Monday, August 25, 2014

Gluten - Free Zucchini - Flax Squares

Are you sick of me posting zucchini recipes yet? Well, I hate to break it to you, but I still have a few more up my sleeve thanks to the brisk proliferation from our vines (still!), but I did freeze a bunch of 1-cup shred "pucks" so I can meter out the remaining baking. I can't help but use the squash in everything these days, though - our growing season here is so pitifully short that I grasp every opportunity I have to savour what comes in from the backyard garden!

Gluten-Free Zucchini - Flax Squares

These tender, lunch box-perfect squares were the original brainchild of Emily Mainquist, one of the Special Contributors at The Daily Meal and author of Sweet Vegan: A Collection of All Vegan, some Gluten-Free, and a Few Raw Desserts. I definitely made it my own, though, pumping it full of super-healthy (and delicious) flax seed in both whole and ground forms, using stevia and agave for some of the dark brown sugar and mixing up my own flour blend rather than using a pre-mixed variety. I was also able to cut down on the oil significantly without sacrificing texture or flavour, and since I left out the nuts from the already vegan recipe the whole pan was safe to bring to school and share... not that much of that happened :-). Of course, adding in a hefty dose of chocolate certainly helped solidify the squares' lunchtime status, and the pan disappeared almost as fast as the zucchini arrived on our table! 

Shared with Gluten Free Fridays

Gluten - Free Zucchini - Flax Squares
Makes one 9" pan, 12 pieces
3 tbsp ground flax seed
1/4 cup hot water
2 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
9 drops liquid stevia extract
1 tbsp amber agave (or honey)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup arrowroot starch
1/4 cup millet flour
1/3 cup sorghum flour
1/2 tsp guar gum
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 medium zucchini, finely shredded
1/4 cup gluten-free miniature chocolate chips
1/4 cup whole flax seed
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line an 8" square pan.
  2. Whisk the ground flax and hot water in a small dish. Set aside for 10 minutes.
  3. In a bowl, beat the oil, brown sugar, stevia, honey and vanilla extract until smooth. Add the flax mixture and beat well.
  4. Mix in the arrowroot starch, millet flour, sorghum flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and zucchini.
  5. Fold in the chocolate chips, and whole flax seeds.
  6. Spread evenly in the pan.
  7. Bake for 30 minutes, until tests done.
  8. Cool completely in the pan before cutting. 
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 131.9
Total Fat: 5.5 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 5.7 mg
Total Carbs: 22.7 g
Dietary Fiber: 3.0 g
Protein: 2.2 g

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