out of the oven! These s’mores bars are surprisingly delicate, so leaving them to cool will ensure they stick together when handled.
  • Use a greased knife to quickly and easily slice the bars. To do this, take a sharp knife and either spray it with spray cooking oil or drizzle it with some coconut oil. Once greased, cut into the bars and wipe down the knife between each slice!
  • I highly recommend storing this vegan and gluten-free dessert in the fridge or freezer during the summer months. Due to the butter and chocolate, they are at risk of melting if left to sit out in too high of a temperate. Therefore, to avoid that risk, it’s best to just keep these babies in the fridge to enjoy them at your leisure!
S'mores Bars (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
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S’mores Bars (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

5 from 1 vote
Recipe by Samantha Russo Course: DessertDifficulty: Easy
Servings

12

bars
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

20

minutes
Total time

30

minutes

These s’mores bars are something else! A buttery graham cracker base followed by a lush layer of chocolate is topped off with toasty marshmallows. These s’mores bars will blow you away with how delicious and addictive they are – all while being vegan and gluten-free!

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups oat flour, see Notes

  • 1/4 cup tapioca flour, or corn starch

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/4 cup maple syrup

  • 2 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted (I used vegan butter)

  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 1 cup chocolate chips

  • 2 cups marshmallows

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
  • Mix together the oat flour, tapioca flour, and baking soda in a bowl.
  • Add in the maple syrup, melted vegan butter, and vanilla extract, mix everything to combine.
  • Transfer to a lined 9×9 baking sheet, press into an even layer, then bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Remove from the oven and sprinkle evenly with chocolate chips, then place back into the oven for 1 minute or until chocolate has melted.
  • Remove from the oven once more, spread the chocolate into an even layer, then top with marshmallows. Place in the oven on broil for 1 minute (watch closely to make sure it doesn’t burn!) or until marshmallows are lightly toasted.
  • Let cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes before slicing.

Recipe Video

Notes

  • Oat Flour: You can easily make your own oat flour by blending rolled oats in a blender until a powder forms and no large oat chunks remain!

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More Delicious Vegan and Gluten-Free Desserts

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Breakfast

Almond Flour Banana Bread

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sliced almond flour banana bread with chocolate chips

Super healthy and delicious almond flour banana bread! Made with whole, good-for-you ingredients, perfectly sweet, and totally irresistible. Toast up a slice of this grain-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free banana bread as a comforting, yet nutritious breakfast, snack, or dessert.

overhead image of almond flour banana bread

What You’ll Need To Make Almond Flour Banana Bread

Almond Flour – The one and only flour we use in this grain-free recipe is almond flour. Almond flour is a favorite among low-carb, gluten-free, and paleo recipes. It yields little-to-no flavor and, when done right, bakes up beautifully soft and tender. If you don’t already have a bag of almond flour in your pantry, I highly recommend you go pick some up. I’ve tried pretty much every brand of almond flour out there, and my favorite so far is this Anthony’s Almond Flour. Though whichever brand of almond flour you decide to use in this recipe, make sure it’s blanched almond flour, and not almond meal.

Coconut Sugar – A quarter cup of coconut sugar is all you’ll need to sweeten up this healthy dessert recipe! The bananas yield some natural sweetness of their own, and a touch of coconut sugar helps bring that out. If you don’t have coconut sugar, you can use brown sugar in its place.

Bananas – About two very ripe bananas should do the trick here! Or, however many mashed bananas you need to equal one cup. And while I feel like this goes without saying, make sure your bananas are super ripe for this recipe. You can tell a banana is ripe when it’s beginning to form large brown spots all around the outside peel.

