Gluten Free Double Chocolate Brownies

I’ve recently been diagnosed with celiac disease.  And, while I’m feeling 110% better for the most part, my undying love for baked goods has taken an, unfortunate, back seat.  Navigating the gluten free flour world has been a huge learning experience (and, I’m sure an ongoing one!) and gluten free girl and the chef has been one of my number one baking resources.

Needless to say, in the last few months, my kitchen has been turned upside down while I’ve been trying to perfect my old wheat flour favourites into their gluten free, delicious counterparts.  Wheat flours have been wiped clean from my cupboards and have been replaced with about 12 different gluten free flours and starches.  Yes, I could buy a gluten free all purpose flour.  But, that’s just not my way.  I like to figure it out for myself and understand why and how certain flours and starches replicate wheat flours.  I know, I know, the hard way.

Now, I have definitely had more than a few failures these last few months, but I’m learning and improving with each new baked good I make.  And these, my friend, take the cake. When I get the thumbs up from friends and family, they’re healthbean approved!

I don’t know what you think, but I say the best part of a brownie are the corner pieces because they have the crispy and chewy outside with a chocolately and fudgey inside.  Now, how do you get that on each brownie? Bake them in a  muffin pan.  With every bite, you get the best texture along with a subtle sweetness and a rich, decadent chocolate flavour.

Medjool dates make the best partner for these brownies because they help provide some of the sweetness so the sugar can be reduced.  In addition, when we puree fruits, we can substitute it for some (not all) of the fat content in a traditional recipe without sacrificing any flavour.  By using medjool dates, we’re also upping the fibre content as dates are a rich source.  And, we could all do with eating more fiber in our diet.

In a traditional recipe, you can usually:

1. Decrease the sugar by 25% without it affecting the final result
2. Substitute 50% pureed fruit/vegetable (like mashed sweet potato, mashed banana, date puree, mashed pumpkin, unsweetened applesauce etc) for the fat content.

As a sidenote, the batter for these is very thick and not like a traditional brownie batter so don’t think you’ve missed something, it’s supposed to be like that.  The most important part about this recipe is to make sure you let them cool completely in the muffin pan.  If you take them out while hot and warm, they will crumble.

5.0 from 3 reviews

Gluten Free Double Chocolate Brownies

 

Print

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

16 mins

Total time

36 mins

 

Medjool dates help give these decadent, chocolate brownies a subtle sweetness and a natural health boost.

Author: Selena Devries

Ingredients

• 6 medjool dates (if you are celiac, make sure your dates are from a package which have not been coated with oat flour. Do not purchase from the bulk food section). Packaged Natural Delights Medjool Dates are not covered with oat flour.
• 1 tsp water (reserved from soaking water)
• ¼ cup coconut oil
• ½ cup + 2 tablespoon cocoa powder
• ½ cup sucanat or regular sugar
• 3 tablespoon arrowroot starch or cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• couple pinches sea salt
• 5 oz bittersweet chocolate (ensure it's gluten free)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs

Directions

1. Pit the dates and throw into a bowl. Cover with hot water (the hottest from the tap is fine). Set aside for at least 10 minutes while you do the next 2 steps.
2. Preheat oven to 350F. Generously grease (important so they don't stick) a 12 cup muffin pan with butter or oil.
3. Mix the cocoa powder, sugar, arrowroot or cornstarch powder, cinnamon, sea salt into a bowl. Set aside.
4. Melt the coconut oil. In a magic bullet, or small food processor, blend the dates with 1 teaspoon of the water and the melted coconut oil until smooth.
5. Melt the chocolate either in a double broiler on the stovetop or, if you prefer, in the microwave for 30 second intervals until melted. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract and give a good stir. Add to the dry mixture. Mix until well combined. The batter will be thick.
6. Fill the muffin tins half full. Bake for 16-18 minutes. The less time, the more gooey and dense the centre will be. Let them cool completely in the muffin pan. If you take them out while hot and warm, they will crumble. Makes 10-12 brownies.

Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe

3.2.1255