I was quite curious when a friend treated me to some gluten free vegan brownies. I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to question and re-confirm it they were truly vegan and…..strictly gluten free? What I was eating was too good to be vegan and gluten free. At least, that’s what my brain kept telling me.

To me a (real) brownie contains flour and eggs. Since we adapted a predominantly vegan diet and I further took to an entirely gluten free living, we’ve not made brownies at home and have not eaten the store bought ones. The vegan carob chips help satisfy the cravings for brownies, that I occasionally get. (I know those two are not even close, but that’s what I have gotten used to now.)

The recipe my friend shared with me did not call for eggs or flour as ingredients. This really caught me by surprise and curious to making them myself, I requested the recipe, letting her know my eagerness and enthusiasm to try it.
I just found it hard to believe something without all the gluten and butter fat could be this delicious. And, to my surprise it turned out just the way my friend made these brownies. The husband’s reaction as exactly like mine ( when I had these brownies for the first time ever)…he asked “ Are you sure this is vegan and had no flour?” Smiles.

Ingredients:

Vegan, Gluten Free Brownies
(An adaptation from The Gluten-Free Vegan by Susan O’Brien)
1 cup applesauce
½ cup organic sugar
1 cup agave nectar
¼ cup canola oil
1 banana, peeled and mashed
1 ½ teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer whisked together with 2 tablespoon warm water
1 cup cocoa powder
½ cup brown rice flour
½ cup quinoa flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon xanthum gum
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
¼ cup vegan chocolate chips
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup chopped walnuts
Olive Oil cooking spray

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly spray an 8-inch square non-stick pan with olive oil cooking spray.
For the oil mixture: In a large bowl, beat together canola oil, agave nectar and sugar. Mix for about two minutes.
For the egg replacer mixture: In a separate bowl, whisk egg replacer very well with warm water, until bubbly. Make sure the powder is completely dissolved.
Wet Ingredient Mixture: Add the applesauce, mashed banana and egg replacer mixture to the previously prepare oil mixture. Mix well and set aside.
For the flour mixture: Sift together brown rice flour, quinoa flour, salt, baking powder, xanthum gum, cinnamon and cocoa powder.
To the wet ingredient mixture, add the flour mix and stir well until well blended. Add the chocolate chips and walnuts. Stir slowly without overbeating.
Add spoonful of batter, one spoon at a time, into the previously prepared pan. Spread evenly and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and cut into squares.
Enjoy with cold or warm Almond milk.
NOTE: For the toothpick test, I did not wait till the tooth picks came out clean, I pulled out the brownies from the oven at the 38 minute mark, to prevent them from drying out.
1Per the packaging instruction on the egg replacer – 1 ½ teaspoons Ener-G Egg Replacer plus 2 tablespoons warm water equals one egg. If any other egg replacer is used, then make sure you use enough to be equivalent to using one egg.
2I used lesser vegan chocolate chips than what the original recipe called for as I didn’t want the brownies to be too bitter. To make the brownies with additional chocolate, use ½ cup or more of the vegan chocolate chips.
Yield: 24 square pieces (based on how small or big you cut out the squares)