My go-to recipe to test out new bake mixes is often Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies, besides a couple of others. I recently suggested some substitutions that are possible in my Gluten-Free Bake Mix that I've had on this blog for a while now.
COCONUT/FLAX GLUTEN-FREE LOW-CARB BAKE MIX #2
1 1/2 cups oat flour (certified gluten-free), OR defatted soy flour (slightly lower carb), OR millet flour
1 cup ground almonds, OR almond flour, OR Hazelnut flour
1/2 cup sifted coconut flour (available from Netrition) OR golden flax meal
1 tsp Xanthan gum (available from Netrition)
Yield: 3 cups, 12 servings of 1/4 cup each
100.7 calories; 4.2 g protein; 5.3 g fat; 7.0 g net carbs
Disclaimer: I have not tried this bake mix with millet flour (My friend, Donna, said it has a grassy taste, so in that case, one could only use a little of it in order to mask the taste with the other ingredients) or defatted soy flour, but have reasonable confidence that these options will work. I think soy flour, unless it is defatted and even then might not be the greatest tasting, but I could be wrong. I can't use soy because of my Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. Soy is a powerful goitrogen.
Someone recently alerted me to millet flour (Arrowhead Mills) which is 23 g net carbs per 1/3 cup (oat flour, 1/3 cup, 18 g net carbs, Arrowhead Mills. Soy flour is 5 g carbs (net) per 1/4 cup.
Note: I have not tested this bake mix much at all - I think I tested it in chocolate chip cookies (probably on this blog) and my golden fruit cake recipe and something else before I discovered we were in trouble with that much fiber. It is a very dense bake mix with 1/2 cup coconut flour, so I'm thinking is probably possible to dilute this bake mix (and thus the carbs) when substituting for white flour - go with half bake mix and half almond flour or mostly bake mix and some almond flour. I'm almost certain this will work as I do remember doing that in my chocolate chip cookies and it worked very well.
Now this is the newer low-carb gluten free bake mix version that I tried:
Important Update (please read): My husband could not tolerate 1/2 cup golden flax meal in the bake mixes or in the cookies. He was at one point socially um, a bit you know what - uncomfortable?! We're very fiber-sensitive in this family. Anyway wanted to add this for other fiber-sensitive peeps - to warn them! I can handle the flax a bit better than the coconut flour, but when I drop the amount in the bake mix to 1/4 cup, it doesn't affect any of us adversely - and we're very sensitive to too much fiber. The carbs do go up as flax meal does not add much volume, unlike coconut flour; therefore, the yield is much less (2 1/2 cups vs 3 cups) and that affects the carbs.
Gluten-Free Low-Carb Bake Mix (with golden flax meal) - lovely bake mix for those that are not too carb-sensitive. 1/2 cup golden flax meal produced baking that was too dense. Reduce to 1/4 cup golden flax meal for a better texture.
1 1/2 cups certified gluten-free oat flour
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup golden flax meal (reduce to 1/4 cup)
1 tsp Xanthan gum
Yield: 2 1/2 cups, 1/4 cup per serving
134.4 calories; 5.5 g protein; 7.5 g fat; 8.0 g carbs
Helpful Hints: Flax meal cuts sweetness as does the Xanthan gum. To work around this, reduce salt in the recipe and use some erythritol (powdered is good and many times granulated will work fine as well) along with your sweetener of choice, be it Splenda or Stevia. What I like about this recipe versus the one with coconut flour (by the way this product cuts sweetness as well) is that I can substitute it cup-for-cup for the Splendid Low-Carb Mix and probably for the Vital Oat Ultimate Bake Mix as well. In addition, I don't need to adjust the recipe much at all and I definitely don't need extra eggs as is often needed with coconut flour which absorbs moisture substantially.
Now, the interesting part is I subbed the bake mix in this recipe below, my favorite test recipe:
FAVORITE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
The golden flax meal cuts sweetness slightly (Splenda sometimes does not sweeten optimally), so I reduced the salt to 1/4 tsp, reduced the Splenda by 1/4 cup and added 1/4 cup erythritol and another tsp of molasses (optional). These changes did the trick. I also reduced the nuts (used walnuts), but that is neither here nor there. These cookies were fabulous with the flax gluten-free bake mix - really yummy! I think there is good merit in this new version. Have fun with it and if you have any feedback for me, I'd like that.
1 and 1/4 cups SPLENDA® Granular (300 mL)
1/4 cup granulated erythritol (50 mL)
1 cup butter, softened (250 mL)
1 egg
1 tsp molasses (5 mL)
2 and 1/2 cups Gluten-Free Bake Mix (with flax meal) (625 mL)
1 tsp baking soda (5 mL)
1/4 tsp salt (1 mL)
2 cups sugar free chocolate chips (500 mL)
1/2 cup chopped pecans, OR (250 mL)
Walnuts, Or mixed nuts
In food processor or in bowl with electric mixer, combine SPLENDA® Granular, butter, egg and molasses; process. In medium bowl, combine Low-Carb Bake Mix, baking soda and salt. Stir into wet ingredients (dough will be fairly stiff). Stir in nuts and chocolate chips.
Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls (20 mL) onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes in 375°F (190°C) oven or until light brown. Cool slightly. Place cookies on wire rack to cool completely.
Nutritional Analysis: 52 cookies, 1 cookie per serving
93.8 calories, 1.6 g protein, 7.1 g fat, 2.3 g carbs
Helpful Hints: These days I like to replace a little of the Splenda with powdered erythritol which I purchase from Netrition.