Almond and Mincemeat Bars by Recipes Made Easy (2024)

FAQs

Can I use almond flour instead of almond meal? ›

Almond meal and almond flour both make exciting additions to lots of baked treats and tasty meals. You can use them interchangeably. But almond meal tends to be better in heartier dishes, since it's slightly bitter and has a coarse consistency. Almond flour is sweeter and has a lighter, fluffier texture.

Semolina can make the recipe slightly drier and it has a courser texture, but is usually a perfectly acceptable alternative. Ground rice, which isn't as finely ground as rice flour, also has a reasonably similar texture to ground almonds and is worth a try.

Almond flour has a mild flavor and smaller or finer grains. It's ground to the point that it has an almost powdery consistency. Almond meal and flour are both made from ground almonds. Their main difference is that almond flour is made from blanched almonds, which leads to variations in color, texture, and flavor.

Almond meal is ground-up almonds with their shells on, while some almond flour recipes call for blended blanched almonds (which are just almonds with their shells removed). However, the distinction is small since the meal and flour are practically interchangeable aside from the texture and color.

Both are made from ground almonds, though almond flour and almond meal have two subtle differences that set them apart. Almond flour is typically made from blanched almonds which have had the skins removed, and is ground more finely than almond meal, which typically still contains the skins and has a more coarse grind.

Almond flour can carry more moisture than traditional flour, therefore, you may need to add more of it to a recipe to prevent watery batter or dough. The extra moisture helps prevent baked goods from drying out quickly.

Almond meal, almond flour and ground almonds are all made from crushed sweet almonds. Once specifically used in traditional baking such as macarons, marzipan and frangipane, they are gaining popularity in gluten-free and low-carb diets.

Texture. Because the almonds in almond flour are blanched first and have their skins removed, almond flour texture is much thinner and delicate. On the flip side, ground almonds (almond meal) have a thicker, chunkier texture.

Possible alternatives for replacing smaller amounts of ground almonds in a recipe include breadcrumbs, ground rice, semolina and polenta but the results will vary according to the individual recipe, so each recipe will need to be tried and tested. Uncooked semolina has a similar texture to ground almonds.

Not only is it simple to make, but homemade almond flour tastes fresher and is usually more cost-effective than storebought.

How to make almond flour not gritty? ›

Our chef prefers to add a little xanthan gum or cornstarch to the almond flour to help with the texture, though it is not entirely necessary to do so. Almond flour is pretty forgiving in that regard. Some use arrowroot powder to achieve a similar effect in their bread recipes.

Why is almond flour so expensive? There are two main reasons buying flour from almonds at the store is so expensive: 1) Because it's made entirely from almonds, it tracks closely to the price of almonds, and 2) Because of lower demand than wheat flour, almond nut flour is more expensive than other flour.

Since baking powder contains baking soda, baking powder cannot be used in almond flour baking. Instead, eggs (or applesauce or bananas) can be used as the leavening agent to help baked goods rise and achieve a light and fluffy texture.

Almond flour is a low glycemic index food. Compared to wheat flour, almond flour has fewer sugars and carbohydrates. Switching to almond flour can help people with diabetes manage their blood sugar levels more effectively. Almond flour contains a lot of prebiotic dietary fiber.

If the recipe is already written for almond flour, you can substitute almond meal 1:1. That means that the two are interchangable.

Almond flour can be substituted for regular flour at a 1:1 ratio. It is important to note that almond flour may require more egg to bind the flour. Check out our almond flour recipe book here for more information on a specific recipe!