A few weeks ago, I made a pretty tasty sweet red beet and goat cheese pie.  My pie, however, turned into more of a crumble and yesterday I finally discovered why.  I got the recipe for the pie crust from Elana’s Pantry, my go-to food blog for all things gluten-free.  Elana’s blog also got me hooked on baking with almond flour.  This weekend, I picked up her book, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook and got to reading her very informational facts on cooking with almond flour.

It turns out, there are two kinds of almond flour:  almond meal, which is whole ground almonds that still have the skin on them, and almond flour that is made from blanched, skinless almonds.  According to Elana’s book, the coarseness of almond meal does not work well for her recipes and this is exactly why my pie turned into a crumble.  Elana’s book is also chock full of nutritional information on almond flour versus other gluten-free flours and her website includes links on where to purchase almond flour online (much cheaper than purchasing in stores).  I for one, am hooked on almond flour as a baking substitute.  It is flavorful, high in protein and low in sugars.  It is also packed with good fats that help lower risks of heart disease and cholesterol.  Her website has a lot of the information that is in her book, but if you’re like me, and enjoy having a tangible cookbook in front of you while you’re baking, I would definitely recommend buying her book.  It’s a fantastic and simple go-to guide for all things gluten-free and almond four.