Brownies (vegan)

Last summer, I made a few batches of brownies. At the time, I was still relatively new to gluten free baking. It also didn’t help that I had to make everything in small enough batches to fit in my toaster oven. All my brownies were turning out too fluffy and cake-like, so I eventually gave up on making brownies.

After discovering that almond meal and almond flour give baked goods a denser texture, I knew that that’s what brownies needed. In the end, I found a recipe that actually works. Usually, when I want to bake something I haven’t mastered, I find a recipe that works more or less, identify individual problems, and then try to fix these problems until I have an entirely different recipe. This recipe needed no adjustments. It’s quite perfect as is. So, while it’s not my own recipe, it’s too good not to share.

Vegan Brownies

3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup almond meal – I used the coarse stuff
3/4 cup cocoa
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp corn free baking powder
3 tbsp chia meal (ground chia seeds)
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp water
1/2 cup agave nectar or maple syrup
3 tbsp margarine/vegan butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F and grease a baking pan. I used a 9×13 inch rectangle pan.

Combine all the wet ingredients and the chia seed meal in a small bowl and let it sit for five minutes. In the meantime, mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix in the wet ingredients. Pour the batter into the greased baking pan and spread it out so that it’s mostly smooth on top. Bake for 45-55 minutes.