Gluten-Free Brownies

I have this obsessive-compulsive feeling toward oddball ingredients. For fear that I’ll never again use the ingredients, I feel compelled to use oddball ingredients immediately – and until completely gone. Which usually leads to me finding new recipes I wouldn’t normally try in order to use the ingredients.

Perhaps not surprisingly, there aren’t an overabundance of recipes floating around the internet calling for cacao powder. I did find a pretty good-looking gluten-free brownie recipe, however.

Gluten-free anything scares me. I’ve never tried anything gluten-free but I’ve heard awful stories about the taste of gluten-free foods. My grandma tries to eat gluten-free whenever possible because she has a gluten intolerance. So here’s a recipe for you, grandma! My first gluten-free anything.

Adapted from the recipe for gluten-free brownies found at Elana’s Pantry.

ingredients.

1 16-oz jar creamy almond butter
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
7 oz agave nectar or raw honey
1 T. vanilla extract
½ c. cacao powder
½ tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. baking soda
1 10-oz package dairy free, gluten free chocolate chunks

directions.

Blend almond butter until smooth using a stand or hand-held mixer. Add eggs and mix to blend, then agave and vanilla. Blend in cacao powder, salt and baking soda, then fold in chocolate chips
Grease a 9×13 inch glass baking dish. Pour batter into dish. Bake at 325° for 35-40 minutes

Makes about 24 brownies

I don’t know why I do this. Instead of following recipe directions I attempt to make really thick brownies in a 9×9″ pan. I do this often though I’ve never actually successfully made a really thick brownie. I simply cannot getting the timing right; the finished product turns out either really overcooked or really undercooked.

These were the former. If the brownies hadn’t turned out a bit dry; I think this recipe would actually be a pretty good (great for gluten-free) recipe. Let’s face it – a gluten-free brown will never be as close to as good as regular fudge brownies, but I can’t exactly fault the recipe itself for my rogue baking decisions.

The next time I made these brownies I followed the directions and used a 9X13 pan. Miracle of all miracles, they turned out substantially better. I under baked them slightly so they were slightly gooey in the middle but cake like around the edges.

Recipe rating: 