Did I mention my husband is a HUGE chocoholic? Well he is. More than anyone I've ever met in my life. And he likes the good stuff this man. I'm not talking about a Hersey's bar (although if you gave him one he would eat it). My husband's list of loves would probably go something like this: 1) his family, 2) the outdoors, 3) chocolate. And if he was outdoors with his family eating chocolate he would probably explode (with joy). So this chocolate series is dedicated to my sweet-teeth husband...and my daughter who is quickly following suit in the chocolate-loving department.
Here we have recipe #2 in the pumpkin + chocolate series. I don't know about you, but I like chewy brownies. Not cake-like brownies. I thought it would be a fun challenge to make these grain free. So the trick here was to make a grain free brownie that didn't crumble apart. I'm pleased with the final product. My husband LOVES this brownie, as does my daughter. They both gave it a two-thumbs up, and that's saying something from my chocolate connoisseurs. How wonderful to make something so healthy and sinfully tasty for the ones I love.
(grain free, gluten free, dairy free, cane-sugar free, egg free, soy free, xanthan gum free)
Ingredients
2 cups almonds
1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup raw cacao powder
1/4 cup coconut flour
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
1/4 cup coconut flour
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup agave
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup applesauce
1 tablespoon ground chia seeds
3 tablespoons hot water
1/4 cup coconut oil - liquified
1/4 cup non-dairy milk (or water)
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon ginger
How To
Preheat oven to 375
Preheat oven to 375
In a food processor:
1. Add almonds and grind until fine and moist
2. Add walnuts to almonds and blend together until you can form a ball
3. Add cacao powder, blend
4. Add arrowroot, baking soda, ginger, and salt...
5. Blend, blend, blend
5. Blend, blend, blend
In a separate bowl:
1. Whisk together: pumpkin puree, agave, vanilla, coconut oil, applesauce and milk (or water)
2. In a separate small bowl stir together chia and water until thick then add to wet ingredients. mix
3. Add dry ingredients from food processor into wet ingredients and mix
4. Transfer batter to 8x8 baking dish
5. You can either line the 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper or spray oil and dust with coconut flour. I used oil & flour. 6. Bake 30 minutes or until sides start to harden and crisp up
Notes
*The middle will be moist, but will firm up as it cools, but overall stays rather moist.
*I would wait several hours before cutting into the brownies (if you can) or wait until the next day
*Top with melted chocolate (I melted 1/2 of this chocolate bar with 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice)
5. You can either line the 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper or spray oil and dust with coconut flour. I used oil & flour. 6. Bake 30 minutes or until sides start to harden and crisp up
Notes
*The middle will be moist, but will firm up as it cools, but overall stays rather moist.
*I would wait several hours before cutting into the brownies (if you can) or wait until the next day
*Top with melted chocolate (I melted 1/2 of this chocolate bar with 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice)
Shared on: slightly Indulgent Tuesdays,
Gluten Free Wednesdays, Week 5 of Home for the Holidays: Gluten Free Style, Fat Tuesday, Whole Food Wednesdays, GFE's Virtual Support Group, Fresh Bites Friday, Freaky Friday, Fight Back Friday, Friday Food, Pot Luck Party Fridays, Feed Your Soul Friday, Superfood Sunday
Yum. That looks moist & delicious...AND chocolaty!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sara! It is very moist indeed. Scott is crazy about this brownie, so I knew it was a winner. :-)
ReplyDeleteBe Well,
--Amber
OMG! I'm bookmarking this and making it this weekend! I love that it's xathan gum (spelling?) free... I've heard mixed stories about that stuff. Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteOh and I'm your newest follower too! :)
Hi There Curly J~
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment and please let me know how they turn out! They were a hit in my house. About 3 days later they started to resemble fudge. Crazy good. There is definitely a nutty texture to these, but overall they really worked. Good luck!
And, about the xanthan gum...
Xanthan gum is considered "safe" although it hasn't been extensively tested. I've read that people with corn allergies might be allergic and therefore can cause very uncomfortable symptoms. As a rule I try and use only whole foods when cooking and find it fun and challenging to find alternatives. I do use xanthan gum once in a while because it is very good at its job, but try and find other things that work well too. I don't like feeling too dependent on any one ingredient. :-)
Have a beautiful, health-full day.
Be Well,
--Amber
I have printed this recipe and plan on making them, yum! I can handle guar gum better than xanthum gum (it's a 1/3 of the cost too). Xanthum gum IS derived from corn:like so many other things today, so people who are very sensitive to corn should avoid it. Thanks Amber!
ReplyDeleteHi There Tessa,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment and valuable information regarding xanthan gum. This is the power of blogging right! Very informative, specific information that is extremely helpful to readers. Good stuff.
And Tessa, I made your kale chips tonight. WOW! Big hit. I took some pics (even a little video of my daughter) eating them. She really likes kale and thought these were just so fun and yummy. I will be posting this soon. Thanks for the great recipe!
Be Well,
--Amber
I made these today, yum!! I decided to cut out the milk and use more pumpkin instead, added a bit more cocoa powder (2-3 tablespoons) to make REALLY chocolatey! Also, I didn't have any walnuts, so I used pecans instead and was out of arrowroot so used tapioca starch. Fudgey, chocolaty goodness! I am so glad you guys enjoyed the kale chips...i wish MY kids liked kale in OTHER forms too!
ReplyDeleteTessa@TessaDomesticDiva
Hi There Tessa~
ReplyDeleteI love it! I love hearing how different ingredients work in recipes. What great information for someone who wants to make a change, but not quite sure what will work or substitute. Excellent information!
I agree they are very fudgey! Pretty great for a grain-free brownie! I will be adding your kale chip recipe to my monthly round-up...they were a hit!
Food for thought...I bet you could hide some kale in this brownie! :-)
Be Well,
--Amber
I always hide pureed spinach in chocolate things...much to my husbands chagrin!
ReplyDeleteYou make me laugh!
ReplyDeleteThis looks wonderful, and I love all the ingredients! Thanks for sharing it a Gluten-Free Wednesdays.
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda!
ReplyDeleteThis looks yummy. If I can get my hands on a pumpkin or squash I am going to try and make this. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThis looks amazing. Is there a substitute for the agave syrup for those of us avoiding it?
ReplyDeleteHi There Nancy,
DeleteI think maple syrup (Grade B) would be an excellent substitute - I love this with chocolate. Honey and stevia would also work. I would do equal parts with the honey, 1/3 cup maple syrup, or 30-40 drop stevia (NuNaturals makes a cocoa liquid stevia that would work great).
Hope this helps!
Be Well,
--Amber