Almond Flour Cinnamon Chocolate Fudge Brownies - Danielle Walker

Our favorite California-Mexican restaurant, C Casa offers these insanely delicious Mexican Chocolate Brownies that are gluten-free and made with almond flour. I’m obsessed with the whole restaurant because every single item on the menu is gluten-free, the kitchen is gluten-free, and they use local and organic ingredients. Plus, how often can you go to a restaurant and find an almond flour dessert on the menu?! I know they use white sugar, and I’m not entirely sure if there is another grain-based flour in the batter, so I set out to create my own version at home. What I came up with were these crackly topped Almond Flour Cinnamon Chocolate Fudge Brownies. I hope you enjoy them!

image of three fudge brownies stacked up

Cinnamon & Chocolate 

Cacao originated in Mexico and when you hear “Mexican chocolate” it traditionally means cacao that has been mixed with sugar, cinnamon, and cayenne. It is cinnamon that is the star ingredient in my version of these brownies. It gives a slight spice and punches up the sweetness and warmth of the brownies. I didn’t put any cayenne in this recipe, but you could certainly add a 1/4-1/2 tsp if you’d like a little heat. And because this recipe uses cocoa powder AND slow-melting chocolate pieces, these brownies are very decadent and fudgy. You would never guess they are gluten-free and paleo! And if you wanted to make dairy-free brownies, just sub dairy-free butter for the grass-fed in the recipe and they’ll be dairy-free as well!

image of three dairy-free, gluten-free, fudge brownies stacked up with a bite out of one

Almond Flour Brownie Recipe

Almond flour is one of the best gluten-free flours for baking. It is high in healthy fat and fiber and has the potential to keep your blood sugar relatively stable compared to other flours. Another great thing about almond flour baked goods is that they retain more moisture and remain softer over time. That means your leftovers — if there are any — stay delicious for longer! 

image of gluten-free, dairy-free cinnamon fudge brownies on a plate with cocoa powder dusted on them

Brownie Recipe Tips

Make sure to use finely ground almond flour (not to be confused with an almond meal, which is quite coarse). A fine grind will create that smooth texture and mouthfeel when you bite into this treat. 

Also, granulated sugar is really necessary to get these crackly tops. So if you aren’t able to locate maple sugar online (and don’t want to make it homemade), you can use all coconut sugar. But I do not recommend substituting a liquid sweetener as it will change the integrity of the final product too much. 

Sweets & Treats

Want to take your brownie game to the next level? Let’s add homemade gluten-free marshmallows and make S’mores Brownies!

gluten-free smores brownies topped with bits of crunchy grahams crackers, marshmallows and chocolate drizzle.

These Sprouted Brown Rice Crispy Treats are made with honey-sweetened marshmallows. And if you’ve already got some of those on-hand, this recipe is only three ingredients and comes together in no time!

image of a few rice krispy treats stacked on a table

Grain-free and Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles also use cinnamon and granulated sugar for that addictive crackly top texture.

grain free snickerdoodle cookies pictures on a blue surface

Watch me make the brownies on Instagram!

Shop the recipe

 

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Almond Flour Cinnamon Chocolate Fudge Brownies

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 8 reviews

  • Author: Danielle
  • Prep Time: 5 min
  • Cook Time: 25 min
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 9-12 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale

Instructions

  1. Mix ¼ cup of the maple sugar with ½ teaspoon cinnamon and set aside. 
  2. Line an 8×8 square pan with parchment paper with flaps overhanging. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
  3. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter, remaining 1 cup maple sugar, and ⅓ cup coconut sugar. Remove from heat, stir in the cocoa powder and vanilla extract and set aside to cool.
  4. In a food processor, process the almond flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining ½ teaspoon cinnamon until finely ground, about 30 seconds. Add the large chocolate pieces and pulse 8 to 10 times until the chocolate is in small slivers. Transfer to a bowl.
  5. Pour the cooled sugar and chocolate mixture into the food processor and add the eggs. Process until shiny and smooth, 30 to 40 seconds.
  6. Gently fold the dry mixture into the whipped egg mix. Don’t overmix. 
  7. Pour the batter into the baking pan and sprinkle reserved maple sugar and cinnamon mixture overtop. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the tops crackle and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 
  8. Allow to cool completely in the pan and then use the sling to lift it out.
  9. Slice into 2 inch squares.

Notes

*Chocolate bars list how many grams they are on the front of the wrapper. For this specific recipe, I used Hu Chocolate Bars, which are 60g of chocolate per bar, so I used about 3.25 bars.

3/08/23

Almond Flour Cinnamon Chocolate Fudge Brownies

image of almond flour chocolate brownies on a white background

COMMENTS

  1. Barbara Ernst says:

    Any other flour options? Allergic to almonds and rice. Thanks

  2. Nancy Augustin says:

    Thats amazing! You can eat rice?

