December 28, 2013
updated
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What if I told you that this homemade cocoa puffs recipe is a terrific way to keep your kids occupied? Yeah, I thought that might grab your attention.
I was never a big “sugary cereal” buyer, so when I asked my husband what would be one cereal he’d want me to recreate, he said: cocoa puffs. My eyebrow went up and I wondered…. could I really make homemade cocoa puffs? What if I could make them also gluten free? or even grain free? boy, oh boy do I love challenges –and our family’s diet is a little more than challenging.
As of recently, I’ve been getting my son Alex a lot more involved in the kitchen. I’ve discovered that he really likes to measure, smell the ingredients, and of course taste them along the way.
Are we big cereal eaters in our house? Not really. My husband enjoys a bowl of cereal here and there, usually as a late-night snack when we eat dinner very early. There are also the nights he gets home from work very late, where after his hour-long commute he doesn’t want to eat a big heavy meal. He serves himself a bowl of cereal in his favorite orange bowl from childhood, slices a banana on top, and fills it with milk. As he takes the first few bites of his crunchy goodness, I can often see his eyes close and his facial gestures soften, for a second I’d say he was internally smiling. Sometimes, one can take pleasure in the simple things.
My son Alex used to enjoy the occasional bowl of cereal as well, until he went gluten free. Now, his bowl of cereal consists of plain corn flakes with my homemade vanilla clusters. Probably not as exciting as dad’s cereal but still crunchy enough.
When I told him that I was going to make him homemade cocoa puffs he cautiously asked: are they going to be gluten free? I was saddened for a moment that my son has a limited diet but at the same time I was happy he thought about asking… he is 6 years old after all.
I’ve been making these tiny round crunchy puffs for a few months after I saw this recipe on pinterest. I really wanted a recipe all of us could enjoy, so I tried a few along the way, edited a couple…and everyone had their favorite version. I’ve done my best to make notes regarding the type of flour I used for each, so if you didn’t see the note on the recipe I either didn’t’ try it or it flopped.
The one I liked best was the grain free version. One of the benefits is that it has no egg, so I was ok letting Baby G lick the spoon a little (OK, a lot!). Testing the other recipes turned into a conniption fit temper-tantrum because he couldn’t try the dough first (raw egg).
Whichever version you decide to use, I encourage you to double the recipe and enlist the help of your kids. Rolling these little puffs can be a tedious task… especially when they start to “help” and then leave you alone to finish off the rest .
Below are the grain free, gluten free, and standard recipes. All you have to do is hover and print the one you’d like to make. Note that if you’ve been eating the boxed kind for years and are looking for an exact recipe as the sugary kind, this isn’t it. It’s not nearly as sweet or processed at all.
Homemade Cocoa Puffs Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ¼ cup of cocoa powder
- ¼ cup almond meal, ground almonds
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup maple syrup or honey
- 1 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt
- 1 egg white, from a large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Sift flour, cocoa powder, almond meal, and salt into the bowl of your food processor.
- Add maple syrup or honey, Greek yogurt, egg white, and vanilla inside the food processor bowl. Turn it on and let everything combine thoroughly.
- Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll dough into small balls (the size of store bought puffs) preferably with the help of others who will enjoy this treat, place it on baking sheet.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Around minute 10, I open the oven and with an oven mitten I give the tray a gentle shake to turn the puffs. This prevents them from burning at the bottom.
- Remove, allow cocoa puffs to cool and store in an airtight container for up to a week.
Notes
A flax egg will not work well in this recipe. Leaving the almond flour out made rock hard puffs, so don’t omit it, it’s part of the recipe.
Homemade cocoa puffs recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose gluten free flour blend*
- 1 teaspoon powdered milk*
- ¼ cup of cocoa powder
- ¼ cup almond meal, ground almonds
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup maple syrup or honey
- 1 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt
- 1 egg white, from a large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Sift flour, powdered milk, cocoa powder, almond meal, and salt into the bowl of your food processor.
- Add maple syrup or honey, Greek yogurt, egg white, and vanilla inside the food processor bowl. Turn it on and let everything combine thoroughly.
- Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll dough into small balls (the size of store bought puffs) preferably with the help of others who will enjoy this treat, place it on baking sheet.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Around minute 10, I open the oven and with an oven mitten I give the tray a gentle shake to turn the puffs. This prevents them from burning at the bottom.
- Remove, allow cocoa puffs to cool and store in an airtight container for up to a week.
Notes
*the powdered milk is optional but I found that it gives the gluten free flour the extra “crisp” and better texture.
You may use almond flour and plain yogurt or sour cream instead of Greek yogurt.
A flax egg will not work well in this recipe. Leaving the almond flour out made rock hard puffs, so don’t omit it, it’s part of the recipe.
Homemade Grain Free Cocoa Puffs recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup almond flour
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder*
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup + 1 tablespoon cashews
- 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
- 1 ½ tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Sift almond flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of your food processor.
- Add whole cashews, maple syrup or honey, melted coconut oil, and vanilla inside the food processor bowl. Turn it on and let everything combine thoroughly. Just when you thought you were done, let it go for 5 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll dough into small balls (the size of store bought puffs) preferably with the help of others who will enjoy this treat, place it on baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes, remove tray from oven, and let them cool. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.
Notes
If you don’t have cashews, use walnuts. You can also use ½ cup cashew butter or any other nut butter in “butter” form.
Kate W
Panicked that they were going to be too hard so added a banana.
Did not shape at all of course… however…they made the weird looking and delicious brownie things I threw a little bit of powdered sugar on them and my daughter wanted these over a bear paw. I will try your recipe as written but thought I would share my happy accident.
Laura Fuentes
A happy accident indeed! brownie bite things do sound delicious!
Emily
Have you tried freezing before or after cooking to make bigger batches/last longer?
