Life
15 Things You Can Still Bake When You're Out Of Flour
We’ve all been there: craving a sweet treat, in the mood to bake something delicious, only to find that you’re completely out of flour. If you aren’t able to get to the store — or your grocer is out of flour —you’ve still got options that aren’t just “go buy Oreos.” If ideas for what to bake without flour are what you seek, you’ve come to the right place.
The benefits of baking go beyond having something delicious to enjoy at the end of it. Some studies suggest baking as a creative outlet can lead to feeling happier — again, not just because cake makes everyone happy. Other studies on the benefits of baking have found that therapeutic cooking can positively affect your self-esteem and overall mood. And it’s not just making cookies for yourself. One 2018 study from the Journal of Positive Psychology found baking for other people is also good for your mental health, citing that it can be a stress relief and even make you feel more enthusiastic about your day.
Even if it looks like you’re out of a baking staple, you can still enjoy the glory that is baking. Here are 15 flourless baking ideas — some that substitue in cake mix for all-purpose flour, others that nix the flour altogether — for when you’re in a flour-free bind.
1Chocolate Espresso Cake
This recipe from Half Baked Harvest combines two of life’s greatest pleasures: coffee and chocolate. You won’t even miss the flour.
2Monster Cookies
Cookie and Kate’s Monster Cookies use oats instead of all-purpose flour. Plus you can customize the recipe with whatever mix-ins you want.
3Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake
Skipping the flour doesn’t have to come at the cost of decadence. This chocolate mousse cake from Brown Eyed Baker is peak decadence.
4Blueberry Banana Muffins
Did you know you can make muffins using your blender? This recipe from Averie Cooks combines simple ingredients like bananas, honey, and peanut butter for an easy, delicious, and flourless muffin.
5Brownies
If gooey, fudgy brownies are your thing, skip the flour and follow this recipe from Gluten-Free on a Shoestring.
6Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
What other kinds of muffins can your blender make? How about these pumpkin chocolate chip muffins from Averie Cooks.
7Five-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
Half Baked Harvest has a simple peanut butter cookie recipe that uses Medjool dates for sweetness. Or, if you don’t want to run to the store, you can sub in granulated sugar for a recipe that you probably have all of the ingredients for.
8Fudge Cookies
Gluten-Free on a Shoestring’s recipe uses whipped egg whites for a delicious chocolate meringue-like cookie.
9Pumpkin Spice Fluff
Looking for something less chocolatey? This recipe from My Baking Addiction pays homage to everyone’s favorite fall flavor: pumpkin spice.
10Lemon Almond Cake
Only able to find almond flour? The Kitchn has a recipe for lemon almond cake that will become your new favorite.
11Gingerbread Chex Mix
Make your house smell like Christmas year-round with this recipe from Your Cup of Cake. Not only is it “no flour,” it’s also “no bake.”
12Mini Pear Cheesecake
Let us not forget the tried and true flourless favorite: cheesecake. This recipe from The Little Epicurean combines ginger snaps and pears.
13Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
If you can’t get ahold of flour but are still craving cookies, try using a box of devil’s food cake mix. My Baking Addiction has a crinkle cookie recipe that’s just five ingredients, one of them being cake mix.
144-Ingredient Hot Chocolate Cookies
If cake mix is easier to get ahold of than flour, try this recipe from Your Cup of Cake, which uses devil’s food cake mix as a chocolate cookie base.
15Homemade Nutella
Pocketful of Chocolate has truly done holy work by creating this Nutella-dupe recipe. Eat it on toast, with your favorite cookies, or by the spoonful.
If all else fails, there's always that pack of Oreos.
