Mondays suck.
But this Monday…yeah, this Monday is going to suck a whole lot less because chocolate.
As I mentioned in my last post, gluten free brownies have been the bane of my existence for the entire year+ that I’ve been blogging. I’ve tried to make them so so so many times. With almond flour. With oat flour. With no flour. They’ve all been disgusting. They turned out grainy and…grey? How in the world can chocolate brownies turn out grey?! UGH. Awful awful awful. It’s never a good day when you waste chocolate.
SO. You can imagine the pure euphoria I felt as I sunk my teeth into THE richest and THE fudgiest brownie I have ever had this past weekend. I heard the Hallelujah Chorus. It was as satisfying as opening a brand new jar of peanut butter or hearing, “You can have the last la croix.”
Take note, dear friends: these brownies are not for the faint of heart. Oh no. These babies are for the chocolate-addicted only. They’re so rich, they should only be enjoyed with a giant glass of [almond] milk. They’re so fudgy, you could call them a fudge-brownie hybrid. We’re talkin’ dark chocolate to the most delicious extreme. Cue the mouth watering.
These rich & fudgy gluten free brownies are special:
#1: No cocoa! That’s right, peeps! No cocoa was harmed in the making of these brownies. Instead, we’re using melted unsweetned chocolate bars to ensure a riiiiidiculously fudgy brownie. I got this little brownie hack from the queen of baking herself, Sally @ Sally’s Baking Addiction. While we are adding some sweetener (see #2), these brownies are bitter-sweet…just how Mark and I like them. If you’re a fan of sweeter brownies, I suggest using a semi-sweet chocolate instead of unsweetened. Or use unsweetened and add a couple drops of stevia. Definitely do some experimenting to create your ideal brownie.
#2: No refined sugar! It’s true! We’re sweetening these brownies up with some non-refined sugary goodness – I used a mixture of pure maple syrup and honey, but feel free to use your favorite.
#3: Hold the butter; we’re using oil! Avocado oil, to be exact! My friend, Les, wrote an awesome post about the benefits of avocado oil, but I also love it for its neutral taste. Gone are the days of coconut-scented baked goods! I find my avocado oil at Costco, aka. the one of the happiest places on earth for food-obsessed folk like myself. Be sure to pick up a bottle the next time you’re grabbing your favorite natural peanut butter or saigon cinnamon!
#4: Hold the gluten! We’re still getting crazy-fudgy brownies without a lick of gluten. I tried this awesome organic (!!!) gluten free flour from Costco…It’s light and fluffy, and it gives these brownies just the right amount of chew. I can’t wait to try more recipes with this stuff!
#5: Hold the animal products! Yep! These brownies can be gluten free and vegan if you so desire! Just leave out the egg and increase the flour to 1 cup total. Simple as that.
#6: Throw ’em in the fridge! I promise you friends, these brownies are infinitely better coming straight from the fridge. They’re a little bit crumbly if you enjoy them out of the oven or even at room temperature. So I highly highly suggest letting them get all nice and happy in the fridge before devouring. I know it’s so tempting to dig into a pan of hot brownies straight from the oven, but trust me. Mark and I both went crazy over these cold brownies.
#7: One bowl needed! ’nuff said.
Happy Monday, friends. Let’s get chocolate-wasted.
PrintSuper Rich & Fudgy Gluten Free Brownies
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 9-16 brownies
Ingredients
- 8-oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped, melted, and cooled slightly
- 1/2 cup avocado oil (melted coconut oil should work, too)
- 1/4 cup nut butter
- 3/4 cup liquid sweetener (maple syrup, honey, agave, etc.)
- 1 cold egg**
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup Namaste Gluten Free Organic Perfect Blend Flour (or your favorite cup-for-cup GF flour)
- pinch salt
- 1 cup mix-ins (chocolate chips/chunks, nuts, candies, etc.), optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8×8 baking pan with oil (I used coconut oil).
- Mix melted chocolate, avocado oil, nut butter, liquid sweetener, egg, and vanilla together until combined.
- Add flour, salt, and your mix-ins. Mix until the flour is well-incorporated.
- Pour batter into your prepared baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool completely, then stick the pan in the fridge to cool completely.*** Enjoy from the fridge.
Notes
*These brownies are super super rich and bitter-sweet. We loved them like this. If you’re more akin to sweeter brownies, I’d suggest using semi-sweet chocolate here instead of the unsweetened! Or, use the unsweetened chocolate, and add a few stevia drops.
**TO MAKE VEGAN: Leave out the egg, and increase the flour to 1 cup. Coming out of the oven, they may be a little crumbly. So definitely throw them into the fridge. When they’re cold, they taste just like fudge. It’s crazy.
***Seriously, guys. These brownies are so much better cold. If they’re warm, they’re a bit crumbly. I didn’t mind, but my taste tester didn’t enjoy them as much. We both think that they’re the bomb[dot]com coming straight from the fridge.
This recipe was adapted from the Death By Chocolate Brownies in the Sally’s Baking Addiction Cookbook.
A special thank you goes to Costco for supplying me with some of their super high-quality products that I love for this recipe! Going to Costco is like going to Disney World for me; I can’t say enough about how much I love them. I used their Namaste Gluten Free Flour, their Kirkland Vanilla Extract, and their Chosen Foods Avocado Oil in these Rich & Fudgy Gluten Free Brownies today. All opinions are my own.
