Thursday, April 14, 2011

Gluten Free Brown Butter Brownies

I’m no stranger to a batch of brownies. Quite often a cheap box of brownie mix and some vanilla ice cream make their way into the grocery cart when firefighters go shopping for their daily supplies. Even at home I have made some decent gluten free brownies from scratch. Not to mention, there are a couple good GF brownie mixes available as well. I have to tell you, the recipe I’m about to give you puts all other brownies to shame, even the non gluten free ones. As an added bonus, these brownies are super simple to make. Up until a couple of years ago, I had no idea what browned butter was. Now that I have tried it, I’ve used brown butter in several recipes. For those of you who don’t know what is so special about brown butter, allow me to fill you in. When you take butter and heat it in a saucepan over medium heat, it begins to melt and foam up. After 4-5 minutes, the butter begins to darken in color and “brown.” When the butter browns, it takes on a very nutty, earthy flavor that tastes great when used with chocolate.
Gluten Free Brown Butter Brownies
from Bon Appetit, modified to be gluten free
10 Tbs unsalted butter (1-1/4 sticks)
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp water
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/3 cup plus 1 Tbs
GF flour mix
1/2-1 cup walnut pieces
IMG_0347Start by pre heating your oven to 325 degrees F. Next, line an 8inch by 8inch pan with tin foil. Lightly coat the foil with cooking spray. In a small bowl, mix the sugar, cocoa powder, and salt together, set aside.IMG_0352Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.IMG_0359I wanted to show the transformation of the butter here. After the butter melts it is still golden yellow and it begins to foam up.IMG_0361After, 4-5 minutes you will see the butter getting darker and “browning.” Make sure you stir the butter occasionally so it doesn’t burn. Once the butter reaches a deep brown color, remove from the heat.IMG_0367Next, add the sugar, cocoa powder, salt mix. Add in the vanilla and 2 tsps of water as well. Stir the mixture well. The mix will be a little grainy at this point. Let it cool down for about 5 minutes before adding the eggs, one at a time.IMG_0370After the eggs are mixed in, the batter will become smooth and shiny. Add in the gf flour and beat vigorously for about 60-70 strokes.IMG_0372Stir in the walnuts.IMG_0374Pour the batter into your prepared pan and throw it in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out mostly clean with a few crumbs on it. Cool the brownies in the pan on a rack. After they are cooled, you should be able to lift the brownies out of the pan by carefully lifting the tin foil on the sides of the pan.IMG_0378Now you have a whole pile of ooey gooey delicious gluten free brownies. Like I said before, these are the best brownies I’ve ever had.IMG_0382They even go great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!!!

7 comments:

  1. I love browned butter! Never would have thought to put it in a brownie recipe. Quick question - the amount of flour you add, is that supposed to be 1/3 or 1 1/3 c?
    Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe!

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  2. Stephanie, Thanks for catching my typo. The recipe calls for 1/3 cup plus 1 Tbs of gf flour mix. You should make these soon, they are very very good.
    Take care,
    Brian

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  3. Hi Brian!

    Just wanted to let you know, I was catching up on my blogs and was scrolling through my google reader when my fiance (who was behind me) was like "WAIT...WAIT STOP...MAKE THOSE PLEASE! MAKE THOSE TODAY!" - so I wanted to let you know that your pictures look sooo scrumptious!

    Now I normally try to avoid dairy but...I with that kind of encouragement (the man normally doesn't like sweet stuff)..I just *HAD* to make my own batch of browned butter GF brownies (it's in the oven now)...and from the way the batter tasted (yes, I couldn't resist...) ohhhh...these are going to be legendary!

    Would you mind if I posted the recipe (with credit to you & link to your blog) on my own blog? I know some GF brownie fiends who would love this! :)

    Dee

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  4. Hi Dee, I hope these brownies satisfy your fiance's sweet tooth. Yes, you are more than welcome to post this recipe on your blog, thanks for asking.
    Take care,
    Brian

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  5. Hi Brian! We absolutely loved them and these are now my go-to brownie recipe! Here's my blog post (I finally got it up!)
    http://glutenfreewithdee.com/blog/?p=462

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  6. Fantastic! What a find for those of us you long for the days of gluten goodness.

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  7. Hey cuz. I've gone GF since it aggravates my PsA. Planning on making these for tonight. Thanks for the recipe.

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