Gluten Free Brownies

 Need to satisfy your chocolate craving? These gluten free brownies are the perfect way to do it, and are made completely from scratch! They’re fudgy with crackly tops, easy to make, dairy free and made with simple ingredients you probably already have on hand.

I’m one of those weird people who prefers vanilla to chocolate, but I can absolutely never say no to a good homemade brownie. Especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. It’s basically the best of the dessert world.

These gluten-free brownies are fudgy, chewy, perfectly chocolatey, and so easy to make.

Plus, they’re made in just one bowl, and require no fancy ingredients. Throw in some chocolate chips for some extra fudge, drizzle on top a chocolate glaze or frost them completely, or even add some chopped nuts.

Key ingredients

Eggs. Two eggs not only help bind all ingredients together, but they also react with the sugar to help create that crackly, shiny crust.

Sugar. For best results, I recommend sticking with regular white sugar. You can use coconut sugar in place of granulated sugar, but the tops won’t get quite as shiny/crackly. I do not recommend a liquid sweetener like honey or maple syrup here!

Oil. Some brownies call for butter, some call for oil, but with this recipe, I prefer the texture with oil. You can use any neutral-flavored oil here.

Chocolate/cocoa. We’ll need both chocolate chips and cocoa powder to create a super rich and fudgy texture.

Flour. A little bit of gluten-free purpose baking flour will absorb some of the excess moisture here. I like Bob’s Red Mill GF baking flour, but any kind should work as long as it has xanthan gum.

How to make gluten-free brownies

Add 1 cup worth of the chocolate chips to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave at 30-45-second intervals, stirring between each until completely melted.

If you don’t have a microwave, you can add the chocolate chips to a small pot, then put that pot in a larger pot with about an inch of water and melt over low heat, stirring regularly to prevent burning. Or, if you have an actual double boiler, just use that!

Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, milk and oil.

Add in the dry ingredients (flour, salt, and baking powder) and the melted chocolate and mix until a batter forms. Fold in the remaining 2/3 cup of chocolate chips (can omit if you prefer).

Transfer to an 8×8 baking dish lined with parchment paper and spread the batter evenly. 

Bake for 30-38 minutes or until a toothpick comes out somewhat clean and the tops are nice and shiny/crinkly. I do about 33 minutes in my oven, but all ovens are different. Bake for longer for a less fudgy and more cake-like center.

Let cool completely, then slice into 16 even squares. With an 8×8 pan, 16 squares will be slightly small brownies, feel free to cut into 9 for larger ones.

The key to fudgy brownies

You may have noticed that is an old recipe that I updated to make it 1000x better. The original recipe tasted great, but it was definitely more cakey than fudgy.

Personally, I like both types of brownies, but after some feedback, I decided to upgrade these to be fudgier and get that gorgeous shiny crackly crust we all dream about. Just me?? Ok.

Anyway, I’ve tried and tested and have nailed down a few key tips to make fudgy brownies, you’ll never go back to a boxed gluten-free brownie mix again!

Use melted chocolate instead of (or in addition to) cocoa powder. Many brownie recipes call for cocoa powder, (even some of my recipes), but I find for these gluten-free brownies, using melted chocolate yields the best texture AND is the key to getting a shiny/crackly top.

Shorten the bake time! A longer bake time means the brownies will dry out slightly and won’t be as fudgy. This can be good or bad depending on how you like them. For reference, I baked mine for 35 minutes and they were fudgy without being too gooey. Feel free to go up or down!

Keep the baking powder/soda to a minimum. This recipe uses just 1/4 tsp of baking powder since it already has two eggs which helps the batter rise.

Too much baking powder or soda will create too much air in the brownies which can cause them to be cakey or just collapse in the center after the cool. We don’t want either!

The best chocolate & flour

You can use any kind of chocolate chip you like but try to use good quality and avoid bittersweet. I suggest semi-sweet and love the brand Guittard since they’re made in a gluten-free facility and taste just like regular chocolate chips, but are gluten & dairy-free.

This recipe requires just 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder, so you can use whatever you like. Either Dutch processed or natural cocoa powder will work. It’s a small amount but just works to enhance the overall chocolate flavor and absorb a bit of moisture.

As far as flour goes, I used the GF Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 baking flour in the blue bag. You can try other gluten-free baking flours like King Arthur, just make sure they have xanthan gum. You can also use regular all-purpose flour instead if you are not gluten-free!

How to store and freeze

Once prepared, these gluten-free brownies will be stored for about 3-5 days. Allow them to cool completely before transferring to an airtight container. I store them at room temperature, but they’ll keep for longer in the fridge!

To freeze, allow to cool completely, then slice and place in a ziplock bag or wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-safe container.

Reheat in the oven at 300 until warm through the center and enjoy!

Can I make them vegan or dairy-free?

This recipe is naturally dairy-free (just use dairy-free chocolate chips), but I do not suggest making them vegan.

The eggs are key for binding all ingredients together as well as getting those crackly, shiny tops!