Affiliate links were used in this blog post. “Affiliate” is just a fancy way of saying that I get some money if you click on and purchase the products that are linked! The money I earn will go directly back into Fooduzzi, so I’d really appreciate you helping me “feed” my blogging efforts!!
Ooooo avocado oil? I have to try this! Like you, I’m also a fan of the bitter-sweet chocolate flavor, it’s sooo rich and deep. My Monday would definitely suck less if I had these too! :) Thanks for sharing Alexa<3
If you’re a fan of bitter-sweet chocolate, you are going to LOVE these! Thanks for your sweet comment, Marina :)
Droooling over here! These seriously look soooo good. And there’s peanuts in there too! (Costco is my Disney World too :) They just have so much good stuff… and the samples!)
Thanks so much, Rebecca! I totally agree – Costco = love ;)
Oh my god! These look sooooo good! I love a chocolatey, fudgey brownie and the healthy ones I see on Pinterest always look dry. Yours look perfect!
Thanks, Mel! I was seriously tickled once I saw how incredibly fudgy these babies were!
Well I’m in! If I can make them GF and vegan than we have a deal!! I’m the ultimate chocoholic!
Then you’re going to LOVE these Rebecca! The vegan version is even MORE fudgy than the non-vegan one!
Oh my gosh these are beautiful, as are the photos! I’m not sure why I haven’t hopped on the avocado oil train yet, but you’ve just inspired me to pick some up next time I’m at the store. Pinning!
I seriously love avocado oil – high smoke point, neutral-tasting, and full of good-for-you nutrients. Can’t get much better than that! Thanks for pinning, chica ;)
WOW! I’ve never seen such fudgey looking brownies in my life. These are a must try!
haha thank you so much, Diana! :) I hope you try them soon!
I adore avocado oil!! I’ve never baked with it before though so now I’m SOOO excited to try these!! Beautiful, as always :)
Thank you so much, Liz!! I was so excited to see that the avocado oil worked in these brownies! :)
Omg these are gorgeous. It took me forever to make a good GF brownie (without black beans) so I feel ya. These look amazing and I’m sure are deeelicious!! Gorgeous photos!
Right?! GF brownies are the worst…until you finally come up with a killer recipe and then they’re TOTALLY the best ;) Thank you so much for your sweet comment, Christina :)
Girl, you’re making this GF heart soar. I’ve tried so many store bought mixes and nothing has been like that straight out of the oven, classic, brownie feel. Fortunately I’m a huge fan of everything rich and dense and fudgey so this brownie sounds like heaven. Can’t wait to try!
Oh, Cayanne…you will LOVE these! Let me know if/when you make them!! :) Can’t wait to hear what you think!
These look UNREAL. Seriously. And the fact that they are gluten-free? I feel like you must have done some extra magic to get them to turn out like this. PATENT THIS RECIPE.
hahaha thank you, Christine! I’ll get right on that ;)
I want to take HUGE bite now!! They just look so damn fudgy – just the way I like ’em. Thanks for the vegan option!!
Of course, dear! Hope you give them a try! :)
Brownies are the best. These look delicious!
Seriously agreed, Bethany! Thanks so much! :)
These sound incredible! I love fudgy brownies, they are perfect for small slices all throughout the day :)
Thank you so much, Erica! They’re my absolute favorite! And you’re exactly right – a small piece is just enough to cure those chocolate cravings :)
These are beautiful! They look so good!
Thank you so much, Shannon! They’re one of my favorite recipes to date!
WOW, I am so thankful that God has seen fit to give me all these AMAZING bloggers that share recipes like this so I can make goodies for my dad. <33 This is a blessing! Thank you Alexa!
Thank YOU, Emily! You are so so sweet <3 I hope you and your dad enjoy these!
These sounds freakin ah-mazing. Like I seriously want to get in the kitchen now and make some, then eat ALL. I’m not gluten free, but I tend to make gluten-free brownies because my favourites have no flour. But they do have cocoa powder. I’ve never made brownies without it so I’m doubly excited to try these :D
Do it, Giselle! It’s a Friday…and brownies are necessary on Friday ;)
Im pretty sure that these are the most beautiful brownies I have ever seen! Love that you used avocado oil too!
Thank you so much, Rachel!! The avocado oil makes them unbelievably fudgy!
OMG these do look super rich!!! Like the best looking gluten-free brownies I’ve ever seen! I just want to dunk one in a big glass of almond milk NOW!
Thank you so much, Chrissa! It’s a complete necessity that you pair these with some almond milk!
Oh these are so on my to-do list this weekend. chocolate LOVE
Yes!! Let me know what you think, Kaitlin!
These look absolutely incredible! For sure making them today!
I was wondering if I could use almond flour/meal or coconut flour in replacement for the GF blend?
Do you know if these would work?
Woo hoo! Thanks, Odessa! They’re SUPER dense, rich, and fudgy. I’m not sure about the almond flour question, but you definitely couldn’t sub coconut flour 1:1 with the GF blend unfortunately. I would think the almond flour brownies might be a bit grainy, but feel free to try and report back! :)
Whipped these up in literally minutes last night around 11 and they were the BEST THINGS ever. I was craving chocolate and these were perfect. I gave my family some samples and they all stood back up throughout the night and got another one.
I love this! I’m so glad you liked these, Kendall :) Thanks for reporting back!