Happy December friends!
Tis’ the holiday season where the calories don’t count! One of my absolute favorite desserts anytime of year (and that’s saying something because I LOVE sweets) are brownies. Growing up, my mom made delicious, fudgy, rich brownies that had a hint of amaretto/ almond in them. I set out to recreate them in gluten free form for the holidays, and these Gluten Free Amaretto Brownies have been a hit. Plus what’s better than a little booze in your baked goods for Christmas!?
This will be my first entirely gluten free Christmas. Last December, I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease (gluten allergy) out of nowhere; luckily, I didn’t have any of the typical problems associated with it. But where most holiday seasons are filled with baking all your family favorites, it’s been a challenge to try and recreate all those recipes with a gluten free twist. That’s something I’ll be doing a lot of on the blog moving forward.
One of the biggest things I found lacking in the gluten free world was still making things a treat. A lot of recipes/gluten free bakeries are focused on being paleo or vegan, which are both totally great. But I wanted to find ways to make those traditional recipes we know and love, just gluten free.
Gluten free baking is incredibly challenging, because gluten is a binder, so many of the baked goods I’ve tried or made over the last year end up crummy and crumby. One of the best tips I learned is to let your batter or dough sit for at least 30 minutes. This has helped the texture of my baked goods immensely!
Gluten Free Amaretto Brownies
Makes: 16 brownies
What you need:
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch-processed is best)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup gluten free flour blend (I really like Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-1 Baking Flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup chocolate chunks
- 2 tbsp amaretto
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Place the butter and sugar in a large microwavable bowl. Heat until butter melts fully, about 3 minutes.
- Mix in eggs, vanilla extract and cocoa powder until blended.
- Stir in flour, baking powder and salt.
- Add the chocolate chunks and amaretto.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Grease 8″ square pan. Pour the batter in evenly.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes depending on if you like fudgy (25 mins) or more cake-like (30 mins).
- Cool until room temperature for cutting.