I am a brownie fan all the way. I grew up baking all the cookies and bars from my Mom’s battered Joy of Cooking when I was seven. Brownies have really fascinated me ever since. Oh the chemistry of baking! And what a pleasure for an alchemist like me. The role of ingredients has always been connected to my love for exploring and my detective strike (my Mom used to say I was Sherlock Holmes because I found out everything). I found this recipe online (I apologize as I cannot recall the author and I looked all over). Pistachios are my Lebanese background touch.
Being on a gluten free diet has really helped me explore new options and open new paths as adversity always does. The main thing about brownies is this: they must be chewy not like fudge, not insanely chocolaty and by no means cakey!!! And chewy they are. And yes they do need the maple syrup, I have tried everything else and it just does not do it. A note: maple syrup is a great baking sweetener and better than sugar but still high in fructose, so eat sparingly and if you are diabetic or hypoglycemic please take note: and eat a small piece and really watch what you eat every day. I can enjoy a small piece once in a while after lunch when I want a special treat but do this responsibly. And like Tony Robbins says its what you do on regular basis that counts.
RECIPE
Serves: 9
- ¾ cup Gluten Free oat flour such as Bobs Red Mill/ you can also put gluten free oats into a Vitamix and blend very well until you have a fine flour (72 gr)
- ½ cup raw cacao or cocoa (If you use cacao it’s healthier, cocoa gives a darker color) 43 gr
- 3 Tablespoons tapioca starch (In the US its the same: I use Bobs Red Mill) 24 gr
- ½ or 2 gr teaspoon fine sea salt or Maldon Salt (my favorite!!)
- ½ Cup 70 % chocolate cut into pieces such as Valhrona or Guittard or Cacao Barry (80 gr)
- 1 Cup maple syrup grade A
- ¾ cup coconut butter not coconut oil (believe me I tried it and it gets way too oily) I use creamed coconut by Let’s Do Organic which you can find on Amazon, Central Market, Whole Foods/ it is exactly 1 package 200 gr/ put 30 seconds in microwave then really mix well
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons toasted or normal almond butter/ 98 gr (make sure it is fluid not too thick)
- 7 Gr Vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup unsalted pistachios chopped or pecans or hazelnuts
- Maldon salt to sprinkle on top/ about ½ teaspoon/ optional
- Grease and line the bottom of a 9" brownie pan with parchment paper.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Sift oat flour, salt, cacao and tapioca.
- In another bowl: mix coconut butter, almond butter, maple syrup and vanilla. Add dry ingredients to wet, stir to combine with a whisk by hand. Fold in chocolate and pour batter into prepared pan. Add pistachios on top and sprinkle Maldon Salt.
- Bake for approximately 25 mins until toothpick comes out with fairly moist consistent crumb, but not wet. It will set as it cools.
- Remove and cool for at least 4 hrs cut into 9 pieces. Whatever you do don’t cut too soon these really need to rest and the texture matures.
- Don’t use a higher percentage chocolate as they will get too dense.
- Brownies keep for approximately 3 days in perfect conditions/ store in a recycled store bought salad container.
- Don’t refrigerate, but you can freeze them.
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