Wholesome Epic Gluten-Free Brownies
Um, do you see what I'm seeing?! Do you?? I just had three of these amazing gluten-free brownies, and I'm still finding it a little hard not to lick the screen to get another taste.
"But why gluten-free?" you ask. Here's the story:
My brother recently went on a gluten-free diet. He claims that gluten makes his brain "foggy" and that abstaining from gluten makes his mind clear and lucid. I fully don't support him. However, I simply cannot bear to sit by idly and watch him wallow in the misery that a lack of delicious, home-baked goods inevitably will create.
So, I made it my mission to find some of the best gluten-free recipes out there. And I was pretty successful. Because these brownies = mission accomplished.
Surprisingly enough, lots and lots of the gluten-free recipes I tried were so, so, so good. Just as good as some of my favorites gluten-rich recipes. Seriously. Again, like these brownies. This gluten-free brownie recipe has to be one of the best brownie recipes I've ever tried - ever, ever, ever. Rich, dense, chocolate-y, wholesome, delicious - they're perfect.
I still stay faithful and devoted to the one bowl extreme fudge brownies I posted a while back. But I must confess - this brownie recipe is just as good. These brownies are different in texture than the extreme fudge brownies, but again, they're just as good. The one bowl extreme fudge brownies are dense and extremely fudgy. These gluten-free brownies are more cake-y and crumbly than fudgy. And even though, on the spectrum of under-baked (soft/ fudgy) to over-baked (crispy/crumbly) preferences, I fall very far on the side of the spectrum where the-more-underbaked-the-better-everything-is, I make an allowance for these brownies. They're that fabulous.
This gluten-free brownie recipe has as much richness as any regular brownie recipe with a decent amount of self-respect has. But the ingredients in these brownies are more wholesome. Almond meal replaces the flour, a combination of coconut sugar and honey replace the regular refined sugar, and coconut oil replaces the butter (although butter is quite nutritious too).
One more thing - you see the oozing, streaming, glistening chunks of chocolate? That's a few ounces of chocolate that I chopped up and sprinkled on top of the brownies before I baked them. Not only does this addition make the brownies that much more irresistible and tempting, it also allows you the pleasure of a warm hunk of melted chocolate accompanying every bite you take. And once the chocolate hardens, you still get the pleasure of a hunk of chocolate in every bite. It's just not warm and melty anymore. Still more than acceptable though, nay?
WHolesome epic gluten-free brownies
Adapted from WholeandHeavenlyOven
Yield: 16 squares
2 oz. semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup coconut oil, measured solid
1/2 cup honey
2/3 cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup almond meal
3/4 cup cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
4 oz. semisweet chocolate, for sprinkling
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper.
Chop the chocolate and melt it with the coconut oil in the microwave or on a double boiler. Cool slightly.
Mix the rest of the ingredients with the melted chocolate mixture in a machine or by hand.
Spread batter into prepared pan evenly. Chop up the semisweet chocolate and sprinkle it on top of the batter.
Bake 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs. Cool, then slice.
On a completely unrelated note, an accurate declaration:
photo from memes dot com
