A Second Brownie Recipe – Gluten-Free, Vegan Brownies with Walnuts

I have been trying to improve my repertoire of vegan, gluten-free desserts for a while now – partly to have more dairy-free and gluten-free desserts in my back pocket, and partly because it seems like a good idea.

Hence these brownies. I based them on an excellent recipe by Arman Liew, but made enough adjustments that I decided to write up my version separately. This recipe is more like a bar, and thus is very different from my cakey Shabbat brownies.

I added walnuts, which I crushed with a rolling pin. The walnuts not only complement the chocolate and temper the sweetness, but also add oil and density to the brownie. You could probably use any tree nut; a nut-free version would probably require some additional tweaks.

Vegan and Gluten-Free Walnut Brownies

Based on a recipe by Arman Liew

Makes 24 brownies

4 tablespoons ground flaxseed

¾ cup water

2 scant cups vegan chocolate chips – semi-sweet or dark chocolate

12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) vegan butter – Earth Balance works well

¾ cup granulated sugar

½ cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ½ cups gluten-free flour

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder (make sure it’s gluten-free)

1 cup walnuts, crushed

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/175C, and line a 9”x13” (23cm x 33cm) pan with parchment paper.
2. Mix the flaxseed and water and let sit for a few minutes, or until it gels up. Set aside.
3. Melt the chocolate chips and vegan butter in a large bowl. I usually do 30 second spurts in the microwave on high, mixing in between, until melted. You could use a double boiler if you like.
4. Add the sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla extract to the chocolate mixture and mix in thoroughly.
5. Add the flaxseed mixture to the chocolate mixture and mix in thoroughly.
6. Sift together the gluten-free flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder.
7. Fold the dry mixture into the chocolate mixture until just combined. The texture should be consistent and no dry spots should be apparent.
8. Fold in the walnuts until evenly distributed.
9. Pour the mixture into the pan and use your spatula to spread around evenly. Note that this will be a thick mixture – much thicker than a traditional brownie batter.
10. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top has solidified.
11. Remove from the oven and let sit in the pan for at least 30 minutes.
12. Remove the mega-brownie from the pan and slice into squares. I usually measure mine to be about 2 inches on each side.
13. Keep in a sealed container for up to four days, separating layers of brownie with parchment paper.

Thank you to my colleagues for providing User Acceptance Testing for this recipe.