These gluten free brownies are fudgy, gooey, and so simple to make in one bowl! Called the best and it’s true! No nuts or coconuts.
Does your family have a stack of recipes? I have an entire cupboard filled with clippings of newspapers, scraps with handwritten notes on how to make family favorites, and oodles and oodles of post it notes stuck inside of cookbooks. Since we’ve been practicing social distancing, I’ve thought about how I should go through that cupboard and maybe clean it out … but I can’t bring myself to do so. There is something almost magical about opening it and shifting through the recipes with notes from myself and other family members.
This brownie recipe is one that came from my grandmother. After she passed, one of the things we all wanted to keep were her recipes and cookbooks. She herself was an amazing baker and some of the family favorite recipes were scribbled in the margins of her old cookbooks. Tucked away inside one of them, was this brownie recipe.
For years we made it as is, changing nothing, and eating the best dang brownies on the planet. But then I developed my wheat allergy and so brownies were set aside. But I kept wondering if I could modify my grandmother’s recipe to make gluten free brownies.
Let’s cut to the chase: Yes. And they are so amazing you won’t believe them.
Making Gluten Free Brownies
The major change of the recipe is to replace the wheat flour with a gluten free flour. If you have a go-to gluten free flour blend, I will say to use that. My favorite is Better Batter as I think it makes the best crumb on things like cakes and brownies.
However, I needed to make these free of nightshades as well and who knew that potato flour is added to just about every gluten free blend? So, I ended up with a combo of a few different flours, and let me tell you a secret: I like them better than if I had used a pre-made blend.
If you don’t have all these flours on hand, don’t worry! Just use an equal amount of a gluten free blend that you love to make these brownies. See the note for the exact amount.
White Rice Flour is my base for this gluten free brownie recipe. It provides a mild flavor and doesn’t overpower your taste buds like bean flours and quinoa flour.
Brown Rice Flour is where the heft of this dough comes from. The slight nutty flavor provides a good depth of flavor but just like white rice, isn’t overpowering.
Powdered Milk is a secret weapon for gluten free baking. It is dried so it doesn’t throw off the liquid to dry ingredient ratios, but holds onto moisture really well, helping the final result be less gritty.
Tapioca Flour is the starch in these gluten free brownies. It acts as a perfect thickening agent thanks to the starch, and has a slightly sweet flavor, lending itself to baked goods. This is what provides the chew to these brownies.
Mix-ins. If you want to elevate your brownies, try some of these to mix into your batter right before baking! (Obviously choose things you aren’t allergic to.) Chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, cherries, walnuts, caramel chunks, or marshmallows.
Want some more delicious gluten free brownies? Make sure to check these recipes out!
Cheesecake Brownies (gluten free, nut free)
Did you make this recipe?
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The Best Gluten Free Brownies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 1-oz chocolate squares
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup white rice flour
- 1/4 cup brown rice flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca starch
- 1/2 tbsp dried milk powder
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/2 cup mix-ins, optional
- pinch of salt.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F / 177°C. Prepare an 8×8 baking pan (I like glass) with butter and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the white rice flour, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, milk powder, and salt. Stir to combine and set aside.
- In a medium sauce pan, begin to melt your butter and chocolate together over a low flame. You want them to come together but do not bring to a boil.
- Remove from the heat and stir in your sugar till it is fully incorporated. Add the eggs and vanilla, stirring constantly to make sure the eggs don't cook. The sugar should have cooled down enough so that shouldn't happen.
- Now add your flour mixture to the wet ingredients in two batches, combing well before adding the second. When it is fully incorporated, you can add in any mix-ins (if using).
- Transfer to your prepared baking pan. Place in the oven and cook for 30 – 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out (almost) clean. You don't want to over bake these so keep an eye on them!
- Let cool completely before cutting and enjoying. These can be stored on the countertop for 3 days in an air tight container, or in the fridge for up to 5 days. These can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Notes
