Gluten-Free Chocolate Brownies With Oat Flour

My daughter, a gluten-intolerant 2nd-degree black belt, loves these chocolate brownies!

Gluten-Free Baking Can Be Expensive

We all know how expensive and challenging it can be to bake for friends and family who are gluten-intolerant. When my daughter was diagnosed a couple of years ago, we frantically searched for recipes that were affordable—as well as good, quick, and easy to make.

Our task was made even more difficult by the fact that we are orthodox Jews. On Sabbath and Holy Days, we must prepare cake and bread that is made from one of the "five grains" (wheat, barley, spelt, rye, and oats). Most of the recipes we found call for "gluten-free flour," which tends to be blends of rice, potato, tapioca, etc.

Gluten-free oat flour is outrageously expensive here (about $9 to $10 for 500 grams). When I figured out this recipe (based on an amalgamation of two others), which uses a small amount of oat flour that goes a long way, we were thrilled. And, it turns out, my daughter loves the result.

Notes and Modifications

• Originally, we made these brownies with three eggs, but now we use only two. I suggest making the recipe according to instructions the first time, then modifying it to your liking.
• I melt my chocolate in the microwave because it's fast and easy. Any method you use, however, is OK.

The end result is moist, chewy, and delicious brownies. All of my kids love them, and my daughter uses her Taekwondo skills to fend off her siblings!

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup gluten-free oat flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup white sugar

For Melting Chocolate:

• 3/4 cup chocolate
• 1/2 cup canola oil

Wet Ingredients:

• 2 eggs, mixed, not separated
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup apple juice

Instructions

1. Combine dry ingredients: oat flour, salt, baking powder, cocoa powder, and sugar.
2. Melt the chocolate into the oil. (I do this in a microwave: 30 seconds on the highest setting, stir, and if necessary repeat. Two rounds in the microwave usually does it. Any method that works for you is OK.)
3. Add remaining wet ingredients: eggs (2 is plenty for us, but if you want the brownies to be even moister, use 3), vanilla, apple juice, and the mixture of melted chocolate and oil.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry, and stir well until the mixture is clump-free and of a uniform consistency.
5. Bake at 180°C (356°F) in an oiled 20-centimeter (8-inch)* pan for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. Cool on a rack and enjoy! Freeze well.

* Pan size conversion is from: https://thecompletecookbook.wordpress.com/2010/04/21/cake-tin-size-conversions/

Questions & Answers

Question: What does a 3/4 cup of chocolate mean? Isn’t baking chocolate usually measured by weight— grams or Oz.?

Answer: 3/4 cup is about 100 grams, or 4 ounces. Use less, if it's too rich.

Question: Why did you reduce the number of eggs from 3 to 2 for the chocolate brownies?

Answer: Because that's the way my daughter likes it.