Paleo Baking for Brownie 101

Recently, I made the decision to follow the "Paleo" Diet---which basically means avoiding processed food and ALL grains.  It also means avoiding dairy, but I haven't quite made that transition yet.

As a baker, I have to have baked goods....it's in my DNA.  And thanks to lovely ingredients such as almond flour and coconut oil, there are so many things you can bake and still follow the Paleo lifestyle.

My friend, Kate, sent me this chocolate chip cookie recipe and I couldn't wait to get started.  Thanks, Kate!! 

Ingredients (Listed below)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Ingredients:

Combine:
3 1/4 cups of almond flour (Clark uses Trader Joe's)
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon baking soda 
3 tablespoons coconut flour  (reduce to 2 tbsp if you're not crazy for coconut)

In large bowl, combine:

2 eggs
1 teaspoonful vanilla
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup honey, pure maple syrup, or agave nectar (I used honey.)

1 tsp stevia extract powder (Increase to 1/2 cup honey if skipping the stevia)

Combine wet and dry ingredients, then stir in 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips or chunks. The darker the more Paleo they are.   I used 85% cacao and it was delicious!!

Spoon on to cookie sheet covered with parchment paper and put into oven.   I used a cookie scoop and then flattened each cookie with my palm.  Recipe makes 24 cookies. Bake 8-10 minutes.  The tops will start to get golden brown.  If they go longer than that the bottoms burn because of the sugar in the honey.  Cool completely.  

They aren't the prettiest cookies you've ever seen, but you'll NEVER miss the wheat and sugar.  They are absolutely delicious.  And the chocolate is so rich, you only need one to satisfy your craving.

Happy Baking!!!
Love
Brownie

New Cover for Champagne Toast

Champagne Toast has a new cover!!!!!

I have something exciting to share. Lisa Jordan is an incredibly talented photographer who has been gracious enough to take me on as a client. She is also building a cover design business and has remade the cover of Champagne Toast. She shot the pictures with some incredible models who look JUST Like the Kate and Evan in my head. She is incredible!!!! I will hopefully be bringing the new cover to RT Convention which is in just 31 days!!!!

Isn't it stunning???  Lisa is so talented!!!!!

February Giveaway!

I like giving things away...I can't help it.  It's fun to give back to readers...and as a reader myself, I love the opportunity to win books and gift cards because...let's face it....I'm addicted to reading just as much as I love writing!!!

So, what can you win this time around?  I'm giving away four different things:

First, 1 person will win a $25 gift card to either Amazon.com  OR Barnes n Noble.com  
Second, 1 person will win a signed copy of Bouquet Toss
Third, 1 person will win a signed copy of Champagne Toast

And Finally, the prize I'm really excited for....1 person will win an Advanced Reader Copy (or ARC) of Picturing Perfect as soon as it's available.  It will be a digital copy that can be read on an e-reader of your choice and will be sent when I send ARCs to bloggers this spring/early summer.


How can you win?  There are a few ways to get entries.  You can earn the most entries by reviewing my books.  But, you can also earn entries by following me on facebook and twitter, as well as sharing the giveaway on your facebook page.

This contest will run for two weeks, so if you haven' tread the books, there's still plenty of time to read and review.

Happy Reading.  Thanks for stopping by my blog!!!

:) Melissa Brown



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Champagne Toast is now available!!!

Champagne Toast is now available on Amazon.com!!  And I am giving away a signed copy of Bouquet Toss and a signed copy of Champagne Toast, as well as one $25 Amazon gift card!!!!

Help spread the word that Champagne Toast is available!  If you read and enjoyed, please write a review on Amazon and Goodreads and you'll get entries in the Rafflecopter!!!

Purchase Champagne Toast

And to celebrate the Champagne Toast blog tour, Bouquet Toss is only 99 cents on Amazon!!!!

Bouquet Toss on Amazon

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Dark Chocolate &Toffee Chip Cookies

Today was a day to bake cookies.  It's been a while since I've baked treats with my daughter, so we decided to bake chocolate chip cookies.  To spruce them up, I decided to combine Nestle Original Dark chocolate chips with Heath toffee pieces.  They are delicious!!!

Dark Chocolate & Toffee Chip Cookies:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
•  1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• approx 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• approx 1 cup toffee pieces

(I'm not exact with my chocolate chips---I sprinkle in a portion of the bag until the cookies look nice and packed with delicious bits of chocolate! )

Preheat oven to 375

Combine ingredients.  I always melt my butter in the microwave before combining--makes it easier for my little one to help with stirring.  Drop by large tablespoon-fulls or use a cookie scoop like I do, it makes it so easy and the cookies come out nice and round most of the time.

Bake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment for 11 minutes.  My oven has a hot spot, so I would put the cookie sheet in for 5 1/2 minutes and then flip the sheet for another 5 1/2  (it's not necessary unless your oven is crazy like mine!)

Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes.  They will look mushy while hot, but trust me, after they cool for five minutes on cookie sheet and 10 on a wire cooling rack, they will be absolute perfection.

Enjoy!!!

Champagne Toast Teaser

Thanks to everyone who reviewed on Amazon.com!  I now have 75 reviews and am happy to share a teaser from Evan's book:

    “Evan, can you help me?” Kate asks. She’s standing on her tip-toes, her t-shirt rising up her back, exposing her midsection. I do my best not to stare as I walk towards her. She glances back at me over her shoulder before continuing her request, “Vince put the spare key to his office on the highest shelf of the bar and I can’t reach it.” Her hair smells like strawberries.

“No problem,” I say, easily reaching the key. Just for fun, I dangle it above Kate’s head. She smirks at me, narrowing her eyes as if to say, ‘okay, let’s play.’

Grinning from ear to ear, I ask, “Oh, I’m sorry, can you still not reach them?” Whenever I’m near this woman, all I want to do is tease her, tease her so badly she can hardly contain herself. But, the result is that I can hardly contain myself. Tiny beads of sweat are building along my hairline as I twist the keychain back and forth between my fingers. Kate swats at the key and gives me a fake dirty look. I know her well enough to know she’s not upset at all.

“Ev, c’mon,” Yeah, that’s another thing. She started calling me Ev. It drives me friggin wild. I can’t take it! Every time she says it, I want to throw her up against the bar and kiss her hard, really hard. I want to possess her, to make her mine, and yet when the fantasy is over I realize I can’t have her. Not yet.

“Alright,” I hand her the keychain and give her a crafty wink. She gives a satisfied smile. “What do you need it for anyway?” I ask.

“I don’t,” she raises an eyebrow at me before walking away to take orders from a large table of college students. My jaw hits the floor as she saunters away, looking back in her signature tease of a grin. This girl is going to be the end of me.

Evan, Evan, Evan

As many of you know, I am busy working on Book 2 of the "Love of my Life" series.  This book is Evan's story and I am having a lot of fun writing it....I love getting inside Evan's head as well as the head of Kate, the girl who broke his heart.

I have a few teasers that I would love to share, but here's the deal:  I will share them when I reach 75 reviews on Amazon for Bouquet Toss.  I have received so many fantastic emails, posts on my Facebook Author page and even here on the blog, telling me how much they loved the book.  These messages mean the WORLD to me!  In order for more people to know about Bouquet Toss, it takes recommendations and reviews on Amazon are a great way to spread the word!

As always, thank you for reading and I can't wait to share a tiny glimpse of the charming Evan and his book  :)

This is my Evan.  His real name is Ryan Guzman, but to me he'll always be Evan Maxwell!