Flourless Extra-Fudgy Brownies

For my sister's birthday a couple weeks ago I got her a cookbook called Flourless: Recipes for Naturally Gluten-free Desserts. This afternoon I made the first recipe from it, and so far I am very impressed - the Double Chocolate Brownies are probably my favorite brownies I've ever had, much less baked myself. For me, a perfect brownie = crisp on the outside + moist on the inside + lots of chocolate flavor. These ones fit the bill.

Double Chocolate Brownies
From Flourless: Recipes for Naturally Gluten-free Desserts by Nicole Spiridakis

5 oz semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup butter
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Vegan Brownies

These are my favorite brownies. They take some more work than my other brownie recipe but if you have the time it's so worth it. I love the texture from the ground flax and the subtle taste of coconut throughout the brownie. The first time I made this was on rotation in Oregon. I didn't have a full kitchen so to grind the flax, my friend Chris and I had to pound the flax seeds with a wine bottle. That's improvisation! It was a lot of work, but this time I just bought them preground. You can also use a food processor. This recipe is from Guilty Kitchen. I actually tried a different recipe for vegan brownies and they were such a fail that I had to throw them out. Tragedy. On a happier note, baby monster feet!

1 cup coconut oil

4 oz. semisweet chocolate chips 

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp instant coffee powder

1/2 cup hot water

1 cup white sugar

1 cup dark brown sugar

2 cups white whole wheat flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp sea salt

2 Tbsp ground flax seeds

6 Tbsp hot water

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease an 8 x 8 pan.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a small bowl, stir together the ground flax and 6 tablespoons of hot water. Set aside to get goopy.

In a small pot, melt the coconut oil and chocolate chips together over low heat.

Mix the coffee powder with the 1/2 cup of hot water in a large mixing bowl. Pour in the melted chocolate mixture. Whisk in sugars and vanilla. Stir in the flax mixture.

Then stir in the dry ingredients.

Pour the batter into the greased baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. The brownies are done just when a toothpick comes out clean or just before.

Let cool completely before serving. When I make these, they puff up a lot so there are some parts that are crunchy and some that are raw. Otherwise they will completely fall apart. Once the brownies are set, they'll be a little coconut oil greasy. That's totally normal. If you store them in the fridge, they'll get a little coat of solidified coconut oil on the bottom.

Fresh Raspberry Goat Cheese Brownies

The best word to describe these brownies is decadent! The recipe is from The Kitchn just like Laura's last recipe. I've been baking constantly in exchange for crashing with my cousins. Apartment hunting has been a fail but we're having a lot of fun with my family. Yesterday we went to a night market filled with about 40 food trucks. The best parts were the funfetti macarons and macncheese topped with braised short ribs.
If you're not planning on feeding a ton of people, I would cut this recipe in half. We have a lot of leftover brownies in the fridge.

Ingredients (all at room temperature please)

2 cups raspberries, lightly mashed

Brownies
10 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Raspberry Goat Cheese Swirl
4 ounces plain goat cheese
8 ounces cream cheese
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Heat the oven to 350ºF and lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking pan. 

Melt the chocolate and butter until liquid in a saucepan over low heat. When the chocolate is completely melted, remove from the heat, whisk in the milk, and cool for about 5 minutes. Stir in the sugar and vanilla. Stir in the eggs one by one. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and fold in until just combined. Fold in 1 cup of the raspberries and spread this brownie batter in the prepared pan using a spatula. 

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the goat cheese with the cream cheese, butter, egg, sugar, and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Gently fold in the other half of the raspberries and their juices. Drop the goat cheese mixture on top of the brownie batter in spoonfuls, then swirl the batter gently with a knife. 

Bake for 45 minutes until just set. If the cream cheese is browning too fast, cover with aluminum foil for the rest of the baking time. The topping should just be the lightest golden brown.

The longer the brownies sit, the better the flavors become. But they probably won't last that long. 

Just Straight-Up Brownies

I've got nothing against a good box of brownie mix, but it's good to have a basic brownie recipe from scratch around for a slightly more ambitious chocolate craving. There are about a billion ways to mix it up, but it's always good as is, too!

Want to increase your brownie repertoire?? Try the strawberry jam and dark chocolate ones, swirl in some dulce de leche, cross-breed with pumpkin pie, switch to almond flour, or transform them into gluten-free cup versions. Sometime soon I want to make this ones: Peanut Butter Kahlua Brownies from Cheese and Chocolate! And definitely these Biscoff Brownies from Bake at 350. Also, a good trick to making great brownies is to UNDERBAKE!!!!!! Trust me.

