Melt-In-Your-Mouth Dark Chocolate Brownies

Even though it’s been more than three years since I first went gluten-free, I still remember those first few months as though they were yesterday. As you can imagine, there was utter chaos going on in my head. It felt as though my world was coming to an end. What the heck was I going to eat? There’s wheat in everything!

Why me? Why me? WHY ME?

But…but…I love sweets! You mean, no more cake? Or cookies? Or, or, brownies? 

No more brownies/? Is this some kind of sick joke?

This can’t be happening! First, you tell me no pizza—as if that wasn’t bad enough—but now, no brownies either?!

What am I going to do?

What a terrible feeling it was. Losing so many foods that brought me such joy and comfort since my childhood. Gone….poof!…just like that.

So, like any other gluten-free rookie in a panic, I went out to the grocery store, and bought me a box of the Betty Crocker gluten-free brownie mix. I whipped them up just as the box instructed, and then waited, very impatiently, for them to bake.

They’ll be fine, they’ll be fine…they will be just like the ones you’ve always eaten. You won’t even know the difference.

At least that’s what I kept telling myself in my crazy little head. To be fair, the gluten-free brownies in the box were okay. Yes, they were chocolate. Yes, they looked like brownies. But, they certainly were not like the beloved brownies I used to be able to eat. There was something just a little “off” about them. They had this odd stickiness to them that I still can’t explain, and the texture was off too. They certainly weren’t the dark chocolate, thick and fudgy, melt in your mouth kind of brownies I was used to and craved. You know the ones, right? Well, after that less than satisfying trial-and-error of  an attempt, I pretty much chalked it up to a lost cause, and tried to accept a world without brownies.

Sigh.

Eventually, I got completely fed up, and decided to start experimenting on my own. Why not take a stab at making something on my own, and seeing what I could come up with? 

How much worse could it really get?

And now, I’m sure glad I tried. I’ve been making these brownies for a couple of years, and they’re even better than the ones I used to be able to indulge in prior to going gluten-free. Yeah, I know. Believe that! These brownies are requested time and time again by gluten-free friends, and more often than not, those who aren’t! Yup. They are that good. The president of my company, who is not gluten-free, says these are the best brownies she’s ever had. She once said to me, “I think the chocolate Gods have spoken to you.”

Ding! We have a winner!

I have adapted this recipe from the original one I found online a long time ago to suit my needs, thus in turn, pretty much calling it my own at this point. Make these brownies as written, and you and everyone you make them for, will not be disappointed. 

These brownies, made completely from scratch, are extremely rich and chocolaty, and truly melt in your mouth. They taste like they took hours to make, but in reality take only slightly longer to make than the traditional box brownie. They are great on their own, or warm with vanilla ice cream, or even frosted.

Since it’s just me and my husband in our house, and eating a whole tray of brownies ourselves probably isn’t the best thing for our health—although certainly attainable—I’ll usually cut up a few brownies into small cubes, put them into a container and into the freezer so they can be warmed and added to ice cream at a later date. Otherwise, I just bring them into work for my co-workers—who will gobble them up before lunchtime even arrives.

I hope you try this recipe, and begin to realize that the foods you once loved before can still be a part of your new gluten-free world. Just keep trying and experimenting—that’s what it’s all about. Enjoy!

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Brownies

Ingredients:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter, room temperature, cut into 8 pieces

8 ounces gluten-free dark or bittersweet chocolate, cut into chunks

1 ¼ cups sugar*

3 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten

1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled

¼ cup unsweetened baking cocoa powder

½ teaspoon baking powder

*For slightly less sweet brownies, use only 1 cup of sugar.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Line 8 or 9-inch square pan with parchment paper. Set pan aside.

Place butter and dark chocolate chunks in a large glass mixing bowl. Using a microwave, melt butter and chocolate in 2 or 3 30-second intervals, stirring between each interval until chocolate is smooth and there are no lumps. (I recommend setting your microwave timer to only 30 seconds each time so that you do not burn the chocolate.) After the third heating interval there may be a few lumps left, just keep stirring until they melt down.

Add sugar, stirring until well combined.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder until combined well.

Add eggs to melted chocolate in the large mixing bowl, stirring to combine. Add all of flour mixture to the chocolate mixture. Stir until moistened, making sure not to over mix, about 15-20 strokes. Transfer batter to prepared pan.

Bake for about 35 minutes, or until toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool in pan for about 15 minutes before removing. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely (about 2 hours). Cut brownies with a large knife that is longer than the width of the brownies if possible. Cut straight down, and try not to drag your knife through the brownies.

Makes 16, 2-inch. brownies. 

A Match Made In Heaven

Peanut Butter and Jelly, Macaroni and Cheese, Abott and Costello, Yin and Yang…

Each of these items are fantastic on their own, but pair them up with something else and they become extraordinary. Take peanut butter for example. I can eat peanut butter right out of the jar with a spoon, it’s so good. Take that same peanut butter and pair it with some grape jelly or dark chocolate, and that peanut butter goes to a whole new level of perfection! I have one more of these wonderful pairings to add to the list: Cabot Greek Lowfat Vanilla Bean Yogurt with KIND’s Vanilla Blueberry Clusters Granola. Put these two together and, voila, you have a match made in heaven!

First, let’s take a look at the Greek Lowfat Vanilla Bean Yogurt. I have tried many brands of Greek-style vanilla yogurt currently on the market, and none of them even compare to Cabot’s. This Greek-style yogurt is rich and creamy, with real vanilla bean specks that you can actually see as soon as you open the lid. This yogurt is a little sweeter than the others I’ve tried, which is one of the reasons why I like it so much. Cabot yogurt doesn’t have that super tanginess like a lot of the other Greek yogurts do. It has a little, but the sweetness cuts it down.

