Recipe: Gluten-free Brownies with Maple Pumpkin Butter, Chocolate Drizzle and Salted Caramel Toasted Coconut Flakes

I spent the afternoon getting ready for an appearance on southern Connecticut's public access TV program, Healing Outside the Box, by baking a batch of gluten-free chocolate brownies. The theme for this evening will be "Entertaining Vegan Style," so I figured the best way to introduce someone to the idea is by sharing a winning dessert.

Who doesn't love a good brownie? They're moist, chocolately, and decadent, but in the vegan version, no animals had to suffer for our enjoyment! Even better, the recipe is gluten-free, so instead of refined flour, they're made with high protein garbanzo beans! Oh, hey now, would I steer you wrong? Yeah, they're pretty awesome.

You can eat them plain right out of the baking dish, of course, or you can add a little gourmet twist by garnishing with some luscious sauces and salted caramel toasted coconut flakes as I've done here. Serve these to your guests this holiday season and they will be lining up to make a Vegan Resolution this New Year, guaranteed!

Gluten-free Chocolate Brownies (makes 16)

(adapted from Robin Robertson’s Vegan Planet recipe)

1/4 cup coconut oil

1 cup semisweet vegan chocolate chips, divided

2 Tbl ground flax seed + 6 Tbl water (egg replacer)

3/4 cup vegan sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp xantham gum

2 Tbl cocoa powder

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup water (approx.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly oil an 8”x8” pan. In a small sauce pot over medium heat, combine 1/4 cup oil plus 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips, stirring until melted. Remove from heat and set aside. Place flaxseed mixture in a large bowl. Add sugar and vanilla and blend well. Str in melted chocolate mixture. Stir in the flour, baking powder, xantham gum, salt, and cocoa powder and enough water to form a smooth batter. Fold in remaining chocolate chips, then pour into prepared pan. Bake approximately 20-25 minutes, or until top is firm. Let cool before cutting into squares.

Maple Pumpkin Butter
3 Tbl pumpkin puree
3 Tbl maple syrup
1/8 tsp sea salt
dash of cinnamon

Stir together all of the above ingredients until smooth, adding more maple syrup as necessary. Pour into squeeze bottle and pipe onto plate for garnish.