Laura Fuentes
These cocoa puffs do not freeze well.
Syeda Fatima
Laura these were so delicious! I made the grain free version. It made me think of cookies and cream. For my daughter, I sweetened the milk slightly with honey. She loved them and wants a bowl every day!
Laura Fuentes
I’m so glad she enjoyed them!
C Woods
If these have all purpose flour in them they are not grain free how could you say that their grain free I’m not understanding that
sandra
Laura gives 2 recipes, one is not gluten-free as it has all purpose flour in it; the 2d one is grain-free with only almond flour 😉
Star
Hi, I can’t find almond meal but almond flour, is it ok? thank you.
Laura Fuentes
almond meal is almond flour ground a bit finer in most cases. that will work! enjoy!
Star
Hi, I don’t have food processor, can I just use hands to mix them? thank you.
Laura Fuentes
You can mix this by hand but you’ll need something to finely chop the ingredients first. Enjoy!
Jovana
This looks sooo delish! I crave this type of cereal but I’m stuck with oats. Boring old oats. I’ve tried a bunch of “organic” cereals but they are all gross or overloaded with sugar.
I know it’s been a long time since you wrote this but I’m wondering for gluten-free do you think you could use buckwheat flour?
Thank you so much <3
Laura Fuentes
I have never used buckwheat but I am pretty sure it will work with the gf version. enjoy!
Jennifer
Hi! Can I use cacao powder instead of cocoa powder?
Laura Fuentes
Yes you can. It will be much more nutritious.
Lynn C
I made this recipe tonight. It is a hit. I had to do a second batch as they ate the first one……just like that, no milk. I made the balls a bit too big in the first batch. The outside was crunchy but not as much the inside. Therefore, I made them smaller in the second batch… perfect. I think I will have to do them often. Yes, it still has sugar (maple syrup), but I know all the ingredient which are inside. Thank you!
Laura Fuentes
so glad everyone loved them Lynn!
c.
Hi If I can’t find the ingredients to the grain-free baking powder nor find it at the store,Can I opt out the ingredient? Are there any substitutes/alternatives to this ingredient?
Laura Fuentes
baking powder is essential for the recipe. If you can’t find the ingredients to make your own, you can purchase grain free baking powder here.
c.
I’m more of a farm-to-table eater so Can I opt out the baking powder for this recipe?
Kacey Bostrom
I haven’t read through all of the comments yet but am wondering about the addition of cashews. The note at the bottom of that version said that one could use cashew butter which I happen to have but it doesn’t say if it is a different measurement than the whole cashews. Can you tell me if it is the same? Thank you!
Laura Fuentes
the note says that if you use cashew butter to use 1/2 cup – less than using whole.
Bebe
Wow, you are dedicated! These sound awesome, especially the gluten free version.
BTW, it’s conniption fit.
Laura Fuentes
thanks Bebe!
idara wolf
These look amazing! Want to try making cereal soon. 🙂
TIffany C
I am a huge fan of cocoa puffs, love that I can make them and make sure that I know what’s inside of these bad boys. You ROCK. How do you think of these things!!
Brooke
ok so I made these and they are not crunchy. they are like bullets 🙁 I thought I over baked the first batch which I only did for 13 min and the next batch I cooked even less and they are still not good…so disappointed any thoughts?
Kelly @ The Nourishing Home
WOW! These look absolutely amazing. I am afraid to make them because I know once I do my kids will be hooked and I’ll be on cocoa puff making duty for life. LOL!! And the fact you’ve created three different versions to meet the needs of so many. You are truly AMAZING girlfriend!! xoxo
Jenny
Great substitute ideas! Thanks! I’ve never thought of using sunflower seeds instead of nuts. We live off of coconut milk and cream.
Jenny
I was wondering if you could roll the dough into long ‘snakes’ and then slice off bite-sized bits. Might speed up the process…
I wish there was a nut-free, dairy-free version. My son has life-threatening allergies to both so we won’t be trying it out. 🙁 But it sounds good!
Laura Fuentes
Jenny, you could try using sunflower seed meal (like this one) either store bought or self ground. You can substitute the greek yogurt with coconut cream (if your child can tolerate it).
Johanna
Would the dough hold together enough to roll into a thin log and slice into chunks? (then enlist the kids to ball them up!) I can’t wait to try this! I also might try for a peanut version using peanuts (duh) a la Reeces. Thanks for sharing!
Laura Fuentes
It’s not a “roll” type of dough… but you can try it. The easiest way to enroll the kiddos is to tell them to grab a “pinch” of the dough -that for once they get to “pinch” away and not their siblings! 🙂
chefjen
OK, you need a tiny ice cream scoop!!
Laura Fuentes
Jen, I actually tried using the melon-baller… only to find out that I couldn’t “scoop” it out! lol
Jennifer Wilson
is there a substitution for coconut oil? I am allergic and our household is new to grain-free cooking.
Laura Fuentes
Jennifer, melted butter or ghee.
Brooke
was wondering instead of using almond meal in the standard recipe could I use ground cashews? (only because I have those on hand)
Laura Fuentes
if you can grind your cashews into a flour like texture – sure. it should work for the standard and gluten free recipes.
bianca
Will these last longer than a week in the fridge? Either the recipe with or without the egg?
Laura Fuentes
the recipe without the egg will last longer than a week. the egg recipe I’d say a week tops. This recipe only yields about 2 cups of puffs… so I’m not sure how long that will last -not long in my family. lol -which is why i say to double the recipe.
Shawna
I was wondering if you’ve tried a GF version without eggs or nuts? My boys would love it! TIA!
Laura Fuentes
I tried the gf without the egg and it didn’t hold well and they didn’t crip. and no, there isn’t a good grain free way to do it without the nuts. I’m sorry!