Brownie Success (Gluten-free & Vegan)
May 25, 2010 tagged Dairy-free, Egg-free, Gluten-free, Vegan 
“Never give up. Never surrender.” (Galaxy Quest)
My family is probably flabbergasted I have the audacity to post a brownie recipe.
I’m usually not allowed to bake brownies. They banned me from doing so a long time ago.
Why? Well, because I can’t make brownies. It’s true. I’ve failed (even in pre-GF days) each and every time I’ve tried to make them. Doesn’t matter if it’s a tried and true recipe or box brownies. They always, always, always suck. Well, when I make them they do.
I was probably in grade school when it first started. Got out my Mom’s trusty red Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book, turned to the brownie recipe, and got baking. I checked them with the toothpick test method and kept putting them back in the oven until the toothpick came out clean. The brownies tasted great when warm but the minute they cooled—ROCKS! Yes, little brownie rocks. According to Albert Einstein I entered a period of brownie insanity because I repeated the same error over and over and over again.
The brownie recipe was put down and not touched for years. When I tried again the curse stuck—not sure why because I stopped overbaking them. The universe must have thought it a funny joke to sabotage all my brownie efforts.
Finally these brownies from Ricki Heller over at Diet, Dessert and Dogs worked for me. They’re so good! Maybe they broke the spell.
The brownie craving hit the other day so it was time to try brownies again. This time with my own recipe. Woohoo! Yes, the spell is definitely broken. These turned out perfect!
They’re the fudgy kind with a wonderful, rich chocolate flavor. Hope you like ‘em.
Brownies – Gluten-Free and Vegan
3 teaspoons EnerG Egg Replacer
6 tablespoons warm coffee or water
1 ¾ cups gluten-free flour blend*
1/3 cup dutch processed cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/3 cup applesauce
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup each pecans, dried cherries, and chocolate chips (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Whisk together the EnerG Egg Replacer and warm coffee or water and set aside. (Coffee heightens the chocolate flavor however, if you prefer not to add that extra caffeine boost you can use decaf coffee or water.)
Add the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together until they’re thoroughly blended.
Place the chocolate chips in a medium-sized microwavable bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. Microwave another 30 seconds and stir again. Whisk in the melted coconut oil until the mixture is smooth. Add the vanilla, applesauce, and egg replacer/coffee mixture and blend well. Stir in the sugar.
Add the wet mixture to the large bowl with the dry ingredients. Gently mix together with a large spoon or curved silicone-type spatula until the batter is just blended.
Line an 8” x 11 ½” pan with parchment paper. Spoon the batter into the pan and spread out to the edges. Sprinkle with chopped pecans, dried cherries and chocolate chips. Press down gently. Place in the middle of the pre-heated oven for 30-35 minutes. They’re done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.
Cool in the pan, remove, and cut into squares. (Best stored in the fridge.)
* I used Authentic Foods Gluten-Free Multi Blend Flour but feel free to use you favorite gluten-free flour blend (with xanthan gum) if you have one.
Nancy Kohler
Corrected the method part of the recipe—the egg replacer mixture was omitted from being added into the wet mixture.
Nancy Kohler
A recent reader comment prompted me to bake these again to determine if they crumbled too easily. I found that if you line the pan with parchment and cool them thoroughly in the pan (even better place them in the fridge for 15-30 minutes after they’ve cooled on the counter) they will cut fairly easily with almost no crumble. That being said mine did crumble a tiny bit—meaning not every brownie was as perfectly formed as in the photo of the batch made for the post.
Also, I might adjust the baking time to 25-30 minutes—checking at 25 minutes for doneness. I think overbaking would exacerbate brownie crumbling.
I suspect the reason for crumbling (since the flour includes xanthan gum which should help the situation) is that there are no eggs and very little fat in these brownies. I’m not a master baker but that’s my guess. I’d love to hear other theories or suggestions.
Interestingly, I had no applesauce on hand for the second batch so I used sweet potato puree. It worked beautifully. And, I tried Better Batter for the flour. It, too, worked well.
When all is said and done—they tasted great and the crumbling was minimal so it would not deter me from baking them again.