Chocolate Chips – While optional, chocolate chips make this almond flour banana bread extra indulgent and delicious! If you don’t have chocolate chips, you can easily use one cup of chopped chocolate instead. I recommend semi-sweet chocolate or dark chocolate for this recipe. And if you’re looking to keep your entire loaf paleo, use your favorite paleo chocolate chips, such as these Hu Kitchen Chocolate Gems.

almond flour banana bread sliced

Tips and Tricks

  • Instead of greasing your loaf pan, line it with parchment paper. Also, cut your parchment paper larger than the loaf pan, leaving its edges sticking out from the sides of your banana bread. This’ll make it easier to lift and remove your bread from its baking pan!
  • Leave the almond flour banana bread to cool completely (about an hour) before slicing. Then, once cool, I recommend slicing the bread all at once, before storing. Lastly, store the slices in an airtight container at either room temperature for 3 days, in the fridge for 7 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months!
  • For the ultimate slice of banana bread that’ll leave your tastebuds singing, toast it before eating! Then, once toasted, top that baby off with some vegan butter, ghee, peanut butter, and/or almond butter. Let me tell ya, toasted almond flour banana bread makes for the perfect afternoon snack or nightcap.
the inside of almond flour banana bread

Adjust This Recipe To Your Dietary Needs

Make it Vegan: For a vegan grain-free banana bread, try replacing the eggs with three flax eggs. One flax egg equals one tablespoon of ground flax seed meal mixed into three tablespoons of water. While I haven’t tried this vegan option myself yet, I’m sure it’d work just fine!

Make it Added Sugar-Free: Because the bananas are so naturally sweet, you can totally leave the coconut sugar out of this healthier dessert recipe.

Almond Flour Banana Bread

5 from 1 vote
Recipe by Samantha Course: Snacks, Breakfast, DessertDifficulty: Easy
Servings

10

slices
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

40

minutes
Total time

50

minutes

Super healthy and delicious almond flour banana bread! Made with whole, good-for-you ingredients, perfectly sweet, and totally irresistible. Toast up a slice of this grain-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free banana bread as a comforting, yet nutritious breakfast, snack, or dessert.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups almond flour

  • 1/4 cup coconut sugar

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

  • 1 cup mashed banana (about 2 very ripe bananas)

  • 3 eggs

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 1 cup chocolate chips, optional

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit and line a 9×5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
  • Whisk together the almond flour, coconut sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
  • Add in the melted coconut oil, mashed banana, eggs, and vanilla extract – mix until fully combined. Fold in chocolate chips if using, until evenly dispersed throughout batter.
  • Transfer batter to prepared loaf pan and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted down the center of the bread comes out clean. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire cooling rack, cool bread completely (about 1 hour) before slicing.

Recipe Video

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30 Minutes or Less

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Brittle

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stack of gluten-free chocolate chip cookie brittle

Extra crunchy, perfectly sweet gluten-free chocolate chip cookie brittle! Made with almond flour and sweetened with coconut sugar for a healthier treat. This paleo dessert recipe requires just one bowl and 30 minutes to make!

gluten-free chocolate chip cookie brittle in a bowl with milk on the side

What You’ll Need To Make Gluten-Free Cookie Brittle

Oil – Any neutral tasting oil will work in this recipe. I’ve made this recipe with both avocado oil and melted refined coconut oil. Avocado oil yields no flavor, while coconut oil yields a slight coconut flavor. Though both baked up perfectly crispy, so use whatever you’d like.

Egg Whites – By leaving out the egg yolks, we get an even crispier cookie brittle. For help figuring out how to separate egg whites from the yolk, I recommend following this tutorial. And don’t throw out your egg yolks! They’re deeply nutritious, so save them for your morning scramble.

Almond Flour – Almond flour works flawlessly in our cookie brittle batter. Also, in using almond flour in place of any other flour, we keep this dessert recipe grain-free and paleo-friendly.

Chocolate Chips – For a gluten-free chocolate chip cookie brittle, you’re gonna need plenty of chocolate chips. However, you can totally replace the chocolate chips in this recipe with anything you’d like. I’ve made a birthday cake cookie brittle using this recipe, by swapping out the chocolate chips for one cup of rainbow sprinkles – so fun and delicious!

gluten-free chocolate chip cookie brittle stacked

Tips and Tricks

  • After 10 minutes of baking, you’ll want to remove your brittle from the oven to gently slice it. For easy slicing, I recommend using a pizza cutter and rolling it through the brittle in all different directions! Though if you don’t have a pizza cutter, use a sharp knife instead.
  • You must let this gluten-free chocolate chip cookie brittle cool completely before eating! If not, it won’t get nearly as crispy. Therefore, transfer your brittle pieces to a wire cooling rack for at least 30 minutes before eating, serving, and/or storing.
  • While not necessary, I recommend storing leftover brittle in an airtight container in your fridge! This will ensure the pieces stay crispy, and the chocolate doesn’t melt.

