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Rich and fudgy gluten free brownies that are every bit as good as “regular” brownies. These gluten free brownies are flavorful, dense, and packed with chocolate!
With this base gluten free brownie recipe, you can make these jazzed up brownie treats: brownie ice cream bars (leave out the oreos for a gluten free dessert), mint brownies, or cosmic brownies.
Over the years I’ve shared quite a few gluten free treats (these no bake energy bites, peanut butter chocolate muffins, and flourless monster cookies are some readers favorites). With a sister that’s had a gluten intolerance most of her life, I always wanted to make sure she had some delicious treats too.
My constant requirement: the gluten free treats I share here need to be JUST as good as their counterpart gluten filled treats. So as you might be wondering: do gluten free brownies taste good? Heck yes. These brownies are every bit as good as regular brownies. They’re rich and dense and packed with chocolate. They’re also incredibly simple to make. No hand mixers or stand mixers required. If you have a large bowl and a wooden spoon, you’re well on your way to gluten free brownie heaven.
Just a heads up, these gluten free brownies aren’t any healthier than typical brownie recipes. Click here for a healthy brownies recipe 🙂
Let’s begin with a few tips for these bars.
Gluten free brownie tips
- Good quality chocolate: use good quality chocolate for the best results and flavor on these brownies. I recommend Ghirardelli.
- Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature. If your flour is too cool, or your eggs are being used straight from the refrigerator, or chocolate too hot, you’ll “shock” the ingredients and affect the brownie density and texture.
- Dutch process cocoa powder: the better the cocoa powder you use, the better these gluten free brownies turn out! Dutch process cocoa is going to give you the most flavorful and moist brownies. This is my favorite cocoa powder (affiliate link). (Hershey’s dark cocoa powder is dutch process.)
- Don’t over mix: mixing too much (or using hand mixers) will introduce air into the batter which will yield more cake-like brownies.
- Slightly under-bake: even a few minutes over bake time and these turn from perfectly dense and fudgy to more cake-like and less flavorful. Watch carefully and as soon as a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs, these brownies are ready.
Can you substitute gluten free flour for regular flour?
The two are rarely interchangeable without changing other things in the recipe. The great news about this gluten free brownie recipe is that we don’t use any flour.
Instead we use cornstarch! The cornstarch thickens and binds ingredients while keeping these bars soft and fudgy. I would not recommend any substitutes for the cornstarch.
Storage
Store these gluten free brownies in an airtight container on the counter for up to three days, or in the refrigerator (covered tightly) for up to five days.
Store in the fridge: the frosting on these have the tendency to get melty (especially on a hot day). (I think the actual brownie base tastes better chilled as well.)
Cutting out brownies
Pull the brownies out of the pan using the parchment paper overhang. Run a sharp knife in hot water, wipe it dry, and move it across the pan of brownies in a sawing motion. Repeat steps for each cut you make!
Using the right pan
Light-colored, shiny pans produce the best results for baking gluten free brownies. These pans conduct heat more evenly throughout.
If you have to use a glass or dark colored pan, reduce the oven temperature by a 10-20 degrees and watch the brownies carefully (especially watching the edges).
More delicious desserts:
- Puppy Chow and ways to customize it
- Oreo Balls reader favorite
- Strawberry Shortcake with fresh whipped cream
- Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe
- Nutella Crepes crepe recipe straight from a French bakery!
Rich and fudgy gluten free brownies that are every bit as good as "regular" brownies. These gluten free brownies are flavorful, dense, and packed with chocolate!
- 18 ounces good quality SEMI-SWEET chocolate chips (~3 completely full cups or 1 and 1/2 (12 ounce bag)
- 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 LARGE eggs + 1 large egg yolk
- 6 tablespoons dutch process cocoa powder (Hershey's dark cocoa powder is dutch process)
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 and 1/2 cups milk, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate chips (whatever you prefer, we like milk best)
- For the frosting (optional)
- 1 and 1/2 cups good quality SEMI-SWEET chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
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PREP: Line a light colored metal 9 x 13 pan with parchment paper leaving enough of an overhang to easily remove bars. Lightly grease with nonstick spray. Don't skip this step. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
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BROWNIES: In a VERY large microwave safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips and cubes of butter. Microwave in bursts of 15 seconds, stirring in between each burst, until completely melted and smooth. (Be patient here and don't microwave too long at risk of burning chocolate.)
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BROWNIES CONT.: Remove from the microwave and immediately stir in the sugar. Add in the vanilla and one egg. Stir until completely incorporated. Add the remaining eggs and egg yolk, ONE at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon after each addition until each is completely integrated. It's thick but avoid hand/stand mixers as these will beat in too much air. In a separate bowl, stir together the cocoa powder, cornstarch, and salt. Add to the brownies along with the 1 and 1/2 cups chocolate chips. Stir until smooth. Transfer to prepared baking pan.
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BAKE: Bake for 27-33 minutes watching very carefully near the end. As soon as a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs (make sure it doesn't hit a melted chocolate chip!) these brownies are done. This is almost always 29-30 minutes in my oven (calibrated). Differences will occur based on individual ovens, humidity, etc. Remove and allow brownies to fully cool at room temperature before topping.
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OPTIONAL FROSTING: Add chocolate chips to a large heat safe bowl. Place the cream in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute. Pour over the chocolate chips. Cover bowl with the bottom of a cookie sheet or lid to a pan (whatever you have to keep heat in). Let stand for 4 minutes before stirring until smooth. (If chocolate isn't melted completely, place in microwave for 15 seconds and then stir again). Once smooth, pour over the completely cooled brownies and smooth until even. Chill, covered, for 1-2 hours or until firm. If frosting these brownies, store in the fridge as the frosting has a tendency to get melty.
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SERVING: To cut: remove brownies from pan using parchment paper overhang. Cut with a sharp knife. For clean cuts, run knife under hot water, dry, and make a cut. Repeat until all bars are cut out. Return any leftovers to an airtight container in the fridge. Brownies are best served chilled.
Gluten free: these brownies are naturally gluten free -- confirm with all packaging that products are processed in gluten free environment.
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