Gluten-free Fudge Brownies

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a dessert person. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the savory side of food, it’s just that how can you beat a gooey, chocolatey creation? Especially when it’s warm out of the oven, preferably with some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream on the side. You just can’t top that.

Growing up, my dad was always the cook in our house. My mom is immensely talented in many areas, but the kitchen is not one of them. However, give her a boxed brownie mix and she can whip up an excellent dessert. I have many happy memories of eating dinner, going in the living room to watch TV with my dad, and then catching a whiff of that familiar aroma—my mom’s (well, Duncan Hines’) brownies.

About a year ago, after a long battle with stomach issues, my doctor suggested I try cutting out gluten. Long story short, I did and it worked. My body was feeling so much better, but my taste buds were crying out for their long-lost dessert friends, brownies included.

I’ve spent a lot of time since then working on creating gluten-free recipes that are simple, satisfying, delicious and, more often than not, full of chocolate. Obviously, these gluten-free fudge brownies are no exception.

These brownies don’t take a lot of ingredients, and if you don’t have a stand mixer a handheld will be just fine.

I fed these rich, fudgy brownies to my gluten-loving boyfriend and several coworkers. Trust me, you don’t need to be gluten free to fall for this pan of melty deliciousness.

Gluten-free Fudge Brownie Recipe
Makes: 8×8 OR 9×9 pan       Prep: 10 min     Cook: 45 min

Ingredients:
¾ cup all-purpose gluten-free flour (I use Cup4Cup that I buy from Williams-Sonoma)
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting pan
1 tsp kosher salt
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate
3 sticks unsalted butter, cut into tbsp. pieces
3 eggs
1 ¾ cups white sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
6 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chip-sized pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8×8 or 9×9 pan and dust with a small amount of cocoa powder.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, and salt. (Omit salt if using salted butter.)
3. In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine eggs and white sugar and beat on a medium speed with paddle attachment until pale and thick, about three minutes. After 3 minutes, add vanilla extract and beat until just combined.
4. While eggs are beating, combine 3 ounces of chocolate with half of the butter and melt in microwave or double boiler. After it is melted add the rest of the butter to the bowl and stir until it is all mostly melted, but there are still some visible butter pieces.
5. With mixer on a low speed, add 1/3 of the flour mixture and then 1/3 of the melted butter and chocolate mixture. Alternate flour and butter, beating until just combined.
6. Add in chopped chocolate, mix to combine.
7. Pour the batter in the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
8. For 8×8 pan, bake 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached but is not wet. For 9×9, bake 40-45 minutes.
9. Remove from oven. Let brownies cool in pan before serving. If you can’t wait, after 5-10 minutes of cooling, they’ll still seem like a brownie pudding (which is incredibly delicious with a spoon.) If you can wait 15-20 minutes, they’ll still be melty and delicious, but a little more set like true brownies.

These will stay good covered on the counter for 5-6 days, but you’ll probably have eaten them all by then.