Grain-free Brownies (gluten free)

These grain-free brownies are my favorite brownie recipe ever! I absolutely love their fudgy texture and chocolatey taste! Topped with homemade mint frosting and a sugar-free chocolate ganache… I don’t think these brownies can get any better! They are super easy to make and are the perfect allergy-friendly dessert for modern pioneers of all ages. Give these healthy brownies a try in the homestead kitchen, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed!

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Modern Pioneer Recipe

These grain-free brownies are a modern pioneer recipe. Cacao powder just wasn’t a pioneer ingredient back then. But chocolate, eggs, butter, sugar, and flour were! So this recipe is pretty close to being a pioneer recipe. The fact that it is made with ‘healthier’ ingredients definitely qualifies it for the modern pioneer kitchen though!

Now, there may not be such a thing as a ‘healthy’ brownie, but even if there isn’t, these brownies get as close to being one as possible! When I am looking for a low inflammation, healthy sugar, chocolate dessert…. these brownies are what I make!

I have tried many gluten-free brownie recipes and mixes, including Pamela’s Gluten-free Brownie Mix, Enjoy Life brownie mix, King Arthur gluten-free brownie mix, and my mom’s homemade brownie recipe, and I love them all! However, I love this brownie recipe just a teensy bit more because it is allergy-friendly, made from scratch, and can be customized into so many different flavors.

My mom’s homemade brownies had peanut butter in them, and I was trying to avoid including any kind of nuts in my brownie recipe (even though I LOVE peanut butter!). The Pamela’s brownie mix was gluten free, but it also contained soy, eggs, and cane sugar. The Enjoy Life brownie mix is free of the 8 most common allergens, but it is not grain free and it contains cane sugar.

So, I love my grain-free brownie recipe because it is….

• grain-free
• gluten free
• nut free
• soy free
• corn free
• refined sugar free
• dairy-free option

Pioneer Kitchen Tips: Best Brownies

Almost everybody loves a moist, gooey, fudgy brownie, and I’m no exception. Not only did I want my brownie recipe to be ‘healthy’, but I also wanted it to have the classic taste and texture of a true brownie. These grain-free brownies hit the nail on the head: perfectly fudgy but still grain-free!

But there is an important key to ensuring your brownies stay fudgy:

Fudgy Brownie Secret: Don’t bake the brownies for too long!

I know it may sound like common sense and you have probably heard it before, but I want to emphasize it! If you follow the recipe instructions and make sure your brownie batter is moist, the only thing that will keep you from not having fudgy brownies is baking them too long!

This is a hard principle for me to remember. I kind of have the mindset of: if it’s not burning, let it bake longer. However, with brownies, I HAVE to tell myself to take them out of the oven even though they don’t look done! Let’s just say, I have over-baked my fair share of brownies, but I have never, ever under-baked any.

My Favorite Brownie Toppings & Variations

Of course, having a good ol’ plain brownie is amazing! But to take these grain-free brownies to the next level, you may consider playing with some flavors and toppings.

Here are some of my favorite ways to spruce up any brownies:

• Flavored Chocolate Chips- I love using various flavors of Lily’s sugar-free chocolate chips in this brownie recipe!
• Add Ice Cream– Dairy-free ice cream like SoDelicious, NadaMoo, and Coconut Bliss (check out my review of each of those brands) are always a perfect addition!
• Fresh Fruit– Fresh raspberries or strawberries and bananas are some classic fruits to pair with chocolate!
• Syrups– Dairy-free chocolate syrup or a homemade caramel sauce can always be drizzled over brownies for a sweet topping.
• Frosting & Ganache– Add two more layers to your brownies, such as frosting and ganache, for the ultimate brownie experience!

I love topping my grain-free brownies with a homemade mint frosting and sugar-free chocolate ganache! Recipes for both are included in this brownie recipe!

Ingredient Guide

I tried to keep these grain-free brownies as healthy as I could! That means keeping the ingredients simple and wholesome. Perfect for the modern pioneer kitchen!

Here are a few key ingredients and why I chose to use them:

• organic butter– the perfect substitute for peanut butter and helps give the brownies a fudgy texture while keeping them nut free
• chocolate chips- I love using Lily’s chocolate chips which are sugar free (no cane sugar!) and come in a variety of different flavors. My favorite flavor for these brownies are the mint chips!
• organic, pasture-raised eggs- these brownies are not egg free, but I could figure out no other way of ensuring the brownies were fudgy and still held together without using eggs
• coconut sugar- coconut sugar is the sweetener I use because it is lower on the glycemic index than other sugars and it is not refined
• cacao powder- cacao powder is the less-refined form of cocoa powder, it gives the brownies a rich, chocolate taste
• tapioca flour- tapioca flour is the grain-free flour I use to give the brownies some substance while still keeping them grain-free

Recipe Tips

I already told you the key to fudgy brownies was not baking them for too long. However, I would like to give you a few more tips to ensure your grain-free brownies turn out delicious, moist, and fudgy!

• Melt your butter! Make sure your butter is completely melted. You can also use avocado oil or olive oil, just don’t heat it up with the chocolate chips.
• Use room temperature eggs. This will help the eggs mix into the batter better and give the brownies a little more rise.
• Slowly combine the chocolate and eggs. You must take this step slowly so that the warm chocolate butter mixture doesn’t cook your eggs.
• Cocoa vs Cacao: You can use either one, I find that the cacao powder gives the brownies a richer chocolate flavor.
• Can these be made egg-free?– I have not tried making these egg free or tried using any egg substitutes.
• Tapioca vs Arrowroot flour: You can use either in this recipe.

For more fun brownie recipes, make sure you check out these grain-free cake brownies or this dairy-free cheesecake skillet brownie!

Making Powdered Sugar:

If you choose the make a homemade mint frosting for your brownies, you will want to use powdered sugar. You can make your own powdered coconut sugar or powdered maple sugar to keep these brownies refined sugar free.

Simply grind coconut sugar or maple sugar in a high-speed blender or seed blender to make powdered sugar! If you use powdered coconut sugar, the mint frosting will be tinged brown. Powdered maple sugar will make for a whiter frosting.

Now let’s make some delicious, grain free brownies! Indulge in these ‘healthier’ brownies knowing that they contain better and more wholesome ingredients than traditional brownies! Don’t worry, the taste and texture are not compromised despite the better ingredients!

And don’t forget to take them to the next level with some homemade frosting and chocolate ganache!

Where to Find the Ingredients:

• Lily’s chocolate chips
• Simply Organic vanilla extract
• Nutiva coconut sugar
• Navitas cacao powder
• Bob’s Red Mill tapioca flour
• Organic mint extract
• Organic maple sugar
• Supplies: 8×8″ glass baking pan, unbleached parchment paper

These grain-free brownies are allergy-friendly, easy to make, and delicious to eat! They have all the chocolatey, fudgy flavor and texture of a regular brownie without the refined sugar, gluten, and grains! I love that these brownies are the perfect modern pioneer dessert can easily be made from scratch. Topping them with a homemade mint frosting and a smooth chocolate ganache just makes these brownies just that much better… the minty flavor is absolutely amazing with the rich chocolate brownie, sweet frosting, and smooth ganache!

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by Alexa