Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Healthy Fudge Brownies (Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free, Vegan)

  18 comments    
Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free Brownies
A friend of mine is on "The Virgin Diet” (gluten free, soy free, dairy free, egg free, no sugar) and recently was telling me how she was dreaming of just eating a brownie. I got to thinking that I’m sure a great fudgy brownie could be made with a couple substitutions. I’ve been trying to lose baby weight (cough my baby is 7 months old) still, so I thought it’d be great to find a dessert recipe that was somewhat healthy for me. These were delicious and RICH. Even me a lover of chocolate could only eat half of one in a sitting because they are so rich. But they were the perfect way to satisfy a craving for chocolate in a healthy way. My friend loved them too! (Even though they do have maple syrup and agave which I don't know if those are technically okay on the diet, but it was a tiny splurge ;)
I started off with a recipe from Grain Free Foodie, found here. I altered it slightly to make it dairy and egg free, and have noted my alterations below. Then I added my favorite healthy chocolate frosting made with coconut oil. I love frosted brownies. My husband loves them unfrosted. We have been known to frost half the pan and divide the treats.
Brownie Ingredients:
  • 2/3 c. honey or agave nectar
  • 1/2 c. melted coconut oil
  • 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 c. applesauce
  • 1 c. brown rice flour or almond flour
  • 1/2 c. cocoa powder
  • 1/4 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp. sea salt
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk honey, melted coconut oil, vanilla and applesauce until smooth. Add flour, cocoa, baking soda and optional salt. Stir to blend. Pour into greased 8x8x2 inch pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until center no longer jiggles and top feels cakey. Cool on a wire rack at least until sides pull away from the edge of the pan before cutting. (Cutting with a plastic knife keeps it from getting crumb-y.)

Raw Chocolate Frosting Ingredients:
  • 1 c. coconut oil, melted
  • 1/3 c. cocoa
  • 2/3 c. agave nectar
Whisk cocoa with melted coconut oil until smooth, slowly add agave whipping with whisk. Let sit at room temperature or in fridge to set for 10-15 minutes before frosting, to bring the coconut oil back to a thicker state. Frost brownies when they’re cool.
Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free BrowniesGluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free BrowniesGluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free Brownies


18 comments:

  1. Perfection! I've been searching for an allergy friendly brownie and these do the job better than brownies I've found that contain cane sugar. Mmmmmmm I topped mine with strawberries and homemade coconut icecream

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    1. Sara, I'm so glad! Strawberries and coconut ice cream sound amazing on top... Coconut ice cream is the best!

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  2. Could these be made using unbleached white flour instead of the Rice Flour?? Would it still be the same amount??
    I would love to make these for a gathering i am having next weekend :)

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    1. So sorry for the delayed response - just saw this comment! I know it's too late now, but I think generally you can substitute flours if you find a guide. I'm sure they'd actually be much better (in the traditional brownie sense ;) with white flour. I'm pretty sure you need a tiny bit more of white flour than rice flour to convert properly. xo, Shannon

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  3. I just made these yesterday. They are so good! Thank you!

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  4. No agave on the Virgin diet but stevia and xylitol are good. These look delight!

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    1. Thanks! I realized that after I made them! That's probably why the diet works so well ;)

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  5. Do you know what the calories are on these?!

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    1. I don't sorry! I think it would vary depending on what brand of ingredients you used. You could probably calculate as you were making it. So sorry!

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  6. I made these today, and they didn't rise (at all) and were too doughy even though I ended up keeping them in the oven for a full 25 minutes :( I used the exact ingredients listed and followed the directions so I don't know what happened! They definitely had a good taste, but were too moist and doughy!

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    1. Oh no! I'm wondering if it had something to do with altitude? Or my oven and your oven being different? We just moved and my new oven cooks things a lot differently than my old one did, so maybe they're all a little different? So sorry about that! xo, Shannon

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    2. I had a similar problem. The only subs I did were using a mix of sprouted brown rice and white rice for the flour, and subbing honey for the agave. But it had to stay in the oven at least 10-15 minutes longer and it's still super rudy! The flavor is great though!

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  7. Do you happen to know the calorie count? If not that fine, I can figure it out I just need to know how many servings this recipe is meant to yield. Thank you!

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  8. Made it today for my 3 kids, who (between all 3 of them) share hidden food allergy to gluten, cow's milk, and eggs. They loved it! I had to substitute rice flour with gluten free flour by namaste 1:1, and it worked well. Next time I am trying cassava flour. Thank you for a great recipe.

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  9. I made these today, and I am not sure what happened. I followed the recipe exactly, and what I got was an 8x8 glob of chocolate grease. I can't figure it out. Has this happened to anyone else? I would love to try again if I could figure out what went wrong.

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    1. So sorry Ginny! Did you bake until the top no longer jiggled? Is your oven typically running at average heat? - Shannon

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