Adjust This Recipe To Your Dietary Needs

Make it Vegan: While I haven’t tried this variation myself yet, you might be able to get away with substituting the egg whites for two flax eggs. To make one flax egg, combine one tablespoon of ground flax meal with three tablespoons of water, whisk together then let it sit for 10 minutes, until the mixture thickens. Once thick, add in the flax eggs just as you would the egg whites. If you take this option, please let me know how it turns out!

Make it Paleo: Surprise! This dessert recipe is already paleo. Though to ensure it remains paleo, use your favorite refined sugar-free chocolate chips.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Brittle

0 from 0 votes
Recipe by Samantha Course: DessertDifficulty: Easy
Servings

8

servings
Prep time

5

minutes
Cooking time

20

minutes
Total time

25

minutes

Extra crunchy, perfectly sweet gluten-free chocolate chip cookie brittle! Made with almond flour and sweetened with coconut sugar for a healthier treat. This paleo dessert recipe requires just one bowl and 30 minutes to make!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar

  • 1/2 cup neutral tasting oil, see Notes

  • 2 egg whites

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 3/4 cup almond flour

  • 1/2 cup tapioca flour

  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit and line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  • Mix together the coconut sugar and oil in a large bowl. Add in the egg whites and vanilla extract, mix until combined.
  • Add almond flour, tapioca flour, and baking soda to the bowl and continue to mix until a dough forms. Fold in chocolate chips until evenly dispersed throughout dough.
  • Transfer cookie brittle dough to prepared cookie sheet and flatten into an even, thin layer (about ¼-inch thick).
  • Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from oven and slice into brittle pieces before putting it back into the oven for an additional 10-12 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and transfer to a wire cooling rack to let cool completely before breaking into pieces.

Recipe Video

Notes

  • Neutral Tasting Oil: Refined coconut oil, avocado oil, or olive oil will all work!

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30 Minutes or Less

Almond Flour Hummingbird Cupcakes (Pineapple Coconut Cupcakes)

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close-up image of an almond flour hummingbird cupcake

These hummingbird cupcakes are the perfect spring-time sweet treat! They’re grain-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free, topped off with a delicious cream cheese frosting.

almond flour hummingbird cupcakes on a baking sheet with almond milk on the side.

It’s funny because I’m literally eating a hummingbird cupcake (and getting cream cheese frosting all over my keyboard) as I write this. I’m full-on addicted to the babies. They’re sweet, but not too sweet. Incredibly versatile – enjoy them as a snack, dessert, or heck you can even eat them for breakfast!

The first time I ever ate a hummingbird-anything was at this cute little muffin place by my parents house. My mom got me to try one of their hummingbird muffins and I’ve been hooked ever since. I then discovered hummingbird cake and was like – woahhhh, I didn’t know life could get EVEN better! And in case you’re like, Sam WTF is a hummingbird cupcake?! It’s similar to carrot cake, but has crushed pineapple and shredded coconut instead of carrots. It also features a cream cheese frosting, just like carrot cake. If you’re looking for a muffin instead of a cupcake, simply make these without the cream cheese frosting. My suggestion here is – take a plain cupcake, top it with a little crunchy almond butter, and enjoy it as a sweet afternoon snack!

an almond flour hummingbird cupcake on a baking sheet.

What You’ll Need To Make Almond Flour Hummingbird Cupcakes

Almond Flour – I chose almond flour as the base of these cupcakes for two reasons. One – it’s grain-free, making these cupcakes so light and healthy that you could literally eat them for breakfast if you wanted to. And two – it yields a soft, crumbly cupcake that doesn’t fall apart when bitten into, but also isn’t at all dense. I specifically used this Anthony’s Organic Almond Flour, it’s fairly priced and bakes like a charm!

