Recipe – Gluten and Dairy Free Brownies!

Rich, fudgy, smooth, silky and moist, that is how I describe a good brownie, but not how you often hear gluten and dairy free brownies described.

If you have ever baked with gluten free flours you know that it is easy to end up with a tough, dense, crumbly brick. Not this time! Proudly bring these brownies to any event and people will beg for the recipe!

This recipe, like most of my baking recipes, has been years in the making. I used to make Tollhouse brownies and wanted something comparable. Failed attempts have been everything from dry bricks to a sticky soup that hardened in the bottom of the pan and took days to clean out. My kids are sweet and will eat most of my flops but I can tell by their expressions, grunts, and a multitude of hugs when I finally pin down the perfect recipe.

I know that you are dying to make these gooey, chocolatey taste-of-heaven-in-every-bite brownies so let’s just dive right in!

Gluten and Dairy Free Brownies

Here are a few tips to give you the best texture possible.

• Gluten-free flours do not absorb moisture as quickly as wheat flour so mixing a little longer helps the batter comes together.
• Mixing the cocoa into the sugar at the beginning keeps it from being lumpy.
• Room temperature eggs yield a fluffier texture. If you keep your eggs in the fridge then set them out 30 mins before baking or soak them in tepid water for 15 minutes.

Mix the cocoa and sugar

This gluten and dairy free brownies mix up super fast and are hard to mess up. Start by mixing 3/4 cups cocoa powder and 1 2/3 cup sugar

Add eggs, water, and vanilla

This is where your brownies become silky, chocolate works of art. Add 4 room temperature eggs, 2 Tablespoons of water and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Mix until the cocoa powder is fully incorporated.

We keep ducks and chickens for our eggs which gives us the option of not washing our eggs when they are collected. Eggs are laid with a protective barrier (called bloom) that keeps bacteria out and the eggs fresh without refrigeration. This is especially convenient when I am baking because my eggs are always room temperature and ready to use.

Do not keep store-bought eggs on the counter. The bloom has been washed off and your eggs will be susceptible to harmful bacteria penetrating the shell.

Many gluten free flour blends call for bean flours, xanthan gum or too much starch. All of these are problematic.

• Bean flours have a much stronger favor than is ideal for baking.
• Xanthan gum is often used as a gluten substitute. But it presents a similar problem to gluten – it is hard on our digestive track. I would rather swallow razor blades than xanthan gum
• Last but not least, starch! I have seen many recipes/blends where the main ingredient is pure starch. Don’t be fooled when you read “cassava flour;” that is just a fancy name for tapioca starch. I wasn’t able to get around using some starch in my blend but it sure isn’t the majority of the flour.

My flour blend is made with real food ingredients. Brown rice flour is the base flour. It gives the best nutrition and a soft texture. I love that I can make treats for my family without sacrificing their health (as long as those treats are in moderation). Download my flour blend, two of my favorite recipes and a bonus video here. My blend is great for pancakes, muffins, waffles and pie crust

Measure flour, baking powder, and salt

Add 1 1/3 cups gluten free flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Mix for 1 minute. I suggest setting the timer for this. When I was testing this recipe, mixing for 1 minute gave me the best results. The eggs will whip up quite a bit. When I let it go longer then it got too fluffy and became dry in the oven.

Drizzle oil into the batter

In conventional baking, you would normally cream or melt butter and sugar together. Starting with fats in conventional baking keeps the gluten from developing too quickly and makes light fluffy baked goods. The struggle in gluten-free baking is just the opposite, it is hard to get it to stick together.

You will notice my recipes start with eggs, a liquid, and the flour before adding fat. This allows the flour and moisture to bind together to create a nice batter.

While the mixer is running, drizzle 1/4 cup of melted coconut oil into the batter. Continue mixing until smooth and the oil is completely incorporated.

Time to Bake!

Oh my gosh, waiting is so hard!

My husband likes big tall brownies so I bake them in an 8″x8″ pan. They will rise up over the top of the pan on the edges but won’t overflow.

Grease an 8″x8″x2″ square cake pan and fill with the batter.

Bake in a 350F degree oven for 45 minutes. This is the perfect amount of time for chewy, moist, deliciously silky brownies. You can also bake them in a 9″x13″ cake pan but I haven’t tested the time yet. Start with 20 minutes. If a solid crust has formed on the top and a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs when they are ready.

Resisting the urge to cut into warm gooey brownies is almost impossible – at least for me, it is. Waiting 15-20 minutes before cutting them is best. They will cut better and come out of the pan easier. There will be a crust on your brownies so cut it carefully. Don’t worry about the cracks that just means that you have achieved the coveted fudgy insides with the top crust that says you are a seasoned baker.

This gluten and dairy free brownies are so simple to mix up and turn out so consistently that they will be part of your regular, go-to recipe rotation.

Gluten and Dairy Free Brownies