Gluten-Free Brownie Goodness

I didn’t set out to make gluten-free brownies, or even brownies. I’m trying to pare down my pantry in anticipation of moving next month (where to, don’t ask... I have three possibilities pending, and each is in a different time zone. And there remains my fantasy of opening my own little bakery in Iceland. Or the Isle of Man. Or New Zealand. Some scenic island somewhere that has lots of sheep but no Fox News Channel).

Friday night I looked through the cupboards as I waited for a batch of mint granite to freeze (yum) and decided it was time to do something with the unsweetened chocolate I’ve had for an embarrassingly long time.

Brownies seemed the natural choice. Flipping through a couple cookbooks on my "use it or lose it" pile (books I plan to donate unless I find some need to keep), I found a recipe I hadn’t tried that had some interesting methods, both for the cooking and the baking.

I changed a couple things around to fit the ingredients I had on hand, and unintentionally made it gluten-free in the process. The results were delish for anyone who likes gooey, chewy brownies, and I like that you don’t need a mixer or any other special equipment. Since I fudged about, pun intended, with the recipe enough that I don’t think I’m violating any intellectual property laws or somesuch, I thought I’d post it:

Gluten-Free Brownies

4 oz. (one stick) unsalted butter, cut in chunks
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, cut in chunks
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt (I used a generous 1/4 t of Kosher salt; use a little less if using regular table salt)
2 large eggs
1/3 cup almond meal (you can make your own by throwing almonds in a coffee grinder and grinding away to cornmeal texture)

Preheat oven to 400F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8x8 pan (not glass) with parchment paper or foil.

Melt butter and chocolate in double boiler over low simmer, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and add sugar, vanilla and salt. Stir to combine. Add eggs one at a time, stirring to fully integrate. Add almond meal and stir until homogenous. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake 20-25 minutes until sides begin to pull away from pan. While it’s baking, clear a space in your freezer somewhat larger than the pan. Fill your sink with a couple inches of cold water and add ice, if desired. When brownies are done, remove from oven and place gently in sink. My pan floated, which I thought was really cool, but just in case yours doesn’t, hold onto it with oven mitts as you quick-cool it a couple minutes. Place in freezer until room temperature. Pop out of pan and cut into 16 squares.

What I really liked about the results were the chewy, crispy exterior and utterly goo-tastic interior. And yeah, I liked floating the pan in the ice water, a step not called for in the original recipe, which said to pop it right in the freezer.

Enjoy!