Coconut Sugar – Just half a cup of coconut sugar is all you need in these cupcakes! This is what I mean by they’re sweet, but not too sweet. Coconut sugar is lower on the glycemic index than usual white sugar. It also contains many more vitamins and minerals than most other sugars. If you don’t have coconut sugar, you can either use brown sugar, cane sugar, or white sugar instead.

Mashed Bananas – You won’t find a single hummingbird recipe without mashed bananas in it. In conjunction with the pineapple and coconut, a little banana is truly magnificent. It adds a touch of sweetness and incredible flavor. Though if you’re not a banana fan, you can use one cup of apple sauce instead.

Crushed Pineapple – Like I said earlier, crushed pineapple is a main ingredient in these hummingbird cupcakes. I buy canned crushed pineapple and rinse out the liquid before using in this recipe. Though you can use finely chopped fresh pineapple instead.

Shredded Coconut – Similar to the crushed pineapple, these wouldn’t be hummingbird cupcakes without a little coconut. My one thing when baking with coconut is to make sure it’s unsweetened. Our cupcakes are sweet enough!

overhead image of almond flour hummingbird cupcakes on a baking sheet

Adjust This Recipe To Your Dietary Needs

  • Make it Paleo: Leave out the dairy-free cream cheese frosting and you’ll have delicious little paleo hummingbird muffins!
  • Make it Vegan: Use your favorite egg-substitute in place of the eggs in this recipe. I have not tested this recipe using flax eggs, though I can image that it will yield slightly less-fluffy, but still delicious cupcakes.
  • Sugar-Free Option: Leave out the frosting and sub 1/2 cup of your favorite sugar-free sweetener for the coconut sugar. You can also leave out the coconut sugar altogether, if you’d like!

Almond Flour Hummingbird Cupcakes

0 from 0 votes
Recipe by Samantha Russo Course: DessertDifficulty: Intermediate
Servings

12

cupcakes
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

20

minutes
Total time

30

minutes

These hummingbird cupcakes are the perfect spring-time sweet treat! They’re grain-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free, topped off with a delicious cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups almond flour, see Notes

  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

  • 1 cup mashed banana (about 2 very ripe bananas)

  • 2 eggs, see Notes

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained

  • 1/2 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened

  • For the cream cheese frosting:

  • 1/2 cup dairy-free cream cheese

  • 1/4 cup dairy-free butter, softened

  • 2 cups powdered sugar

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit and line a cupcake tin with 12 cupcake liners.Hummingbird Cupcakes Process Photo 1
  • In a large bowl, mix together the almond flour, coconut sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon.Hummingbird Cupcakes Process Photo 2
  • In a small bowl, mix together the coconut oil, mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla extract.Hummingbird Cupcakes Process Photo 3
  • Add the wet ingredients, crushed pineapple, and shredded coconut into the dry ingredients and mix to combine.Hummingbird Cupcakes Process Photo 4
  • Fill each cupcake liner with 1/4 cup of batter and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.Hummingbird Cupcakes Process Photo 5
  • Transfer cupcakes to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.DSC_0118Hummingbird Cupcakes Process Photo 6
  • Make the frosting by adding all ingredients to a bowl and beating with either a hand or stand mixer until combined. Dollop frosting onto cooled cupcakes and enjoy!DSC_0118Hummingbird Cupcakes Process Photo 7

Recipe Video

Notes

  • Almond Flour: Be sure to use almond flour, not almond meal.
  • Coconut Oil: You can use 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil or melted butter instead.
  • Eggs: I like to remove my eggs from the fridge a couple hours before baking. If your eggs are too cold when added to the batter, they might cause your coconut oil to re-harden.

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Dairy-Free

Healthy Gluten-Free Donuts (One-Bowl!)

