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This is a repost of the original article/recipe with a new update of making it gluten-free.
As I delve into gluten-free baking, I've started with perhaps the most adaptable recipe to play with - brownies. I think they lend themselves so well to gluten-free baking because they don't call for much flour at all - only one cup.
So if you choose to do the GF version, instead of the cup of flour, mix together 3/4 cup potato starch, 1/4 cup tapioca starch, 1 cup rice flour, and 1 teaspoon of xanthum gum. This will make two cups. Use only one cup for the brownie recipe (equal 1-1 substitution) and save the other cup for next time.
They taste and feel exactly the same as the original recipe. Enjoy.
Original post:
There are two important elements involved in this recipe. First is that I took a brownie recipe from Cooks Illustrated and then altered it by adding kahlua. I figured if alcohol keeps cakes nice and moist, surely it would do that for brownies. Second, I've sold Pampered Chef for over 10 years and am a true believer in Stoneware and love the fact that you can cook in the microwave with it. But even though I tend to make these brownies in the microwave because I'm impatient, you can bake them in the regular oven if you want. I like a fudgy, moist brownie versus a cakey brownie, so the microwave does that great.
This is what I say at shows to demonstrate the benefits of Stoneware:
How many times have you made a brownie in a metal or glass pan and when the timer rings you open the oven door to find a brownie cooked around the edges, but still goopy in the middle? Then you add another 5 or so minutes, check it again, and do the finger test - touch the center to see if it is set. You pull it out and you look at it and you have a sinkhole brownie. The edges are higher up, but the center is sunken in. That's because metal and glass cook from the outer edges in. Stoneware cooks evenly throughout so that when that timer rings and you open the door you have a perfectly cooked brownie, even across the pan - no sinkhole! Also, those sinkhole brownies might have a nicely cooked center, but those edges are dry, crunchy, overcooked. Because a stoneware brownie is evenly cooked, you don't have to worry about that. Martha Stewart once said she cuts the edges off and then uses them for ice cream sundae toppings. Whatever! I'd rather have beautifully baked, moist, chewy brownies I can proudly take to the office!
Catherine's Kahlua Brownies
5 oz of semisweet chocolate
2 oz of unsweetened baking chocolate
1 stick butter
3 T cocoa
3 large eggs
1 1/4 c sugar
2 t vanilla
1 c flour
1/3 c kahlua
walnuts - optional
Spray a Stoneware Square Baker with oil (I prefer Bakers Joy spray). Set aside. Melt the semisweet and unsweetened chocolate with the butter in the microwave set on low. Blend until smooth. Add cocoa. Let cool slightly. In large bowl mix together eggs, sugar, vanilla, and kahlua. Add cooled chocolate mixture and mix well. Stir in flour. Add walnuts if desired. Pour into baker and level off. Bake on high in microwave for 7-8 minutes or bake in 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes. Toothpick should come out with a small amount of sticky crumbs on it. Cool on rack.
