Gluten Free Brownies

Hello again!

Here's another gluten-free recipe for you. I was at home the other night and had a chocolate craving, and I decided to make brownies. Of course, along with the craving was the thought that I should make something that Mark could eat as well and so began the quest for gluten free brownies!

Since I was baking these at my house, the only gluten-free flour I had on hand was cornstarch. Mark's mom had sent me a great looking recipe for gf brownies, but that recipe required potato starch as the main flour.  So -- off to the local grocery store I went.  The only -- and I *do* mean only -- gluten-free flour they had there was a small packet of Club House Rice flour. I brought it home and decided to see what I could come up with.

A little note about experimenting with gluten-free baking: sometimes it just doesn't turn out. In this case, the brownies turned out AWESOME, but some of my experiments lately haven't been so successful.  Gluten free bread has kicked my you-know-what, but I will keep working on that. In this case, I couldn't find a recipe that had only the ingredients I had on hand. There is no xanthan gum or guar gum here (there is now :) ), just rice flour, cornstarch, and eggs, which is why I had to make things up as I went. I think this would be a good recipe if you are new to GF Baking, simply because the ingredients aren't too 'out there' and should be easy to find. If you are new to gluten free, it's worthwhile to follow a recipe until you're comfortable baking with new flours and ingredients - there are lots and lots of great things to eat on the gfree diet! 

The Chia and/or Flax seed that I've included in the recipe might be unusual for you, and so they are completely optional!  I like adding Chia seed because it acts, I think, as a binder for the ingredients, and it's good for you. Not that I, or anyone, should eat brownies because they are good for you (no thank you, black bean brownies! Give me sugar). However, a little bit of something that might almost be considered healthy makes it easier to justify eating a pan of sugar. You can also substitute out the cornstarch for any other starch, like tapioca or potato starch, if you are sensitive to corn.

 Gluten Free Chocolate Brownies

One 9x9 or 8x8 pan

350^ oven, 20 to 25 minutes baking time (less for fudgier, longer for cakier)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup chocolate chips

1/3 cup butter

1 Tbsp cocoa powder

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1/4 tsp chia seed or ground flax seed (completely optional) 

1/2 cup white rice flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Melt the chocolate chips and butter together. Remove from heat. Stir in the cocoa until well blended. Add in the sugar, stir well. Stir in the chia seed or flax, if using. Let cool slightly.

Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Without stirring, dump the rice flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt on top of the chocolate mixture.  Blend the dry stuff together a little bit, then stir it into the chocolate.  

Pour into a greased pan, either 8x8 or 9x9, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes in a 350^ oven. I baked mine for 21 minutes, but ovens may vary.  

My picture shows only a bit of the pan because my brownie has a giant hole in the middle where I checked to make sure it was fully cooked. An epic gf bread fail from earlier this week has made me cautious!  If in doubt, poke the brownie with a toothpick or fork, and a few little crumbs should stick to it if it is finished. The brownie should be pulling away from the sides of the pan, as well, which the picture does show.

Comments

[Paulette Ducharme]

thanks Megan, going to give these a try and may become my favorites, I hate the thought of bringing in all those expensive exotic ingredients that I can only get at a health food store and get charged double and triple. You are more daring than I, I haven't really experimented with anything. talk soon love Polly

[Megan]

The brownies are really good. I just keep throwing things together and hoping they turn out. I did a banana bread a couple of weeks ago that was really good, too. I think that recipe had xanthan gum it in, but I lucked out and found a really cheap source for it. The Chia seed can be bought at the Bulk Barn, and it seems to be a pretty good binder.

[Revelina]

ALMOND ORANGE MARMALADE MUFFINS1/2 cup ground alnodms (I used my Cuisinart Mini-Prep Processor to grind the alnodms)1/4 cup tapioca flour1/2 cup sorghum flour1/2 cup rice flour1 teaspoon xanthan gum2 teaspoons baking powder1/4 cup granulated sugar3/4 teaspoon salt1/2 cup gf orange marmalade4 Tablespoons of butter, melted2 eggs, beaten3/4 cup milk1 teaspoon almond extractDirections:Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flours, ground alnodms, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt, and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine 2 beaten eggs, milk, almond extract, marmalade, and melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Spoon into muffin tin about 2/3 full. Bake for 15-18 minutes.ICING1 cup powdered sugar1 Tablespoon butter, melted3 Tablespoons of marmaladewater to desired consistencyWarning: The icing is very sticky!!Directions:Mix the top three ingredients until moistened and add water until you have the desired consistency. Frost muffins when cool if desired.Makes 12-18 muffins.