Substitue Agave Nectar in Elana's recipe page

[caboose]

Hi all!

I apologize if this has already been brought up in another thread. I did a search, but no results came up with my specific question, though I did learn a lot about agave!

I bought the Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam and I'm wanting to try her Classic Drop Biscuits. The recipe calls for a 1/4 cup of Agave Nectar. Without going into a debate, I don't want to use Agave Nectar. I'm also planning on cutting the amount down significantly as well, but I would like to give the original recipe as much a chance as possible.

Any suggestions on what would be a good substitute? Obviously there is honey and other sweeteners, but how much would be adequate? Baking is a relatively new art form to me so I could use some pointers.

I also plan on trying a batch with no sweetener at all, but I like to try recipes as close to the original form as possible to give them a fair shake.

Thanks for taking the time to read!

[Lojasmo]

Honey, or maple sugar, I suppose. My suggestion would be clear of all the frankenbakery goods. It's a trap.

[MamaGrok]

Any syrup will do so honey or maple syrup, depending on the flavor you want. 1:1. IDK why Elana uses the manmade sweeteners agave & yacon. Is she a vegan? Anyway, I agree with keeping baked goods to rare treats, rather than being tempted to use the almond/coconut flour recipes to eat baked goods daily if you were used to it before. They replace the nutrient-dense food that we really need for excellent health, and a lot of people have trouble with the quantity of nuts, sweeteners, fruit, & sweet veggies that they often rely on (carrots, winter squash)

[carlh]

Remember that no matter what sweetener you use your body still responds to it. How important is the sweetener to the recipe at all? Try ditching it altogether, or supplementing with the addition of sweet plants, like finely grated carrot or applesauce?

[dragonmamma]

Ounce for ounce, agave syrup will make a food taste sweeter than sugar or honey. I don't know the exact proportion, but you need to consider whether using, say, 3/4 cup honey or maple syrup is preferable to using 1/2 cup of agave syrup.

[Primalvore]

In making special occasion sweets I've used maple syrup and xylitol in Elana's recipes, but you might want to play around a little - a lot of times things have come out tooth-achingly sweet! Just keep it in mind - you might want to even decrease the amount of whatever sweetener you decide to use.

[Herbwifemama]

She explains her use of agave here: http://www.elanaspantry.com/frequent...heringredients Scroll down to #7.

I personally always use honey in place of agave in her recipes. Agave is almost pure fructose. Honey is half sucrose and half fructose. I'm not sure one is better than the other, but I've heard a lot of negative press about fructose lately. I avoid agave because people made it, and bees make honey, and for some reason that sits better with me, lol.

Of course, right now, I'm not on either agave OR honey!

I'm surprised that agave makes foods sweeter though! I thought using honey her recipes were PLENTY sweet, and that was before I was off sugar! O.o

[betty74]

She explains her use of agave here: http://www.elanaspantry.com/frequent...heringredients Scroll down to #7.

I personally always use honey in place of agave in her recipes. Agave is almost pure fructose. Honey is half sucrose and half fructose. I'm not sure one is better than the other, but I've heard a lot of negative press about fructose lately. I avoid agave because people made it, and bees make honey, and for some reason that sits better with me, lol.

Of course, right now, I'm not on either agave OR honey!

I'm surprised that agave makes foods sweeter though! I thought using honey her recipes were PLENTY sweet, and that was before I was off sugar! O.o

I agree with the honey statement. I've only tried a few of her recipes, but I used honey.

I know honey isn't recommended, but I use a bit in my tea daily with no side affects.

[K.ROB]

We have used honey for cupcakes from her book. It was my sons bday. And that worked fine.

[tarek]

Nothing wrong with honey. Raw honey has tremendous benefits. You just shouldn't be eating a cup a day or anything like that. I'd say use either honey or stevia.