The Fat Witch's Gluten-Free Buttermilk Brownies-Famous Fridays
Ok, the kids are back to school and you know what that means: BAKE SALES!! So I thought that for this first Friday after Labor Day, celebrating this Famous Friday with The Fat Witch Bake Sale: 67 Recipes from the Beloved Fat Witch Bakery for Your Next Bake Sale or Party by Patricia Helding, was particularly apt! And with so many people having sensitivities to gluten now, a gluten-free brownie that tastes, looks and feels like a brownie you'd wait in line for with about 100 other rowdy kids, is kinda perfect too!
I don't think I can truly calculate how many bake sales and class parties I've baked for over the years--but let's just say that if I charged for all the baked goods I've provided, I'd be a rich lady!! What I especially love about this cookbook is that everything is manageable and fairly inexpensive as far as ingredients go, as well as being creative and compelling. I've already made Patricia's Cinnamon Toast Bars, Jelly Blondies,and Turbo-Chocolate cookies and all of them were pretty fab! In addition, the book is broken up into sections which make it easy to find specific categories, like "Halfway Healthy", "Vegan", "Adult-Friendly" and "Gluten-Free" which is where I found these delicious brownies.
Fortunately none of my kids has a gluten-allergy but they've all grown up with friends who haven't been able to just buy anything they want to from a table loaded down with treats, so it's nice to have a really tasty brownie in your arsenal that will please everyone (of course, if you're allergic to chocolate that's a whole different thing, but I guarantee you'll find something in this book to satisfy!)
It's the buttermilk that makes these brownies extremely moist, slightly tangy and rich but light somehow. And other than the gluten-free flour, which is sold virtually everywhere now, it's made up of ingredients you're likely to have hanging around your pantry, unless you are the kind of person who doesn't have a bag of chocolate chips stashed somewhere (I've heard such types exist), but in that case, you're probably not reading this blog!
So, pick up a copy of The Fat Witch Bake Sale and get yourself in shape for "Bake Sale Season". C'mon, the kids are counting on you!! And have a great weekend--exciting things to come next week! Oh, and by the way, you can see we really hated these!!
The Fat Witch's Gluten-Free Buttermilk Brownies-Famous Fridays
Makes 12-16 brownies
Prep Time: 15 minutes; Bake Time: 25-30 minutes
Ingredients
- 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons buttermilk, well-shaken
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup gluten-free baking flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
The Recipe
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease an 8x8 inch or 9x9 inch baking pan with butter and gluten-free flour. Set aside.
2. In a small heavy saucepan over low heat, combine the unsweetened chocolate and butter. Stir often until almost melted, then remove from the heat and stir until completely smooth. Set aside to cool for a bit.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla in a large bowl for about 1 minute on medium speed. Add the chocolate mixture and beat until smooth. Remove from the mixer.
4. Sift the flour and salt directly over the chocolate mixture and using a rubber spatula, fold in gently, just until the flour has disappeared. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl for any stray traces of flour. Fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a couple of crumbs sticking to it, but not wet with batter. Cool the brownies in the pan on a rack for at least 1 hour. Cut into squares and serve.
6. Individually wrapped brownies will last for 2 days wrapped well at room temperature. Also, you can make these a couple of days ahead of time and leave them uncut--they'll stay moister that way. Just cover the pan well with plastic wrap and cut right before you're ready to serve.
Enjoy!
Note: Recipe adapted from The Fat Witch Bake Sale: 67 Recipes from the Beloved Fat Witch Bakery for Your Next Bake Sale or Party by Patricia Helding.
