I mentioned last week (or was it the previous week?) that I would be trying my hand at some gluten-free baking. One of my very good friends, Marie, is gluten sensitive. My friend Jen also has a sister who is gluten sensitive. And we all know that sensitive ladies shouldn’t be without baked goods – baked goods that can rival the baked goods on the shelves at the supermarket.
I thought it would be fun to try to find some great recipes for the sensitive people in my life to bake at home. To get started, I found some books at the library to read on the subject. I bought myself a lot of new items for my pantry: corn flour, a couple of types of rice flour, xanthan gum, tapioca starch, potato starch, teff, coconut flour – all kinds of new things. I googled a lot and really educated myself.
There are so many great gluten-free recipes out there for baked goods! A lot of them don’t use the exotic ingredients I’ve listed above, so please don’t be intimidated to try some gluten free baking yourself.
If you didn’t already know, the best cookie in the world, the macaron, is naturally gluten-free. Expect a blog post!
Today’s gluten-free recipe came to my attention via Twitter. Marie’s friend tweeted about this recipe, and Marie brought it to my attention in case I was interested in trying these brownies.
Of course I am!
This recipe didn’t require any funky ingredients or anything. They are a great first recipe to try if you’re new to gluten-free baking.
These brownies are dense, and intensely chocolate. You get a touch of cinnamon flavour just at the end.
I asked my husband to describe the brownies, and as it turns out they’re “ooey, gooey, good”. I’d say that’s a pass. We packed most of them up and took them to my sister’s where my brother in law was hosting a poker night. As far as I could tell at the end of the night, they went over pretty well. No one had any idea there was no wheat flour in them. Perfect.
I think they’d be great with a touch of chili added to them too.
[Recipe] Gluten-Free Chocolate Brownies
Original recipe compliments of Martha Stewart:
http://www.marthastewart.com/903048/fudgy-pecan-brownies
6 tbsp butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup cornstarch (leveled)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
12 oz semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350F.
Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper. A little trick for doing this – put the parchment against the bottom of the pan you’re using, and cut the square corners out of the parchment like this:
Then when you put it in the pan, it fits perfectly:
Ta-da!
Whisk together cornstarch, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt.
In a large microwave-safe bowl, microwave butter and chocolate in 30-second increments, stirring each time, until melted and smooth, about 2 minutes.
After 30 seconds:
1 minute:
90 seconds:
Stir in sugar, vanilla, and eggs, until combined.
Add cornstarch mixture and stir vigorously until mixture is smooth and begins to pull away from side of bowl, about 2 minutes.
Stir in the chopped walnuts.
Pour batter into pan and smooth top.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached – the original recipe estimates about 35 minutes, but mine were in for 45 minutes.
Allow to cool, and cut into 16 squares.