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gluten-free donuts coated in powdered sugar

Perfectly soft, sweet, and delicious gluten-free donuts! Finish em’ off with powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, or a simple glaze for a healthier version of a classic dessert. Made entirely with whole ingredients, these perfect gluten-free donuts are also vegan and refined sugar-free!

a stack of gluten-free donuts covered in powdered sugar.

What You’ll Need To Make Gluten-Free Donuts

Oat Flour – Oat flour bakes up beautifully in this gluten-free recipe. It’s also super cheap and easy to get your hands on! You can either buy oat flour, or make it yourself. To make it yourself, simply pulse rolled oats in a blender until very fine. Once the oats resemble the texture of flour, they’re ready to use in this recipe!

Flax Eggs – This vegan egg substitute is also very quick and easy to make yourself. To make one flax egg, combined one tablespoon of flax meal with three tablespoons of water. Whisk that mixture up and let it sit for at least 10 minutes before adding to your donuts batter. As the flax egg sits, it’ll thicken into a gel-like consistency.

Almond or Peanut Butter – Really any nut or seed butter will work here! I used peanut butter because I personally love the taste. Though almond butter will add little to no nutty flavor. And for a nut-free version, simply use sunflower seed butter instead.

Coconut Sugar – While still sugar, coconut sugar is an unrefined, slightly healthier version of white sugar. It offers up the same amount of sweetness as regular sugar, but less of a blood sugar spike. Also unlike white sugar, coconut sugar contains fiber which helps to slow down the rate at which it metabolizes in our body. If you’ve got a sweet tooth like me, you’re all too familiar with that famous energy spike, then crash from eating processed white sugar. Well, with coconut sugar, you can expect much less of that!

a gluten-free donut in a bowl of powdered sugar.

Tips and Tricks

  • Use a large cookie scoop to transfer your gluten-free donut batter to your donut pan! A cookie scoop allows for a more precise transfer of batter. Also, while I’ve never tried it myself, I’ve heard people have a lot of success with piping batter into the donut pan from a large zip-top bag (similar to how you’d pipe frosting on a cupcake)!
  • No donut pan? No problem! Simply bake these donuts into muffins instead.
  • Finish these gluten-free donuts off any way you’d like! I went this classic powdered sugar route. Though for a krispy kreme copycat, dunk them in a simple glaze.

Adjust This Recipe To Your Dietary Needs

Make it Nut-Free: For a nut-free donut recipe, replace the peanut butter with sunflower seed butter!

Healthy Gluten-Free Donuts (One-Bowl!)

0 from 0 votes
Recipe by Samantha Course: DessertDifficulty: Easy
Servings

24

donuts
Prep time

5

minutes
Cooking time

20

minutes
Total time

25

minutes

Perfectly soft, sweet, and delicious gluten-free donuts! Finish em’ off with powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, or a simple glaze for a healthier version of a classic dessert. Made entirely with whole ingredients, these perfect gluten-free donuts are also vegan and refined sugar-free!

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups oat flour

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 2 flax eggs, see Notes

  • 1 cup milk, I used non-dairy milk

  • 1/2 cup almond or peanut butter

  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar

  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • Topping options:

  • 1 cup powdered sugar

  • 1 cup coconut sugar + 1 tablespoon cinnamon

  • 1 cup confectioners sugar + 2 tablespoons milk

Directions

  • Preheat your oven to 350F and grease a donut pan.
  • In a large bowl, mix together the oat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
  • Form a well in the center of your flour mixture and add in flax eggs, non-dairy milk, almond butter, coconut sugar, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla extract.
  • Slowly whisk the batter starting at the center, slowly moving outward until both wet and dry ingredients are incorporated.
  • Carefully fill your donut molds with the batter, then bake for 20-22 minutes. Once done, pop donuts out of the mold and onto a cooling rack.
  • Once cool, dip in either powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar to coat.

Recipe Video

Notes

  • Flax Eggs: To make on flax egg, combine 1 tablespoon of ground flax meal with 3 tablespoons of water and let sit on the counter for 10 minutes to thicken.
  • Store these gluten-free donuts in an airtight container at room temperature where they’ll stay fresh for up to 5 days!

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