Makes 16 – 2×2 inch squares OR one enormous brownie for a true fudgy-style brownie lover

Flashback to 1993. I was a newly divorced mother of a three-year-old and my life wasn’t all that rosy looking. I was struggling with finances, keeping up with my mortgage payments, being a mom and trying to get my acting career off the ground, again.

Whenever I was totally down in the dumps, I’d bake something that had chocolate in it, because after all chocolate was my soul sister. Usually cookies but one particularly lonely night, after I’d put my son to bed, I had a hankering for brownies. I didn’t have all the right ingredients in my pantry, so I improvised and created a recipe I later called Better Than Sex Brownies. I’m my head, at that point in my life, they really were, if only I could have taught them how to dance….

I have created many different versions of that recipe, but it wasn’t until my son was diagnosed with lactose intolerance that I really did an overhaul. It was bye-bye to full on chocolate and butter and hello to cocoa powder and oil. Here’s the recipe for that version Decadent Brownies  

I was inspired to create a gluten free version to help out all of my friends and followers who are living with celiac or have been diagnosed with gluten intolerance.

Still fudgey and fabulous, because it’s really all about the chocolate.

½ cup canola oil

2 omega-3 eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

½ cup + 2 Tbsp natural cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy – only natural cocoa powder

½ cup + 1 Tbsp whole grain oat flour – spoon in and level off using a flat edge (see note below for gluten free)

1 tsp baking powder, see note below for gluten free

1. Make sure the rack is in the centre of the oven. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line an 8×8-inch metal pan with wet parchment paper, drying it with a clean tea towel to remove as much of the water as possible. You’ll thank me later when you lift the brownies out of the pan unscathed.
2. Beat together oil and eggs using an electric hand-held beater or some elbow grease and a wooden spoon. Add the sugar and beat until it has slightly thickened.
3. Add the vanilla and cocoa powder. Slowly beat in the cocoa powder or you’ll be wearing cocoa powder as a fine dust settles on your clothes.
4. Gently beat in the flour baking powder. The batter will be thick, spoon batter into prepared pan and gently spread out.
5. Bake for 22-25 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Pick up the parchment paper at the sides and lift the brownie out. Finish cooling on a wire rack.
6. Cut into 16 equal pieces and serve or store in an airtight container for up to 2 days; like there’s a hope they are going to last that long.

 

Makes – 16 – 2 inches x 2 inches pieces

One serving = 1 – 2 inches x 2 inches piece Per serving = 165 Calories, 8.9 Total fat, 1.1 Sat Fat, 0 Trans Fat, 24 mg Cholesterol, 34 mg Sodium, 21.1 Carbs, 2.1 Fibre, 13.4 g Sugars, 13.3 Added Sugars, 2.8 g Protein, 94 mg Potassium

 

Carbohydrate Choice = 1.5 choices

 

Professional Home Economist Tip

To make this is 100% gluten free use oat flour and baking powder that are labelled gluten free.

 

Photo Credit

Mike McColl Photos with Sauce