Cabot yogurt uses all natural ingredients, and is naturally gluten-free. It is the perfect yogurt for breakfast, as a dip for fruit, as a dessert, or to use in smoothies.

One serving (1 cup) of this yogurt has 240 calories, 4g fat, 34g carbohydrate, 28g sugars, and 17g protein. It’s only available in the larger 32 oz. containers, and goes for about $4.29. I usually enjoy this yogurt for breakfast and use only half a serving at a time. One container will last me about a week. Compared to a 32 oz. container of Chobani Greek Yogurt at $5.39, the Cabot brand is a little more economical as well.

Then, we have KIND’s Healthy Granola. I like the Vanilla Blueberry Clusters with Flax Seeds variety. There’s also Dark Chocolate & Cranberry, Peanut Butter Whole Grain, Oats & Honey with Toasted Coconut, Maple Walnut with Chia & Quinoa, and Cinnamon with Flax Seeds. I recently stumbled upon this granola by accident in the grocery store. It was located in the regular cereal aisle, not in the gluten-free section. I am so glad I found this granola.

Not only is it clearly labeled as a gluten-free product, it is loaded with a blend of blueberries, flax seeds and whole grains including amaranth, quinoa, oats, millet and buckwheat with a hint of vanilla. One serving of this granola (1/3 cup) contains 120 calories, 3g fat, 22g carbohydrate, 5g sugars, 3g protein, and contains 750mg of omega-3 fatty acids. It costs about $4.99 for an 11 oz. bag.

This healthy granola is lightly sweet and super crunchy. It is great on its own for a snack, or as a cereal with milk (or any milk substitute), but if you want to take it up a notch, pair it with the Cabot Greek-Style Lowfat Vanilla Bean Yogurt. It is superb! For breakfast every morning I have ½ cup of the yogurt with about ¼ cup of granola, adding a handful of fresh organic blueberries or raspberries on top.

Just like peanut butter & jelly, these two were destined to be together. Try it for yourself, and enjoy!

Product Name: Cabot Greek-Style Low-fat Vanilla Bean Yogurt

Manufacturer: Cabot Creamery

Overall Rating: 5.0

Company Website: http://www.cabotcheese.coop/index.php

Product Name: KIND Vanilla Blueberry Clusters with Flax Seeds

Manufacturer: KIND

Overall Rating: 5.0

Company Website: http://www.kindsnacks.com/

Mel's Simple Salsa

Let me just start off by telling you that I love, love, love Mexican food. There are so many ingredients in Mexican cooking that I am a big fan of, such as cilantro, avocado, garlic, onion, oregano, and even chocolate—used in mole sauces. Need I say more?
 

One of my favorite Mexican restaurants in the Capital Region is Pancho’s, located on Cresent Road in Clifton Park, NY. My favorite thing to eat at Pancho’s is their complimentary chips and salsa, both gluten-free. I usually eat so many chips with their amazing salsa that by the time my meal comes I am already full.

After many visits to Pancho’s over the years, I decided I would try to replicate their salsa that I love so much just so I could have it at home whenever I wanted to. I figured it couldn’t be that hard to figure out, so I began experimenting with the ingredients I thought were in their salsa. And the result? Some pretty darn good salsa, if, I do say so myself.

I tend to make my salsa a little on the spicy side by keeping in half the ribs and seeds of the jalapeño. However, if I’m having guests over or serving it to children, I usually make it mild by removing all ribs and seeds.

I have made this recipe with fresh tomatoes when in season, roasting them in the oven with olive oil, sugar, salt and pepper. And, in the winter I use canned tomatoes, and it  still comes out fantastic. I’ve tried most of the canned tomatoes on the market, and Hunt’s Fire Roasted are my favorite. They taste the freshest, and closest to the oven roasted tomatoes I use in the summer.

This salsa recipe is usually the star of any get-together I host, and I usually end up with at least one person asking for the recipe. Up until now, I have kept my salsa recipe a secret, and shared it with only family and close friends. However, I feel no need to keep the secret any longer, so I’m sharing my recipe here.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

INGREDIENTS:

Four 14.5 ounce cans of Hunt’s Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes, drained and chopped*

1½ - 2 teaspoons sea salt

1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

1 tablespoon sugar

1/3 red onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium jalapeño pepper, diced**

¼ cup fresh cilantro including stems, chopped

Juice of a lime

1 tablespoon Marukan Rice Vinegar

DIRECTIONS:
Drain tomatoes in a fine sieve, strainer, or colander, removing as much liquid from the tomatoes as possible.

In a food processor or blender, pulse tomatoes in batches until coarsely chopped, or chop by hand.

In a large mixing bowl, season the tomatoes with the sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
 

Add the onion, garlic, jalapeño pepper, cilantro, lime juice, and vinegar; mix thoroughly.

Serve salsa at room temperature with Xochil gluten-free chips.

Will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about a week.

Makes 1 quart, serves 6.

*When tomatoes are in season, you can replace canned tomatoes with about 16-20 medium-sized plum tomatoes. Cut tomatoes in half and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, and season with the same amounts of sugar, salt, and pepper called for in the recipe. Roast in oven at 400° for about 45 minutes. Cool, and remove skins (add hint on how to do that, perhaps?).
Note: Since you roasted the tomatoes with the sugar, salt, and pepper, skip that step in the recipe.

**For mild salsa, remove all seeds and ribs from the jalapeño pepper; for medium salsa, remove half seeds and ribs; for hot salsa leave in all seeds and ribs. Be careful when handling hot peppers such as jalapeños. Do not rub your eyes (or take out your contacts!), and wash hands with soap and water immediately after handling the peppers, or wear disposable rubber gloves.