Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies - Post 21

Hello my lucky MoFo friends! Yesterday I said that I might have another post and I DO! Not only is it another post, it is a post about a favorite combination- chocolate and peanut butter. This one of my favorite combinations and based on your comments, it seems to your favorites too.
  

Vegan chocolate chips and butter in a double boiler. It could be heaven

One of the hardest things for me about gluten free has been missing baked goods. There are area bakeries and stores that carry vegan baked goods, but those baked goods are not gluten free. There are also places that carry gluten free baked goods, but they are not vegan. So, you can see my dilemma! In the past year or so a gluten free, vegan bakery named ZenCat has been opened and the baked goods are amazing. Unfortunately, they are in Greensboro and are not always easily available in Durham. When they are, I order up a storm! On the occasions when they are not in town, I have had to take matters into my own hands and make what I want. 

This is the melted product. I was very tempted to eat is straight

I was excited when my Mom came across a gluten free recipe in the newspaper for chocolate peanut butter brownies. The recipe was not vegan, but I knew I could easily veganize it and and in the process make it better than the original. Feeling ambitious, I made the brownies for a potluck with two of my favorite couples. As they were baking, I didn't think that they were going to taste good and I considered throwing them away and making something else. In the end, I decided to follow through with my plan and serve the brownies. The result was delicious! Our guests thought so too!

They are not pretty, but they were delicious!

I am not the best photographer by any means, but these photos are lacking even from my normal mediocre. The photos do not do these brownies justice. If you can, please ignore the quality of the photos and consider the deliciousness of the ingredients. And beware, it is easy to overcook these brownies as they stay moist when cooking. I have been unable to do the test where you stick a toothpick in and it comes out clean and have over cooked them until they hard as bricks. Start with 30 minutes and if you feel nervous cook a couple minutes more. Then remove them from the oven and let cool before digging in.

Since the recipe was changed so significantly, I think it is safe to call it my own.

Gluten-Free Chocolate-Peanut Butter Brownies

• Olive oil spray for pan
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) of vegan, gluten free margarine
• 3/4 cup of vegan, gf chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup of oat flour
• 1/3 cup sweet brown rice flour
• 1 tsp xantham gum
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg replacement (I used Enr-G egg replacer)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup natural peanut butter, heated in microwave for 30 seconds to soften

Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8or 9 inch pan with spray. Set a pot of water over medium heat in a double boiler and bring to a gentle boil. Place the butter and chocolate chips in the top of the double boiler and melt, stirring with a spatula until melted. Remove from heat and let cool.

Sift oat flour, rice flour, and xantham gum into a large bowl. Stir in baking powder and salt. Whisk sugar into chocolate mixture. Whisk in egg replacer and vanilla, stir in dry ingredients until mixture is just combined.

Peanut butter dolloped over batter

Pour batter into prepared pan. Dallop the peanut butter all over the top of the batter and then swirl gently. Bake 25-30 minutes. Let cool before slicing.

Close up of the finished product. It was delicious despite how ugly they look

WARNING: It is hard not to eat the whole pan at once!