Homemade Grain-Free Cocoa Puffs

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

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

Slightly adapted from Heather’s French Press

• Author: Standard Recipe
• Yield: 2 cups 1x
• Category: Breakfast

Scale 1x2x3x

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

1. Sift flour, cocoa powder, almond meal, and salt into the bowl of your food processor.
2. Add maple syrup or honey, Greek yogurt, egg white, and vanilla inside the food processor bowl. Turn it on and let everything combine thoroughly.
3. Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Remove, allow cocoa puffs to cool and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Notes

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 cocoa puffs recipe

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

You are going to wish these were sold at stores.

• Author: Gluten Free Recipe
• Yield: 2 cups 1x
• Category: Breakfast

Scale 1x2x3x

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

1. Sift flour, powdered milk, cocoa powder, almond meal, and salt into the bowl of your food processor.
2. Add maple syrup or honey, Greek yogurt, egg white, and vanilla inside the food processor bowl. Turn it on and let everything combine thoroughly.
3. Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Remove, allow cocoa puffs to cool and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Notes

*Not all gluten free flour blends are made equal. My best results were achieved with Cup4Cup, Pamela’s Artisan flour blend, and Better Batter gluten free mixes.
*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

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

Satisfying, chocolatey, and very very delicious.

• Author: Laura Fuentes
• Yield: 2 cups 1x
• Category: Grain Free
• Cuisine: Breakfast

Scale 1x2x3x

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

1. Sift almond flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of your food processor.
2. 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.
3. Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
4. 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.
5. Bake for 10 minutes, remove tray from oven, and let them cool. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Notes

Grain Free Baking Powder: 1 part baking soda + 2 parts cream of tartar + 2 parts starch (potato, arrowroot, tapioca). Sift all ingredients to they are evenly cobined and store in a glass jar for up to 1 month. I usually make a jar in 1 tablespoon measurements of each item.
If you don’t have cashews, use walnuts. You can also use ½ cup cashew butter or any other nut butter in “butter” form.