Brownies 

From Chocolate: From Simple Cookies to Extravagant Showstoppers, by Nick Malgieri

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter 

8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, cut into 1/4-inch pieces 

4 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

1 cup all-purpose flour

Gluten-Free Brownie Cups

These were made a couple of weeks ago for Nick's birthday. The recipe is from Gluten Free Goddess. My brownies sank, possibly because I used a flax egg for one of the eggs since I ran out! The next time I make this, I will follow the recipe more closely. They still turned out nice and fudgy. Yum!

Ingredients:

6 ounces dark chocolate
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 white chocolate bar

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with 12 paper liners.

Melt the chocolate over low heat. Set aside to cool. In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, flours, salt, and baking soda together with a wire whisk. Beat the eggs, then add the vanilla and oil. Then add the melted chocolate in gradually. Add in the dry ingredients and stir to combine.

Divide the batter into the cupcake pans. Then drop in some white chocolate pieces in the center for a surprise! Bake for 20 minutes, or so. Take them out of the oven when the middle is still a little runny, and set aside to cool. The brownies will continue to cook while they are cooling, so just remember this!

Brittany and I filled the little cupcakes with some salted caramel topping! I knew there was a reason for messing up the recipe and having the centers sink in.

 

Almond Flour Brownies

This recipe is from Bob's Red Mill (a company that is worker owned and has really great grains). It is actually pretty similar to the standard brownie recipe that I use fairly often. I would definitely make it again since almonds and chocolate are delicous. The only picture I have of these brownies is just a little corner of them because when I came home from work one day, that's all that was left. Nick and Brittany...

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
1 cup granulated cane sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tbsp water
2 tbsp corn starch
1/2 cup almond meal/flour (got mine from Trader Joe's)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp dried lavender flowers (just because I couldn't resist throwing these in)
1/2 cup chocolate chips.

Mix the dry ingredients including the lavender in a mixing bowl. Then mix the butter, eggs, water, and sugar together. Then add the almond extract. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, whisking until no lumps remain. Grease a 9x9 inch baking pan. Pour the batter into the pan and sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes until a toothpick can be inserted into the center and come out clean.

Strawberry Jam and Dark Chocolate Swirled Brownies

Way back in the Spring, I made some strawberry "jam," but I didn't follow the recipe (big surprise) and it turned into strawberry syrup. The recipe was from Bust Magazine and it was for strawberry jam with thyme and balsamic vinegar. I seem to have lost it but I'm sure it will turn up again in our apartment. The extra syrup was frozen for Winter, and so I've been using it all week.

Strawberry Jam Brownies

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
heaping 1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

1/4 cup strawberry jam
1/2 bar really dark chocolate, broken into chunks

In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients with a whisk. Then add the vegetable oil, water, eggs, and vanilla extract. The batter will be thick. Spread it into a greased 8x8 inch baking pan. Drizzle the jam over the brownie batter and using a butter knife, swirl the jam into the chocolate batter.

Sprinkle with the dark chocolate chunks. Bake in a 325 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out almost clean. (I like to underbake brownies.)

Minty Christmas Brownies

This recipe is from an old roommate, Janice. We cooked up a storm while living together! I like this recipe because you can do so much with basic brownies. This time I added mint chocolate chips and orange mint extract. More on how to make your own mint extract later.

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder (dark cocoa would be a nice variation)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon water
2 eggs
1 tsp peppermint extract
1 handful of mint chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 8x8 inch baking pan. Mix the wet ingredients together and then add the dry ingredients. This is a one bowl recipe. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the batter and bake for about 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out cleanly. Or you can just underbake them!

Midnight Pumpkin Pie Brownies

I woke up in the middle of the night a couple of  days ago and was compelled to make brownies. Brittany walked out around 3 in the morning to see why I was blending a hubbard squash in the kitchen. Did you know pumpkin puree is actually hubbard squash puree? Anyways, the squash is a darker orange and has a much denser meat.

This recipe is from the Baking Bird.

For the brownie layer:

• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Gooey Brownies with Dulce de Leche

These are my favorite kind of brownies - not super sweet, just really really chocolatey and gooey. And these ones are extra special because there's homemade dulce de leche swirled on top!