Last night I got together for an impromptu knitting session with some pals at our local tea house. The conversation turned to brownies. Of course, we all started arguing about what are the best brownies. One person liked cake-y brownies. Another said she basically wanted to eat fudge in the form of a brownie. Others liked them all.
As an avid baker, I have thought about this topic a great deal. And I’ve tried all sorts of recipes for brownies. And mixes. And gluten-free mixes. My requirements are: a lot of good chocolate; a balanced egg-flour ratio, dense but still light–not solid fudge.
The recipe I landed on as my favorite, and have adapted, is the one from The Wooden Spoon Dessert Book, by Marilyn M. Moore. I love this book. It’s another one of those whose recipes are all perfect. I love every one I have tried.
The great thing about this recipe (aside from its amazing taste) is that it is simple and quick. You can go from 0 to brownie in about 45 minutes. Can’t go wrong with that!
Brownies (edited 12/22 to add egg and sugar amounts)
-adapted from The Wooden Spoon Dessert Book
Note: This recipe uses my gluten-free flour mix:
Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix (mix together and store in fridge):
1 1/4 C. brown rice flour
1 1/4 C. white rice flour
1 C. tapioca flour
1 C. sweet rice flour (also known as Mochiko)
2 scant tsp. xanthan gum
Ingredients
3/4 C Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate (I use chocolate chips)
8 TBL (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 C granulated sugar
2 large or extra large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Optional: 1/2 C chopped nuts (I like toasted pecans)
Optional: 1/4 C extra chocolate chips
extra butter for greasing pan
Preheat oven 350 degrees
-grease an 8 inch square baking dish
-in a small bowl, mix together flour, salt, and baking powder; set aside
-in a double boiler (or heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water), melt chocolate and butter; set aside
-in a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy
-add granulated sugar, continue to beat
-add vanilla extract, beat more
-carefully add butter/chocolate mixture to the egg mixture, beat to combine
-add flour mixture, mix until just combined
-add optional nuts and/or extra chocolate chips if using
-pour into greased baking dish
-bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes
Enjoy!
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Jeanne,
I am having an open house and expecting about 50 people. A friend of mine once made a huge tray of pizza dough and just put a thick layer of cream cheese mixed with sundries tomatoes and chives to serve as a starter/side dish. I was hoping to do the same with your pizza dough and brownie (of, course no cheese topping on this one) but I need it to be dairy and egg free as well. Do you think canola oil can sub in for butter and 1 tbsp of flax and 3 tbsp of water for each large egg?
Sana: The pizza sounds good. Be sure to bake the crust before putting the cream cheese and other toppings on.
No, don’t sub canola oil for the butter. Butter is solid a room temperature and canola oil is liquid–so they aren’t a good one-to-one substitution. I recommend using coconut oil (which is solid at room temperature) or non-dairy margarine (make sure the one you use is actually dairy-free). I like the Earth Balance Soy-Free Buttery Spread (our daughter is soy allergic). But, I have a lot of readers who like to use coconut oil.
For the eggs–yes, use the flax seed and water technique. And increase the baking powder by 1 teaspoon. I would do a test run of the brownies before the event to make sure it turns out to your liking. You may need to reduce the amount of water for the egg replacement and/or increase the baking powder by another teaspoon.
Have a terrific event!
Delicious! Don’t miss the real thing, these ARE the real thing!
Thanks Jeannie, from our happy, well-fed family.
Jennifer: Yay!! We agree! And I’m so glad my recipes are helpful!