    • Danielle says:

      Hi! My family can tolerate grains so occasionally I’ll create a recipe using sprouted organic grains for them. I also polled my readers and found out that the majority are gluten-free but not completely grain-free! If you’d like to make my rice crispy treats completely grain free, you can use a grain-free cereal here! Enjoy!!

    • Ashley says:

      Is there a healthy substitute I can use for the maple sugar? I do not have any, I have maple syrup and coconut sugar.

  3. Jen says:

    These look incredible!! Do you think the finely ground cashew flour (Thrive Market brand) would work in place of almond flour – we have an almond allergy where I am thinking of taking these.

  4. Terissa says:

    How many Hu choc bars did you actually use to make the 200 gram your recipe states ?
    Do you email me back with reply or how do I find out since I don’t use social media ?
    Thank you, these look divine !

  5. Patti says:

    How much chocolate is 200 grams? Am I supposed to buy a scale for this one recipe??

    • Danielle says:

      Hi Patti!
      All chocolate bars list how many grams they are on the front wrapper. The specific Hu one we list is 60g, so it would be about 3.25 bars for this recipe. But some bars are larger than others, so you may have to adjust the number of bars depending on which brand you use. Hope this helps – happy cooking!

  6. Stacy says:

    Hello! Is there a substitute for maple syrup? I’m allergic and would like to see if honey could replace the maple?

    • Danielle says:

      Hi! You can sub with honey, although it will slight change the flavor profile (still delicious, though!). Enjoy and happy cooking!

  7. Chris says:

    Is this low carbohydrate? Do you have any nutritional information.

    • Danielle says:

      Hi! I don’t have nutritional information. Readers have suggested an app like My Fitness Pal (there are many others as well!) that will automatically calculate the specific nutrition facts you may need. Enjoy!!

  8. Anneliese Taylor says:

    Can you use 100% unsweetened chocolate instead? Are the sweeteners enough to take the bitterness away? Or wld u need to increase the maple and coconut sugar?

  9. Kathy says:

    Phenomenal, Daniellr! I made a double batch: one I added too much coconut sugar so I reduced the chopped chocolate. The second one, I added pecans, more cayenne (why not?!?) and pecans. Absolutely stunning. Now on to dinner! 🤗






  10. Deb Bergman says:

    Just made these this morning. They are fantastic! Rich, chocolate flavor, lovely crunch from the maple sugar topping. I used my mixer instead of the food processor and it worked great. A must make if you love brownies.






  11. Mandie Kolarik says:

    Is there an egg sub that would work here? My daughter reacts to eggs.

    • Danielle says:

      Hi! I usually don’t recommend subbing more than 2 eggs per recipe, as it can affect the texture and final result.

  12. Denise Fox says:

    These were wonderfully fudgy, chewy and moist! We loved them and highly recommend, especially with some fresh strawberries and DF ice cream 🙂 Thank you Danielle as always for bringing the foods we miss most back into our lives!






  13. Miranda says:

    I made these with coconut oil, coconut sugar (no maple), and mostly 100% chocolate and they turned out great! My office loved them too. Thank you!






  14. Kristen says:

    These are Amazing! I made them today and shared them with my parents too. I enjoyed every bite and am glad to have something that is healthy! Definitely try this! ❤️






  15. Shawna says:

    Could I substitute Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips instead of the chocolate bars for this recipe? I know it won’t be Paleo but that’s what I have on hand at the moment. Thanks!

  16. Alisha says:

    I’ve made these twice now and they are the best brownies I’ve ever had in my life!! I made them for guests and everyone raved!






  17. Sheila says:

    Hi there, could you use cassava flour and monk fruit for the sweetener? Same amount of flour, if you think it will work. Now, that I’ve ruined your beautiful recipe? 🙂

    • Danielle says:

      Hi! You could sub cassava flour for the almond flour in a 1:1 ratio, but bear in mind that will likely change the overall taste. As far as using monk fruit, I definitely don’t recommend using liquid or powdered monk fruit as these brownies need a granulated sugar. You could try to use granulated monk fruit, but I’ve never tried it and don’t know that it will function the same way in the brownies texture.

  18. Kelly Shomin says:

    Any suggestions for a nut free flour that won’t ruin the consistency and taste? Tigernut? Coconut? Sorghum? I saw the comment about cassava… wondering what your best suggestion would be. Thanks!

    • Danielle says:

      Hi! Any nut-free flour has the potential to slightly change the consistency and/or taste of these brownies. I’ve only tested these using almond flour. You can sub with a nut-free flour of your choice but might need to make slight modifications based on which nut-free flour you decide to use.

  19. Lindsay Drebenstedt says:

    These are so good! I add a 1/4 tsp. of ancho chile powder to mine and a little less sugar on the top. I cook for 20-22 min. They are amazing and easy to make!






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