Eagle Therapies

Gluten Free Brownies? Yes Please!

Posted on February 1, 2014

One of my co-workers has a gluten intolerance. I always feel bad because there are a high amount of goodies that float through work – whether it be cookies, brownies, cakes, muffins, or other forms of baked goods. If she wanted to eat them or not, she can’t because she knows the repercussions she would be responsible for. So what did I try? Baking gluten free brownies! They actually aren’t that bad.

I found the recipe here on the Trader Joe’s website. I love that store, can buy so many things there that are on the healthier side.

The original recipe called for dark chocolate covered espresso beans. I don’t know about you, but I’m not really a fan of espresso beans or coffee, so instead I substituted them with chocolate chips! (Not to mention the fact that I am a squirrel and squirrels tend to go supernova when introduced to caffeine) I also didn’t have grapeseed oil, but I did have canola oil instead. I also added flax seed, which is a really great bran that is high in omega 3’s. So here is the modified version:

• 1/3 cup chocolate chips
• 1 can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 Large Eggs
• 3 Tbsp Canola Oil
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 3/4 cup Organic Sugar
• 1/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 cup Flax seed

I made the mistake of adding everything into the same bowl and trying to mix it with a mixer. Wrong choice. The black beans didn’t get ground up quite as well as I wanted it to. I didn’t have a food processor handy, so instead I used an old fashioned blender! It worked great, and everything was mixed to a nice consistency.

The next step would be to grease the pan with canola oil. I just put a tablespoon onto the pan and then rubbed it around with a paper towel. You could get fancy and spray a non-stick spray onto it, but I don’t like aerosol, and I’m klassy with a Capitol K, so I just stick with the simple stuff.

The whole time I’m mixing, I have the oven preheating to 350 degrees. After greasing the pan and making a hot mess of myself, I pour the batter from the blender into the pan (from my experience, the blender tends to make less of a mess when the lid is actually on. Not going to admit if I was the one that did that or not).

Pop it into the oven for 30-45 minutes and voila! You have your gluten free brownies!

Regarding the texture and flavor – it’s not that bad. It has a slight bean after taste, but it’s rich and moist. It tastes nearly like a regular brownie, but you can tell it has more protein in it. Try it at home with your own variation! Let us know how it goes!