Super-Rich Chocolatey Gooey Gluten-Free Brownies

Super-Rich Chocolatey Gooey Gluten-Free Brownies

As I've mentioned, my friend Nina has suddenly had to go gluten-free.  This has led me to just as suddenly start designing a few gluten-free recipes, and it's been interesting to see how the two cooking styles intersect.  On Saturday morning, I decided to invent a gluten-free brownie recipe for her.  While they were baking, I went straight into using a different recipe outline to make sugar-free brownies.  When the gluten-free brownies came out of the oven, I cut them and removed them from the pan, lined the pan with foil, poured in the sugar-free brownie batter, and put the pan back into the still-hot oven.   Both brownie batches landed in the ideal brownie zone; gooey, rich, fudge-y, delicious....  Requests for both recipes are already coming in from my official taste-testers. I guess next I'll have to try gluten-free, sugar-free brownies; there's no reason why the sugar-free recipe couldn't be made with gluten-free flours!


Super-Rich Chocolatey Gooey Gluten-Free Brownies

2 oz unsweetened (bakers') chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 stick (8 oz) unsalted butter, cut into smaller pieces

1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs


1/4 cup gluten-free baking mix
1 pinch xanthan gum

1 cup walnut meats - optional


1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, and put rack in the lower third of the oven.


2. Grease and "flour" an 8" square baking pan.

3. If using walnuts, chop coarsely.

4. In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the chocolate and butter and melt over low heat, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.

5. When melted, remove mixture from the heat, and stir in the sugar, vanilla, and salt, until well-combined.

6. Stir in one egg at a time until well-combined.

7. Stir in the flour and xanthan gum until well-combined.

8. Add the walnuts, (if desired) and stir well.

9. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, using a spatula to scrape all of it out of the pot and into the pan.  Spread evenly in the pan.

10. Put pan on a rack in the lower third of the oven and bake until the surface is glossy and smooth, and a toothpick comes out fairly clean from the center, about 40 minutes.  (A few crumbs may stick to it; that's okay.)

11. Cool brownies in the pan, on a rack.  Cut into squares of the size you desire (keeping in mind that these are rich.  Think of how virtuous you will feel when you have seconds if they were tiny to start with.)

Brownies will keep in an air-tight container for several days.  Well, theoretically.  

Notes: You can buy a gluten-free baking mix from Bob's Red Mill or other vendor, or just substitute a gluten-free flour, such as brown rice or buckwheat.  Xanthan gum is an emulsifier, also available from Bob's Red Mill.

(This recipe calls for an 8" pan; I had only a 9" pan, so I cooked the brownies for a few minutes less.  If you do not have an 8" pan, adjust your timing accordingly.)