Ghirardelli Chewy Gluten Free Brownies

A few days ago I realized that I have almost 400 recipes pinned on my "sweet treats" board on Pinterest and I have made only one of them.  One!  I had a major sweet tooth that night and decided it was time to actually bake one of my sweet treat recipes, instead of just drooling over the picture on Pinterest.  I started with a recipe for healthy, gluten free peanut butter cookies.  The link boasted that they were only 35 calories and didn't contain any butter, refined sugar, or flour.  I was so excited to make these "healthy" cookies until they came out of the oven.  My delicious peanut butter cookies had turned into a big, flopped mess on a cookie sheet.  It got even worse when I tasted them; they were extremely sticky and tasted like cooked honey.  I gave some to Scott and told him, "Just taste them...they're not that bad."  His response was, "Yes, they're BAD."  My sweet tooth was never cured and I hung my head in shame as I threw my healthy Pinterest treat into the trash.

My flopped cookies

Maybe healthy desserts just aren't my thing.  Sometimes I just need a little chocolate in my life.  (Everything in moderation, right?)  Last night I was able to redeem my baking skills with these chocolaty, chewy, gluten free brownies.  Brownies have always been my favorite dessert and I've made a lot of gluten free ones to try and recreate the homemade ones I used to love.  These brownies are the BEST gluten free brownies that I have ever tried.  They're so chocolaty and they don't have that grainy aftertaste that so many gluten free mixes have.  Scott and I both decided they were even better than the regular homemade brownies that I used to make.  Try these brownies for a yummy dessert to indulge in this weekend!

Ghirardelli Chewy Gluten Free Brownies

Ingredients:

1 Cup Ghirardelli Dark or Milk Chocolate Chips 

2/3 cup almond flour or 1/2 cup whole almonds (a much less expensive option that still works great)

1/3 cup brown rice flour

6 Tbsp unsalted butter (softened and cut into pieces)

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

(If you want to try making these into a healthy sweet treat you could try these with oil or applesauce in place of the butter and any sugar substitute.  Let me know how they turn out if you do try them that way because I would really love a healthy dessert that doesn't end up in the trash:) )

Directions:
1.  Preheat the oven at 325 degrees F
2.  If using whole almonds add them to a food processor with the rice flour and pulse until nuts are finely ground.  (If using almond flour, mix with rice flour)  Set aside.
3.  Mix the chocolate, butter and salt together.  Melt in the top of a large double boiler over barely simmering water.  Stir frequently until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.  (I just melted the chocolate in the microwave for 1 1/2 minutes, stopping to stir about every 30 seconds and it worked great)  Remove the bowl and let cool for 5 minutes
4.  Stir in the sugar and vanilla.
5.  Stir in the eggs one at a time.
6.  Add the flour mixture and stir until moistened.  Mix briskly but don't over mix.
7.  Scrape the batter into a parchment paper lined, 8x8 (for thicker brownies) or 9x13 in. pan and spread evenly.
8.  Bake 20-30 minutes.  Bake time will depend on your oven and size of pan.  Do the toothpick test to check.  Brownies should be slightly puffed all over and the center should come out moist but clean.
9. Cool pan on rack and cut into squares.
10.   Enjoy your chewy, chocolaty,  addictive brownies!

Make sure to check these blogs for more delicious gluten free recipes:
Suburbs Mama
Musings of a Housewife