Heavenly Brownies (and Gluten Free)

First the unadulterated recipe.

1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup cocoa plus 2 Tbsp

1 cup sugar

2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla (optional)


Mix well and spread in an 8X8 inch greased pan. Bake at 350F for 25 to 30 minutes.

For this recipe, I used Earth Balance Margarine- so no soy or milk either. I always melt the butter and cream in the cocoa before adding the sugar. I think it helps make it smooth and fudgy. I dont really keep eggs in the house, but I do have a carton of egg whites. Since an egg is about a 1/4 cup- I used just under 1/2 a cup to replace the 2 eggs.

I made my own All Purpose Flour mix. I am not fond of chick pea flour in my desserts and rice flour in great quantities leaves a metalic taste in my mouth for some reason. (If you have a coffee grinder you can make your own coconut flour.)

My AP Gluten Free Mix:

3 Tbsp coconut flour

1 Tbsp brown rice flour

2 Tbsp sorghum flour

1 Tbsp quinoa flour

1 Tbsp arrowroot starch

8 Tbsp = 1/2 cup

I really liked the coconut flour. I cant really taste it but the end result is a brownie that tastes EXACTLY like it used to before I went Gluten Free/Lactose Free. A brownie should be very chocolatey, gooey and a little bit fudgy. Never dry and never cake like. I like to use almond extract instead of vanilla. These, to me, are the perfect brownie.

Last but not least, I added 1/2 tsp Xanthan gum. This is especially important for binding the end result. Nothing worse than a brownie that tastes and feels like sand in your mouth! The Xanthan gum made the batter really sticky and I had trouble spreading it in the pan and getting it off the spatula but this is normal.

I had to bake it for the full 30 minutes, my old gluten version was usually done at 25 minutes. I dont know if this is the oven in my new place, or normal for GF baking.

Let me know what you think!