If you follow this blog, you’ll remember that back in February, we offered a gluten free adaptation of Mark Bittman’s infamous and lauded blondie recipe. Today, we offer the same treatment for dessert genius Alice Medrich’s equally celebrated Cocoa Brownie recipe. These simple, staggeringly delicious brownies are a long time favorite. They are dense, rich and profoundly fudge-y, with a perfectly crackly, caramelized top crust. This is the kind of sweet treat that you bite into and close your eyes, so that you can savor every crumb.
On top of that, they require very little actual flour—not unlike most great brownie recipes—so subbing in the gluten free flour blend had no discernible effect on the quality of the finished product. Given that fact, this makes a perfect “starter” recipe for those new to gluten free baking. In classic Martha parlance, that is a very good thing.
The true magic of this recipe lies in the use of cocoa powder in place of the typical bar chocolate used to flavor most other brownie batters. Did we mention that Alice Medrich is a genius? This allows you to control the amount of fat and sugar that end up in the recipe, as cocoa powder is devoid of the cocoa butter and sugar found in commercially made chocolate bars.
In addition to that, Kyle subbed vegetable oil for the butter in the original recipe, and without the dairy in the chocolate bars, that made these brownies dairy free, as well. That, boys and girls, is a double win, in our book. Trust us, if you spring these babies on your family and friends, they will take one bite of these super rich, uber-chocolatey brownies, hoist you on their shoulders and hail you as a dessert demigod on par with (or at least adjacent to) Ms. Medrich herself.
Omitting the butter also loses the step of melting it, combining it with the cocoa powder and sugar, then cooling it, further streamlining an already simplified recipe. You just whisk the oil in with the other ingredients and stir your little heart out. You could also use an egg replacement if you wanted to make them vegan, but we haven’t tried that yet, so we can’t vouch for the effect that will have on the flavor or texture. If you get to it before we do, let us know how it turns out.
Another technique used in this batter is to take a wooden spoon (a suggestion taken directly from Medrich’s original instructions) and stir the blended batter exactly 40 times. This plays directly into Kyle’s kitchen OCD. Trust me, he counts each and every swirl of that wooden spoon. It might sound odd, but those 40 strokes make an absolutely discernible difference in the final batter.
The mix goes from a loose, gloopy mass to a coalesced, firm batter that will begin to pull away from the sides of the bowl during the final few stirs with the spoon. That’s when you know it’s game time. You’ll be meditatively chewing these little squares of heaven in less time than you would think. Just don’t “forget” to share.
Adapted from Alice Medrich via Food52 and Smitten Kitchen.
- ½ cup (65 grams) all-purpose gluten-free flour blend
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum (If flour blend does not already contain it)
- 10 tablespoons (140 grams) vegetable oil
- 1¼ cups (250 grams) sugar
- ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons (65 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, cold
- Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting (optional)
- Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.
- Combine flour blend and xanthan gum in a small bowl.
- Combine the oil, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon. Spread evenly in the lined pan.
- Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack.
- Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares. If desired, dust with confectioner’s sugar.
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